I wont even lie. I was also afraid of the dirt under my fingernails. This surprised me!!! I dont mind getting dirty at all - but the dirt under my nails! AHH! no matter how short i keep them... it's inevitable. I just hate it. It feels weird, looks gross... it was a hindrance to my garden-keeping. BUT! i found a solution! Garden gloves! yaaay! They dont keep all the dirt out, but the amount of dirt under my nails is significantly decreased, therefore making me functional in the garden. Isn't that silly?
On sunday, i got into a gardening mood and decided to reclaim the land that had been overgrown. Just look at this mess!
Not that long ago you could see the boxes! And you can in the photo, but before i tromped on all the weeds (which were waist high) and pulled out several handfuls, you could barely make out that there was a purpose for this area of land. The weeds had almost completely overtaken my garden boxes too! Little sprigs of ivy had grown up and around many of my onion and garlic plants!! boo.
I spent a good while ripping out weeds and carefully unwinding ivy from my plants. BUT i have reclaimed the boxes and they are still going strong!
Our strawberries and gooseberry bush are doing grand:
Because of our de-motivation, we didn't finish planting everything either. Yesterday i planted more onions (red, this time! we love onions) and my friend in Lismore gave me some more plants on my visit. I now have one corn plant (which will be just enough for us), one tomato plant (which will not be enough - but i'm skeptical of the fruition of tomatoes in Ireland. This summer is predicted to be the wettest yet, which means no sun for tomatoes!), some borage, a pepper plant (since mine never grew - they were some of the seeds i DID plant), some courgettes (also, mine DIED!), a hot chili plant, and some oregano!
I never took photos before, because it was an eyesore - but there was this space right in front of our patio that was used for planting. It had been let go though and not only did the mints take over, but it was a completely wild bed. The soil wasn't too deep either, so i threw the idea around of making a new garden there.
It sat...
and sat....
and sat some more........
Until the other day when i decided to just weed it. I pulled out everything, including the old ugly boards that were meant to be containing the dirt. I let it rest for a day (haha. the soil was resting, not me... oh noooo.... lol) then hauled in some dirt that had been originally intended for the big garden.
I lined the new garden with discarded pieces of broken cement, and planted a handful of plants in the space! i think it looks beautiful!
Looking forward to garden fresh goods!
How's your garden coming? i would love to see photos! post a link to your blog or photos in the comments!
