Saturday, March 24, 2007

Me, myself and l as the Social Gardener


Deep inner peace flows in with the fresh spring air ~ only to be plugged short when the garden fork goes straight through my foot! Ouch.. Horizon ye should have worn yer wellies!
l guess the nicest thing about gardening is that it gets me away from everyone else. Enjoying also the fact that l can wear whatever is comfortable while pretending it's just my gardening garb. ;)
Ironically most gardeners, like myself, do in fact enjoy a little 'over the dyke* banter' with the neighbour or local passer by- basically any other soul with a gardener's eye for creativeness!
The weekend visit to the garden tip with other like minded gardening people also draws out the communal spirit - 'chewing the fat'* uninvited about what mulch is best and, 'oh, has someone left that chimney pot?!'-lol.
As for the lawn- l leave that to hubby. For most British men it is important to mow ones own meadow no matter how small. Lawn mowing in this country has become a national obsession. You can cut and blow dry using the hovercraft method or go for the more serious petrol motor, with grown-up metal that chop small rock to talcum powder! As for the father-in-law he zips around on his riding mower- a small bright red toy tractor but that's another story!
Sunny spring ~ sprightly Saturday ~ here l come!
(You know l was only kidding about my foot ;)

There can be no other occupation like gardening in which, if you were to creep up behind someone at their work, you would find them smiling. ~Mirabel Osler

*chew the fat/rag Slang
To talk together in a friendly, leisurely way; chat at length.
*Dyke/ a dry stone wall

19 comments:

Carole Burant said...

Horizon, I'm going to smack you for scaring me like that...I really thought you had hurt your foot! LOL I can't wait to be able to start working in my flower garden...just another couple of weeks and then I should be able to do so. As for the veggie garden, that can't be planted until the end of May or early June...our growing season is sooo short! Have fun gardening today:-) xox

Susie said...

You gave me a scare too! Bill uses that phrase "chewing the fat" quite often!! He's quite the talker...
xoxo

TJ said...

My landlady was just over and told me I could plant anything I wanted, anywhere I wanted...big grin all over my face...she is such a sweetie!! I want to be like her when I grow up!!
She's a talker too...while we chewed the fat her Hubby just went out the the car and patiently waited...lol!!
:-D

HLiza said...

If only that craze for lawn mowing can reach Malaysian men here! Here everybody will pay others to do that.. a lawnmower-selling business has to nearly close shop! LOL..
I can feel you really love gardening..

smileymamaT said...

Great photos of your family! I am really looking forward to gardening...there will be a garden as soon as I can find the lawn...for cutting the grass, I leave that 2 acres to SmileyDad, as he finally got his riding mower last year and he's oh-so-happy to do the lawn in only one day, finally!!!

Jeanette said...

Hi Horizon, I havent heard that saying "Chewing the Fat" since cocky was an egg.
and I did just that with a neighbour while my Grandson was mowing my lawns...

Anonymous said...

So glad you mentioned you were just kidding about the foot...I was beginning to worry. Ya silly girl.
Love your helper in the garden. Looks like he has some very good ideas.lol

Take care.
Hugs,
Connie

Sling said...

Jeez horizon!...I had visions of you pegged to the ground,walking in circles 'till you were rescued, ;)
"Chewing the fat" was a pretty commom saying on my mom's side of the family.
You've got me thinking that it may be that wee bit o' Scot in the bloodline.

Alice said...

Wonderful, wonderful posting; you've even stirred the latent gardening spirit in me again, even though it's Autumn here. I've never known a period of time (the last few months) when I've been so uninterested in gardening. I guess I just got tired of the constant challenge of trying to keep it looking good on minimal water. It still looks good, but of course, I want it to look better ....lol.

You are so right about gardeners chatting to anyone with the slightest interest in gardening, no matter where you meet them. We have a garden bed which runs right along the front pavement beside the road, and I have met and chatted to ever so many people as they've been walking by. The greatest thrill though is when young children or teenagers stop and talk about plants, etc. It makes my heart sing to think that they are already interested in plants and I hope they will continue to be.

I actually love mowing lawns (petrol rotary mower) but these days Richard mostly does them and also trims the edges with the whipper-snipper. It's still my job to weed, feed and water them, though.

So glad your feet are damage free - please see they stay that way. Go girl, and enjoy your Spring gardening!

Betty said...

Horizon,
Just popped in for a quick visit. I am visiting in Madison about 25 miles south of Athens where you lived. This afternoon we visited the Botannical Garden in Athens. Did you go there? It's beautiful. I'll have a posting on it soon, Lord willing.

Thank you for the sweet comment on the couple. I felt for your neighbor Maurice also........

Margaret said...

Hi Horizon, I had never thought about that, how true, there is always a smile on a gardeners face, at least there is on tbis one's. I am very happy as I am going to have a real garden once more I will be able to do before and after shots.
What a wonderful wee elf you have beside those daffodils.
Cheers and Hugs Margaret

weirdbunny said...

Saturday was fantastic here.I weeded my favourite border, with ease and pleasure listening to the birds sing. They were obviously very happy with the weather too, they seemed to sing so loud. There was a point when I was sitting drinking coffee on the gravel (tools around me , wellies kicked off), that I could actually fel the sunalmost burning through my tee-shirt. Not bad weather for march !!

Sandy Hatcher-Wallace said...

Glad to hear that you didn't really stab your foot!!!

I do the mowing at our house on my little red riding mower and Jimmy does the trimming with the weedeater.

I also love the quote by Mirabel Osler... and isn't that so true.

MissKris said...

Ah, gardening! My passion! And my neighbor Sharon and I spend a lot of time talking over the 'dyke' ourselves when we're out 'playing in the dirt'. In fact, I took a little walkabout the yard on Saturday and decided I'd pull the chickweed before it overtook everything and spent a happy hour out in the rain doing just that. With a smile on my face! :-D Now, there's a sign of a diehard gardener to me...happily yanking away in the rain with a sappy smile on their face. Either that, or it's time to commit me, haha! I know I commented on it recently, but I do so love your new look here, especially the heart in the sand. I wish I lived near ferry access...I have wonderful memories in childhood of ferry rides across the Columbia River near the mouth of it, crossing over from Washington State to Astoria, Oregon. Sadly, they built a huge bridge across it and shut down the ferries. Progress...BAH!

Sharon said...

I know how you feel about the garden. Just you and the flowers..no one telling you what to do next. Just enjoy and lisen to the birds singing. How wonderful.

clairesgarden said...

steel toe cap wellies!

Merle said...

Hello Horizon ~~ Glad your foot was undamaged. Great photo - is it Sam or just a picture? He looks busy !!
Sorry I haven't commented for a while. I get so tired last thing at night and I'm gettng OLD. I was very interested in your Irish background and Mc and Mac etc. I think of you as Scottish!! I had a Scottish boarder for 3 years, who I learnt to love dearly. He was brought to Australia when he was 14 with other "orphans" from the U.K. and even some German lads. They lived in a Boy's home near where I live and I have a great book about them and how they were lied to that their parents were dead, and the parents told the same thing.Sandy
came to Australia in 1956 and was taken to see the Olympic Games in Melbourne. (I only saw it on TV.)
Anyway, my friend died of a heart attack in 1996 and I do miss him saying he'd like a "wee cup of tea"
and lots of other things too.Sorry
I didn't mean to rave on so long, but have been going to tell you about my Scottish friend since I've
known you. I am so glad that Spring is getting you excited about your garden. Thank you so much for the very kind words you left on my blog and I feel the same about you, my blogging friend. You are very
special also Sarah. Take care, Much Love, Merle.

Memories Catcher said...

Beautiful shot.I like it!Great colors and details.Good job!

SnowWhite said...

loved the tardis, what happened to spidy is he on hols for a month or two lol. Could do with some of that choc too lol
xx
shona

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