The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

Category Archives: Garden problems

Lazy, part 2 – DGP

Posted on by Posted in Garden problems, Weeds .

We’ve had nothing but rain for what feels like the last month and because of that, I’ve been unable to get outside and work my magic. And if I’m being honest, I’m also tiring of the chores so take the two together and you get what you see below.

A few thoughts here:

  1. You know that hose and sprinkler have resided in this sport for a long time since watering hasn’t been a need for like months now. I may need a crowbar to get it out of the ground. Yes, I’m embarrassed.
  2. I suck at designing the front of my garden beds. I become so consumed with the design of the middle and back that I push aside the need for groundcovers or even smaller annuals. This is a theme throughout and one I need to concentrate on for next year. My planned direction is to up my annuals game to cover these spots as they’re more interesting and colorful. Just need to account for deer resistance.
  3. I have zero hardscape borders in any of my beds. It’s just soil directly into lawn. While I know these could aid in preventing the grass and weeds from creeping in, I’ve never seen anything even close to attractive. What do you all do?

Lessons learned

Posted on by Posted in Garden problems, How-to, Summer, Uncategorized .

It’s taken close to two decades, but I now feel comfortable sharing the following sentiment:

I’m in a mutha f’n groove in my garden.

Yeah, you heard me. I’m oozing and dripping (gross, sorry) with confidence after reaping the rewards of failing miserably the last 18 years and 8 months and 6 days and 4 hours and 32 minutes and 37 seconds. The answers have always been there but I was too blind from the sweat and poison ivy to ever see them:

  1. Stay patient and allow plants the time they need to establish themselves.
  2. Don’t force plants into your garden that you know will not thrive there.
  3. Stop the obsession of buying new plants; instead, divide what you already have. Those are free plants dummy.

I’ve dabbled in following these three garden tenets over the years but never fully dedicated myself to them until this year. And you know what? I’ve never enjoyed the garden more. I’m still working my ass off to the point of nearly passing out but I’m, get this, working SMARTER. Maybe it took reaching 50 years old to finally see the light. I’m well on my way to becoming a wise old sage.

Here’s the section of the garden that inspired today’s post.

I added the Carex and the Rudbeckia this spring/summer to finally fill in the front but, the greatest development, is the always increasing supply of Sneezeweed at the back.

I purchased three of these perennials (checks notes) back in 2011 and planted them in a spot where they never had a chance. Once in bloom, they easily toppled over.

Which in turn toppled me over.

Frustrated and pained, I dug them up and (checks notes) have no idea what I did next. I assume I transplanted one or two to where they are now, but honestly don’t recall doing it.

(Checks notes and old photos). OK, got something here. Back in 2014, I took this photo which is the spot where they all reside currently.

They’re about 50% of the height they are now and about 20% of the volume. The funny thing is I don’t remember seeing them much since then. They started to make their presence two years ago and I was giddy that they persevered. It took a lot of intestinal fortitude, but I left them alone.

There’s tenet #1. Patience.

Yay me.

And now they’re kicking ass, gaining the required support from the nearby grasses.

Let’s go back to the first photo on this post again as reference.

Remember tenet #2, grow what your conditions allow you to grow, or something like that? This vignette is loaded with plants that fit that mold. We’ve got the ubiquitous Joe Pye Weed, Miscanthus ‘Morning Light’ (back center), Pennisetum ‘Hameln’ in bloom (smack dab in the middle) and a bunch of yet to bloom Chelone ‘Hot Lips’ (middle right). All have thrived since the day they were first planted and I’ve continued to add them all in other spots in the garden.

For tenet #3, here are examples of plants I’ve divided and replanted with big time success.

Mountain Mint. It’s everywhere in my garden.

Bee balm. One division relocated soon becomes, like a lot as it spreads through rhizomes underground.

Lady’s Mantle. Last fall, I dug up 5 plants as they struggled in blazing full sun and moved them to this spot where they get some late afternoon relief. 5 became 12 and they’ve all grown in with vigor. I’d show you that vigor, but they’re a bit messy right now and my point won’t be proven so why would I do that?

And last but surely not least, we have Joseph Pye. While I’ve divided some, truthfully, it’s been more of an art of managing the reseeding. If it pops up where I like, it stays. If not, I move it to a location that makes it “look” like it naturally found its way there. Takes a little bit of babying initially, but once established, we good for years.

So there’s your lesson for the day.

You are so welcome.

Eradication

Posted on by Posted in Comedy, Garden problems .

I’ve been at war with poison ivy for close to two decades now and I’d like to think I’m winning. I’ve managed to keep it in check without my skin suffering and without it taking out any of my precious plants.

But this has been staring me in the face for some time now.

This poor Catmint has had the life sucked out of it and is real close to throwing in the towel. I’ve made half-hearted attempts to yank out the poison ivy vines from the base but it’s only been cosmetic. A brief interlude of what appears to be eradication but it’s only been fighting off the inevitable. Within days, it’s back and with a vengeance.

So while it may have been 94 degrees Fahrenheit, accompanied with a blistering and blinding sun yesterday afternoon, I set out to give my Nepeta well earned relief.

And ended up with a crime scene.

What a tangled mess. The poison ivy had wound itself around the base of the Catmint like a pissed off cobra. There was little I could do to salvage anything amongst the carnage.

But I did.

She lives to see another day.

Not much but it’s something. I’ll nurse her back to health and will employ a 24/7 watch on any mutha f’ers that try to get near her.

And if I’m being fully transparent, I had to keep something alive in the front bed. Otherwise I’d be left with four Catmint plants and I can’t be having an even number like that.

One works.

Three works.

Five works.

Six works because it’s 3 + 3.

Four never works.

A brief intermission or intermezzo, if you will, before we move on to more carnage.

Two photos of bees.

Enjoy.

Do you grow Dwarf Alberta Spruce?

Has it been successful?

Has the shape remained palatable all these years later?

My goal is to get all of my DAS to look like Grimace.

And that hasn’t happened.

I removed one a few weeks ago as mentioned on this here blog. A spur of the moment chainsaw moment. I didn’t capture any photos and vowed to correct that with the next one.

And here is the next one.

Baby got back, right?

Take a closer look at how abnormal this has grown.

From certain angles it could suffice.

But it was time to move on.

So off with its head, so I could start removing branch by branch, irritated wrists and forearms be damned.

And then the chainsaw chain got jammed and shut itself down. No worries, it’s an electric chainsaw, I’m not that rugged.

I spent a good hour attempting to fix it while sitting in the grass, frying my arse off. I tried a few You Tube videos without any luck. It’s still not fixed a day later and this is what I’m stuck with, a jacked up bonsai.

I moved and divided some Ajuga instead. And then it rained. Which was ideal.

To be continued.

One determined gardener

Posted on by Posted in Blooms, Garden problems, My garden, Perennials, Spring .

I have been at it for the last two weeks. I’m talking like, psychotic. Long sweaty stretches of moving plants, weeding, cutting back and cutting ties with plants (some that required a chainsaw) that had seen better days. Also, short dashes of five- minute weeding sprints between work meetings, ten-minute watering’s before the work day kicked off and three minutes hyper dashes spent moving a Joe Pye Weed a few inches to the left and a boxwood a foot forward because my OCD won’t subside until it’s done. If any increment of time was found, it was spent outside.

The motivation? Simple answer: panic. Panic is the motivator in all aspects of my life. With the garden, it was panic that things were getting away from me and soon I’d throw in the towel and give up like I’d done the previous few years. Not this time. I’ve come too far to not see this through to the point where I’ve envisioned it going for the better part of two decades.

The routine:

Open garage door while shoving a protein bar down my throat.

Slip on boots, hoping no snakes, mice or spiders found their way inside. Boots never tied. Time saved too vital.

Pull on nitrile gloves, fully aware poison ivy juices still reside on the palm and fingers.

Grab orange Home Depot bucket, chuck trowel and pruners inside.

Grab spade and twirl to show I meant business.

Head outside and wait for the inspiration to wash over me.

Kick ass.

I should also add that we’re expecting rain every day for the next week or so and that provided additional inspiration to get as much done as possible, physical well being be damned. I snapped the photo below to try and capture the impending bad weather which is really awesome weather as I can’t wait to sit back and watch every plant drink the H2O while I revel in my accomplishments.

The funny thing is I feel like I’ve done so much and transformed the garden for the better, but the common eye wouldn’t notice a thing. I imagine my wife thinking, “You’ve been working out there for hours on end and honestly, I see little difference.” She’d never say it as she’s too kind and knows I’d never recover, but I know she’s thinking it.

For example, this is the view at the end of the driveway. I’ve mentioned previously that I didn’t like how the “legs” of the Baptisia were exposed. Well a few weeks later and the Baptisia exploded; legs for days. For whatever reason, I had planted three here a few years back where there was really only room for one. I wonder how I can be so dumb after all of these years gardening.

As you probably know, moving a Baptisia is impossible. The taproot digs way freaking deep. So instead of taking on that herculean task, I … gulp … cut them all to the ground now that they’ve finished blooming. It killed me but I couldn’t take it any longer. The results:

I added a bunch of new annuals at the front, exposed three grasses that had been buried by the aggressive Baptisias and even found a white coneflower that had been growing inside one of the Baptisia plants. I also dug up a Clethra that had suckered badly and was half dead. That gave me room to add a Smokebush I had sitting in a container on my deck. Here, I hope it will be sheltered from the deer and thrive.

I’ll deal with the long term ramifications of the Baptisia at another time.

This one had me hot and bothered for a few years. Another example of not thinking long term when I constructed the vignette. Zebra grasses, IMHO, are fine as specimen plantings but are too much when grouped together. Here I had planted three when they were tiny plugs and they took off overnight. I hated how they looked.

So out went two, as did my back on multiple occasions, and we ended up with this:

Five mountain mints and a Little Bluestem ‘Chameleon’ in its place. This is going to kick so much ass when done and after the plants have been established. I can’t wait to share with you all.

BTW, the two zebra grasses I moved … here’s what I discovered to my horror a few days ago.

Might want to stay on top of the watering next time wanna-be-master-gardener.

Quick aside: I’m obsessed with all type of Mountain Mint. I’m still not sure what this one is, but it spreads freely all over my garden and I let it do whatever it wants. An absolute critter magnet and tough SOB.

I went hog wild on the annuals and right back to what I had planted last year in the pic below. I can’t get enough of the verbena and love how they look with a bluish grass (in this case a Panicum ‘Cloud Nine’) behind them. While I planted six of these, there were three others in the same area after seeding from last year’s plants. The gorgeous purple gift that keeps on giving.

There’s a lot going on here but I’ll spare you all the details. I moved around the Meadowsweet for maximum viewing pleasure and to ideally, to layer the garden bed appropriately by height. I like, so far.

Two notes:

  1. The window all the way to the right is the window I stare out of 8 hours a day while working from home. Because of that, this is the section of garden that is the most critiqued.
  2. The container in the lower right is a grass gifted from my brother-in-law who lives down the street. Aren’t I a lucky dude?

In:

  1. Annuals that should spill on to the sidewalk. I can’t remember the name because I’m annual clueless.

Out:

  1. Three Liatris that never thrived in this partial sun spot.
  2. Four Speedwell that had seen better days – RIP
  3. A variegated Northern Sea Oats that had become no longer variegated and seeded like a mutha f’er.

And here’s where the Liatris was relocated to a full sun spot.

I should also add that the Liatris blooms reached towards the sun in their old spot and that drove me insane. I need them to be more upright. Hopefully no problem, no more.

Also, forgot to RIP the variegated NSO. Look how pretty she looks in this photo.

I removed a ton of poison ivy all over the garden and paid for it with a rash on every appendage. I haven’t addressed it here yet. It’s comingled with almost all of my Catmint and I need to make a call soon. Eradicate it all and start fresh? Or try to save the catmint and keep the poison ivy at bay?

To be continued …

I love these Carex. Hold on one second.

Pause, pause, pause.

I’m back. Ran to the garage to find the tag and can’t locate it. Inexcusable. Not sure of the name but I will find it and let you know ASAP. They do claim to deal with full sun and if that claims holds true, I’ll be loading up on it as a groundcover all over the garden.

Have an awesome weekend my friends.

The to-do list

Posted on by Posted in Garden problems .

Shopping for plants is a nice escape this time of year. It’s easy to get lost in the flowers and lush foliage and the imagined scents of spring. I was there the past few weeks and loved every second of it.

But today it was time to get down to business. Time to get serious. Time to start thinking about what needs to get done in the garden in just a few short months from now. It’s never to soon to start building the to-do list.

Here are 5 things I added to that list today:

Move that shrub

This Salix ‘Hakuro nishiki’ (Dappled Willow) has got to be moved. Even after cutting it to the ground in spring and selective pruning throughout the year, I can’t control it.

Many of you have pointed out that these are shallow rooted and somewhat easy to relocate so I’m not too concerned with the hard labor required.

I’m more concerned with the deer gaining easier access with this moved further away from the house.

But that won’t stop me.

Too much of a good thing

I love me some yellow or chartreuse foliage. It can pop when sited appropriately and really brightens up a shaded area of the garden.

But too much of it lumped together is a turn-off.

I need to strategically relocate and/or rearrange these Heuchera because I can’t stand looking at them in their current state.

Of course if the rabbits keep gnawing away at them I may not need to worry at all.

Divide and conquer

I can’t put it off any longer.

I have so many ornamental grasses that need to be divided. These are some serious clumps of grass so it won’t be easy, but the reward at the end is more grasses.

That is always a good thing.

Anyone want some? Make your reservations now. Yes, I’m serious.

Break it up

I shared this photo with you all back in the summer. You all gave me great suggestions on how I can improve the look of this section of garden.

Time to add some height.

Time to add some larger leaved plants.

Time to add some non-plants for interest.

This is what makes gardening so much fun.

Thank you.

Selective weed control

I believe the photo below is Bull Thistle. It is a biennial, rosettes year one and blooming/setting seed in year two. It’s hard to not allow this to flower when you see a scene like this one.

Canada thistle is another story. I need to stick with the “chopping it down to the ground regularly” strategy so it can burn itself out.

The point being I need to develop weed prevention plans by getting educated on the specific weeds I need to eradicate. Included in there are no chemicals and possibly allowing some weeds to stick around where it makes sense.

Time to evolve even more.

A more honest view of the garden

Posted on by Posted in Garden problems, Spring .

I have one knee buried in the dirt and the other comfortably resting on a surprisingly smooth rock.

I’m profusely sweating with drips of said sweat some how finding their way to the inside of my eyelids.

I’m slightly shaking from too much coffee but then shaking more worrying about my shaking.

I’m strategically using my broad back to block the sun from shining on the Astilbe below so I can snap this picture without blinding sunlight.

Why the hell am I doing this again? Oh yeah, to capture that red stem up close and demonstrate how that lends additional interest to this perennial.

I first lay flat on my back on the front sidewalk. It’s 2:45 and my son’s bus will arrive home soon so I have to get this done quickly. I slowly raise my torso so I’m only a few inches off of the scalding hot stone that lines my front walkway. The abs are getting a killer workout, but I barely have enough strength to push the appropriate button on the camera. Thank God I pulled it off, because I got this gem.

Why is this a gem again? That’s right, I wanted to show how these Carex appalachica have a beautifully airy quality, especially when you can view those oh so slight seed heads/flowers.

I try to run at least twice a week. It isn’t a run as much as it is a lot of sprinting and walking. I learned a while back that high intensity intervals are generally better for you than steady state running. So I jog for five minutes and then alternate between 30 second sprints and a minute walk. The entire thing takes close to 40 minutes. I take the exact same path every time. I don’t why these details are necessary, but it’s too late, I’ve already given them to you.

I’m not going to lie, these runs are dangerous. It’s in the middle of nowhere and if I were to ever be attacked or even fall, no one will locate me for days.

Every time I take this turn, I wonder what evil lies on the other side.

Gunshots from the local shooting range keep me running fast and there is a high probability that I may be mistaken for an intruder by paranoid neighbors.

There is a reason for the build-up here, I promise.

By the time I am done with my run, I’m physically and emotionally shot. I can barely walk by the time I make it back to my street.

But there is one final hurdle and this one is the worst of all.

I have to do my best to not view my garden from the street. I’ve gotten really good at staring at the ground until I am at the front door. But every once in a while I make the mistake and take a glance. I’m already exhausted and sore and angry after the run, but the reality of seeing my garden from afar pushes me over the edge.

I realize that the majority of the photos on this blog are close-ups of the garden. That is the best way for you the reader to truly understand the attributes of a plant. It’s also the easiest way for me to make things look all pretty. The best way for me to present my garden in an appealing way. I can hide the fact that most of my perennials start growing late in the season and therefore lead to many open spots. I can hide the warts, and the air conditioner and the not-neatly-spooled-hose.

The close-ups also allow me to highlight plant details that differentiate the more unique and dynamic ones from the mundane. Hence the need for the red stemmed photo and the grass close-up presented at the beginning of this post. I love these details and have made it the focus of this blog for 7+ years now.

But my garden as a whole, that is a different animal.

This isn’t a “woe is me” complaint, but my garden and property is large and open. It provides limitless opportunities which is exciting, but also crippling and overwhelming. The vastness more often than not, dwarfs the garden; the reason why I duck my head after a run. Denial. 

I can be in the garden and be proud of all that I’ve constructed the past decade or so, but once I take steps back and look at it in relation to the property, I become disheartened and yearn for a small and intimate space.

So with that in mind, I’m going to present a few photos of my garden after taking a walk backwards. I’m not quite ready to show a view from the street, it’s too soon for that. This is just the first step in my rehabilitation.

There will be no further comments to accompany the photos, just an opportunity for me to allow these to be out in internet land and be comfortable with it.

A truer and more honest perspective of my garden.

I’m scared shitless but happy to put it out there.

 

 

 

The latest and not always greatest in the garden

Posted on by Posted in Blooms, Critters, Garden problems, My garden, Summer .

Some observations from out in the garden:

This white bee balm is the only one to have survived last winter and while it is nice to see it blooming, it honestly doesn’t do much for me and the powdery mildew is real bad, worse than with all of the other bee balm. We don’t know until we try, right?

white bee balm

 

Right plant for the right location = happiness, as seen with the Physostegia (Obedient Plant) below. This first photo was taken back in May when I dug up and divided a massive batch of these and relocated them to my newly extended and very empty garden bed.

divided obedient

Two months later and they are thriving in a very wet and full sun location. I am very psyched for the massive pink display to arrive next month.

obedient vivid

 

You’ve all seen all of my numerous pics of Veronica ‘Royal Candles’ and read my raving reviews of this perennial but in the spirit of my last post and with full disclosure, here is the reality of the “legs” on these right now.

veronica bad

Fortunately, I’ve shielded most of them with other low lying plants so the blooms remain the attraction.

veronica good

 

I love how one ‘Karl Foerster’ grass (Calamagrostis) can break up a mass of perennials and not only lend a different height/uprightness, but a different texture as well.

front bed

 

I cleared this area of nasty Canada Thistle by cutting them all at soil level and not by attempting to pull out the roots like a dope which has failed me miserably for years now since it actually multiplies the number of weeds when pieces of root break off.

thistle path

I will now finally track the results properly. Here is one example of the cutting.

thistle cut

And about one week later. I’m going to now cut it back again soon and will continue to do so until it kills itself by sapping all of the plant’s energy. Or so I hope. More to come.

thistle

 

I just purchased a few ‘Delft Lace’ Astilbes solely because I fell in love with the red stems and red tinged foliage. I’ll be sure to track this one for you and hopefully I don’t fry them since you know, they need constant moisture and it is the dead of summer. Smart.

delft astilbe

 

My attempt at a path with a true destination worth visiting.

 

These purplish bee balm are incredible right now and are my favorite current place in the garden. 

planter bed 2

 

planter bed

 

bee balm 2

They are bringing in a ton of visitors. 

hummingmoth 2

 

butterfly bee balm 2

 

Check out all of the action with this video.

QOTD – Where do you purchase most of your plants? And I want specific names and locations please.

Thank you.

 

Insta-guilt

Posted on by Posted in Garden problems .

Humblebrag alert – I was fortunate to have my garden featured on the Fine Gardening “Garden Photo of the Day” blog today. You can see it here. The comments from the readers are above and beyond and I truly appreciate the feedback knowing how much effort I’ve put into my garden. The years of blood and sweat and stitches and ticks and sketches and research and frustration and false elation is all worth it.

But I feel uncomfortable with the praise at the same time.

As I mentioned in a recent post, I’ve been all in on Instagram of late and enjoy how easy it is to share photos and interact with other hardcore plant freaks, not to mention the creativity involved with the pics themselves. I enjoy tinkering with various filters and the macro capabilities through my phone are even better than what I can do with my “real” camera. I’ve received great advice and wonderful feedback on Instagram and again, it is affirmation that I must be doing something right.

But now I suffer from Insta-Guilt.

If others only knew how rough a good portion of my garden looks, they may second guess their praise. It’s so easy to take bits and pieces of the garden and mash them together to make it look like it is magazine worthy. Is it our/my responsibility to paint a more realistic picture of what goes into creating and maintaining a garden? In doing so, does that put other gardeners, especially newbies, at ease and allow them to push on without the thought that they may have a black thumb? This is a question I’ve been chewing on for years and I’m still not sure what the right answer is.

On the flip side, do people simply want to escape when they are scrolling through Instagram photos? Do most enjoy thumbing through 50 photos in 30 seconds with the occasional click of the heart as a “like”? Is it not the right place to expose reality and the ugly underbelly of gardening life?

Like everything in life, does the answer fall somewhere in between the two extremes? Relish in the beauty that is nature and that is plants but keep it all in check by throwing in a dash of “what can go wrong” or “here is what powdery mildew looks like”.

Here’s a real life example.

You cannot deny the beauty of the blooms on this Dwarf Sneezeweed.

sneezeweed mariachi

“Wow“, John Q Reader says, “I need to get me some of these.” And he does just that and sticks them in the ground and waits for those perfect blooms and the perfect looking plant.

Except he wakes up one day and sees this.

sneeze

He then curses himself, labels himself as a non-green-thumb and potentially gives up on gardening. A bit extreme? I guess so, but where does the responsibility lie with telling him that this is super common with Sneezeweed? The seller? That will never happen if they hope to stay in business so does it then shift to those of us who write about plants? Me thinks so. Maybe it is “yes these blooms are beautiful but you better make sure you hide their potentially ugly legs by planting something smaller in front of it.”

Example number 2.

Bee balm blooms are exceptional and plenty in summer and do they ever draw in the bees and butterflies.

bee

But buyer beware, the foliage will more than likely suffer from powdery mildew and things can get ugly real fast.

bee-2Bbalm8

I’ve done a decent job of exposing my garden warts from the inception of this blog back in 2010, but it was always done in more of a comical tone with self-deprivation. I don’t know that I’ve been direct enough in doling out “what can go wrong”.

When the narrative of a blog post takes me there going forward, I really want to focus on highlighting the flaws of a plant or where mistakes can easily be made. This includes really exposing my garden and what it really looks like. A step back from the close-up shots is necessary. It may hurt to be so honest but I think it will pay dividends in the long run.

QOTD – do you agree with my assessment of a more realistic view of our gardens is needed?

 

One flower, one foliage and one fail

Posted on by Posted in Blooms, Critters, Foliage, Garden problems .

THE FLOWER – nothing carries a more powerful scent in the garden right now than the flowers of Viburnum carlesii ‘Aurora’ (Koreanspice viburnum). When people knock at my door, I take my time answering just so I can watch their nose twitch a bit, see them turn around and try to locate the origin of the smell and then eventually ask “What smells so good out here?” 

viburnum aurora

 

THE FOLIAGE – This is my first year with Sambucus racemosa ‘Lemony Lace’ (Elderberry) planted in the garden (was in a container last year) and it was the quickest of all the deciduous shrubs to emerge this spring. I’m in love with it even at only a foot in height right now.

elderberrry

 

THE FAIL – The Eastern Tent Caterpillars are back on the Crabapple tree for a second consecutive year. Last year I simply slashed open the “nests” and let the birds have their way with the caterpillars and the tree seemed unaffected by it all. Will do more of the same this year.

bag of bugs

Discovering Gary Vaynerchuk

Posted on by Posted in Blog stuff, Garden problems .

I’m feeling all sorts of salty and fired up today so enjoy the ride because even I don’t know where it’s going.

I despise so called “gurus” and “life coaches” and the like. I see right through their bullshit and know it is all about them cashing in on your weakness and their “special empowerment package now on sale for only $99.99”. While I’m entertained by their ability to sell their spiel passionately, I can’t buy in. You can tell me again and again that I need to believe in myself but it is only me who can do a damn thing about it. I already know that and don’t require the reminder thank you.

But then I discovered Gary Vaynerchuk. Dude … wow.

Check that, I didn’t discover him, my wife pushed me to give him a listen. That woman is ahead of the curve like no one else I know. She was on to Pinterest before all of you, she knew that The Weekend was going to hit it big before I even knew who they were and of course she married this prize before all the other ladies even had a shot. Big ups to her.

Like everything else on my to-do list in life, I procrastinated and put off giving him a shot for another day and then another day. Rinse and repeat. But on my way home from work last week, I was in a shitty mood and desperate for someone to smack me upside the head so I could wake up and get my head on straight. I never speak of my “day job” here and don’t plan to now, but just know I’m in a bit of a work midlife crisis. It’s no one’s fault but my own, but some times I need to be reminded of that.

I kid you not, within 1 minute of listening to this podcast …

Gary Vaynerchuk works harder than you do

… I was completely smitten with this guy. It was immediate and it was really f’n powerful. It’s as if he was talking directly to me through Bluetooth and had some serious intel on my backstory. There was no BS and he was as direct as humanly possible. It also doesn’t hurt that he is a Jersey guy, right around my age and curses like a sailor. I could relate to all he was spewing and he had me. I was like a red-bulled 13 year old when I got home from work that night.

“Gary said this and then he said this and I’m totally like, amen brother and then he described this kind of person who is me to a tee and I’m like I can do that and I’m ready to change and work harder and be awesome and I need to go on Instagram more and never sleep too.”

Since last Friday, I’ve consumed endless YouTube videos of his daily show, talks at conferences,etc. I listen to him on my headphones while weeding. And you know what, I’ve never weeded with more passion. The energy is palpable as is his way of looking at the world. I feel inspired and angry at the same time. Angry in a good way. Angry at myself for not pushing harder in life. Angry for not being more passionate in what I believe in and not taking more chances.

While he may be an entrepreneur and smart as a whip businessman, his themes extend to all parts of life. Self evaluation and awareness trump all else. Empathy is the key to life. Run with your strengths and don’t worry about your weaknesses. Bet on yourself. And my personal favorite, work harder than everyone else and once you get to where you want to go, exhibit endless amounts of patience. Others may have shared these same tenets, but some how his delivery makes it seem more authentic. He’s done it and can back it up. No BS pictures of yachts and Dom on Instagram. I implore you to try him out if you haven’t already.

Can I sustain this? Who knows. Maybe it is just a temporary jolt. Either way, I’m enjoying the ride and desperate for it to manifest itself into my life in all sorts of ways. I don’t even know if I used the word “manifest” right in that last sentence but guess what, I don’t friggin care, I went for it and I’m proud of even attempting to use the word “manifest”. Thanks Gary Vee.

Where is this going today? Am I angling to suddenly become an entrepreneur? Am I quitting my day job to join the hustle? Do I have a killer business idea? I don’t have the answer to any of these questions yet but I feel inspired, inspired in a way I’ve never felt before. I want to push my limits. I want to try things and fail and learn from them. I want to set ridiculous goals. I want to be more angry as a means to be more real.

But more than anything else, I want to push this blog/venture further than it has gone before. Do I know what that means yet? A bit. I’ve been doing this for over six years. Other than with my marriage, I’ve never been this committed and able to sustain anything this long in my life. That tells me something. I love writing, taking photos, playing in the dirt, making you laugh, being all high brow and low brow at the same time. Now we see if we can push it even further. Again, exploit the strengths and ignore the weaknesses.

With all that in mind, allow me to tell you why this photo sparked something as I was uploading it to my laptop today.

daffodil 4

A pretty flower, right? Surely. But you know what, I have given this and its brethren very little notice since they bloomed a few days ago. Because this is what I really see when I walk out my front door right now.

daffodil 5

All of the blooms face away from view and truthfully, the ten or so blooms don’t really make that much of an impact. Give it another few days and their inevitable decline will commence. And guess what? I’ll leave the foliage up all spring since it feeds the bulbs for what I hope will be an even bigger flower show next spring. But I won’t show you that foliage because it isn’t pretty. Amazing how the camera will avoid that area and keep it out of view. I can’t help but feel like I’m not keeping it real.

The point here? Gardening is f’n hard. It really is and I’m finding it harder and harder to sell others on how to make it easy. I can enjoy these daffodils for their brief show but ultimately, I envision them multiplying in years to come and me coming up with a combo that makes them truly pop. But that will take time and tinkering and you know what, I will love every second of it. That is where the fun comes in, that is where the payoff comes from. Then I can take a killer photo of that combo and really feel proud of what I’ve accomplished. Full effort and patience.

You will never see me push “5 low maintenance plants” or “ten steps for the perfect garden” because they don’t exist. That is horseshit marketing of the finest degree. More than ever, I want to stress the necessary work and time and effort that is required. I want to tell you to ignore those fleeting blooms on a plant that only last one week (contrary to what you are sold) and enjoy the texture that same plant has to offer for 20+ weeks following. I want to show you what failed and do my best to determine why. I’m in the planning stage (yes, planning) of how to utilize my Go Pro camera for near daily (a bit of a hedge) videos of the grind. I think you will like it.

One last one …

Sure the blooms on my Serviceberry are a welcome sign right now.

serviceberry

serviceberry 3

But if I ‘m keeping it real, the more important and honest question here is where did I go wrong or how do I determine why the shrub/tree truly looks like this.

serviceberry 2

Those bare branches are hard to hide each year.

More of that to come …