Gardening starts early if you want good results. The first photo is from today, March 5th. And it is after I spent about an hour each of the past two days cutting dead stalks and flowers from last year. Ok, that’s not quite true because I got distracted today and decided that Claire needed a trim since her fur was so long it caught leaves when we were hiking and dragged on the ground. But we were out there for an hour each day and most of it was spent gardening!

The other two pictures are of the same flowerbed from June 14th of last year. What a transformation three months can make! Most of those plants are perennials, but don’t underestimate the work involved. There is still transplanting, splitting of plants, weeding, fertilizing, pruning, and mulching to be done. And did I mention the weeding, lol? During the summer I dead head and prune my roses about every two weeks. This seems to give the best results.

Our patio garden is completely fenced, so the dogs can come with me while I garden here. Otherwise, I would never get any work done. Cassius the greyhound naps on the patio furniture. The others usually lay on the cold flagstones in the shade, or under the Dawn Redwood. Although Claire is a busy girl and spends time watching the rock pile for chipmunks to chase. All of the dogs learn quickly to stay out of the flowerbeds. I will have to teach PeeWee, our newest addition, this skill. He learns quickly and I don’t anticipate a problem. He is only two and will almost certainly help Claire chase chipmunks.

The pictures of the beds in bloom almost make me ready for the flurry of gardening to come. But not quite. I am still resting. That’s why everything has its season.