digging in

Quite literally, this morning the kids and I have been digging in. Although there are lots of things around the house that are probably a higher priority (like those boxes of craft supplies that need to be unpacked in the basement) I can resist making at least a start on the gardening. I've been starved of digging time for the past year and after seeing how beautifully our Charlottesville garden has matured on our flying visit, I've been itching to get my fingers dirty.

While my dad and I have been making headway in the blackberry patch-soon-to-be-vegetable garden, the next stage of that is going to require some heavier equipment. Like a back hoe, to really make it work. And that will have to wait till the blackberries are done fruiting (why waste perfectly delicious fruit after all). So today we worked on the front of the house, putting in two beautiful hydrangeas, one a birthday gift from my parents and kids, the other a birthday gift from myself (the first one needed a friend!)

Now that I've dug two good sized holes in my yard, I understand why every path and border that already exists on our property is edged with rocks. There are a lot of rocks. A LOT of rocks. But since we are hoping to go for an organic, woodland vibe in the yard, that's just find, if a little rough on the shovel. So, two plants down and half the bed dug so far. I think once we finish clearing the grass and moss from the rest of the front of the house, I'll poke around the forest a little and harvest some ferns to plant in with the hydrangeas. You can never have too many ferns in a woodland garden, right? As for the rest, I'm going to have some learning to do. I have no idea what to plant in a Vermont flower garden, it's a whole new zone for me - zone 4 to be precise. Time to order a few new gardening books. More books, how awful!