Garden Update

We are now about six weeks post-planting and my enthusiasm for gardening has faded. It turns out that you have to actually WORK at it! Do things! TEND it! Mother Nature outsources, the lazy broad.

First -- the good news. For those of you who were worried that we were permanently out of thyme, rest assured that we got some back. $2.50 at the Farmer's Market -- who knew buying thyme would be that easy? Of course, we still have this little problem...


... but we've become more careful with our thyme. Protecting what little thyme we have left.

Unfortunately, the only reason we're saving thyme is that Jack has turned his attention elsewhere -- i.e., my vegetable garden.

Here's a brief inventory:

Corn: Still hanging in there, but not exactly thriving. (I swear it wasn't shady when I planted them. Damn leafy trees.)

Zucchini plant: Zucchini ROCKS! This plant may restore my faith in Mother Nature's resilience.

Crookneck Squash: Never had a chance. Jack scattered them when they were just little sprouts. They may yet turn up in the yard somewhere.

Four kinds of peppers: Doomed. I don't think Jack actually ate them -- at least not more than once -- but he does like to bite them off.

Asparagus: Hanging in there in spite of the similar beating its been taking.

Hibiscus: Also doomed. This one hurt. I had high hopes for this bush. It's gone.Anything else in the picture that's green: Weeds. I understand that pulling them up is part of the "tending" I'm supposed to be doing.

But did I mention the zucchini?? I haven't done a thing to it and it's huge! With blossoms!

THIS is the kind of gardening I signed on for.

The kind where you put a plant in the ground, visit it occasionally -- maybe water it a bit if you happen to be out there with a hose.

After a few weeks of sipping mint juleps on the veranda, you harvest bushels of fresh, unblemished vegetables to present to friends and family with an air of smug satisfaction and a pamphlet that preaches about carbon footprints.

So yes, I'm shocked and bitter that it's not turning out so well. I was misled...

... by this:

I've never done anything to nurture this rose bush. In fact, I've accidentally run over it a few times with the lawn mower. And I know it's taken some abuse from neighborhood critters. But every year, it comes back with even more blooms than the year before.

This year, it hooked up with a rogue honeysuckle bush, which ALSO thrives without any attention from me.

If THEY can do it, why not my hibiscus???