A few thoughts bouncing around in the old noodle today.

Last week I visited a coworkers home/property during our lunch hour to check out his landscape. It was beautifully laid out with multiple stone walls, mature trees, a small pond and it all backed up to a sweet wooded area.

The plantings were sparse so I started dreaming up a plan as if I had already been hired as his landscape architect (FYI, my rates are competitive). Turns out the dude wanted mulch and not too much else. Plants were too much maintenance and controlling the weeds was the main concern.

This has to be the 3rd or 4th time I’ve had the same conversation over the past few weeks. Mulch, mulch, mulch. I get it to an extent, but I am failing miserably in my attempts to persuade friends/family to pursue “plants”. I need  to work on my “elevator speech” so I can convert the “I don’t want to be converted crowd”.

But more on that at a later date.

I really want to talk about just how phenomenal the show “The Americans” is … just kidding. Well I’m not kidding, I’m dead serious but that is also for another blog for another day.

How about those Mets? Sorry, now to the important stuff.

While I was drooling over my coworker’s landscape, he mentioned that the home’s previous owners had taken a one year sabbatical to address their yard. How frickin awesome is that? And who the hell gets to do that? I think if I presented that idea to my boss, I would be laughed out of the cube and all the way to the unemployment line.

But damn wouldn’t that be fun and rewarding and healthy and invigorating and frustrating and expensive and tiring and life changing? Can you imagine spending 365 days solely focused on the outdoors and getting your garden/yard in shape? Oh what I could accomplish and I could realistically dream big and finally deliver on my many lofty dreams.

So I am asking you all today for a favor. Spread the word that I want a large corporation/entity to sponsor “My year in the garden”. I’ll carefully document and film it all and I’m thinking it could make it to Cannes if done right. Or maybe it is a weekly reality show. Either way, it would be inspirational and dramatic with a dash of heartbreak and humor. Remember you heard it here first and you were there from the beginning.

I’m not sure yet how I’ll address the day job but that minor detail can be worked out at a later date.

Grats.

I’ll now leave you with more images of my garden as it rounds into shape. I love spring and I love plants before they are fully blooming. The promise is intoxicating.

“Here we go Trollius, Here we go.”

Geranium ‘Espresso’ flowers ain’t so far away now.

Baptisia has become a personal favorite and it is ready to deliver.

Elsewhere, flowers have arrived and I’m doing my damndest to enjoy them while they last.

Crabapple ‘Prairifire’ has phenomenal color although the shape of the tree needs to be addressed at some point.

I really like these ‘Hillstar’ Daffodils which were planted this past November.

Let’s pretend that this Fothergilla ‘Mt. Airy’ is covered in blooms and that it was never touched by the deer. How fun.

This Brunnera came out of nowhere and I have no memory of planting it. I’m awesome.

I have Ajuga everywhere and when it blooms, it makes quite a statement. Nothing can kill it and I’ve found it pretty easy to keep it in check.

And I’ll leave you with this. Don’t fret over the dandelions. They are our your friend. I’m dead serious. Read this.

You’re welcome.