I know that it's been a while since the last garden episode but...well, get off my back.
This episode is brought to you by The Self (Italy's version of the Home Depot and the only shop open on Sundays to buy flowers) and my parents who are visiting next weekend and I don't want to give me shit about my neglected garden.
Ok, that's just a grown woman trying to blame her parents for her own problems...this one being slack. I HAVE neglected my garden.
This episode's challenge: what can you do with 50euro, a shovel, and an infinite amount of optimism.
Here are some before photos. That being, before slack. Before the Self. Before I spent the morning on the beach with my girlfriends. Before the imminent visit from my parents. I'll just give you the highlights, or rather, lowlights, as they were.
That's the whole picture, in all its neglected glory.
hmmm? Who can kill geraniums? Seems I can. Me, I can.
Oh, look! Another dead one.
I call this one "empty broken pot meant to be artistic, planted in ground". Perhaps it worked 6 months ago when I put it in that hole in the patio to disguise the, well, the HOLE IN THE PATIO. It's not really working any more, you know, as purely an artistic piece.
Here we have composting Cornwell style. That would be the morning's coffee grounds on severely dog trampled earth among severely dog trampled rose bushes. Lovely.
So I spent the day pulling weeds, picking stones, turning earth, strategically placing big rocks, and planting.
E ecco! (and here we are!)
a little color. I'm sure that mum will thrive given the compost and that dog fence.
check out the new strategically planted pots in this photo! Ok, it's just one pot that broke in half when I took the dead geranium out of it. Come on! Remember the 50euro budget?! A girl does what she can.
Newly placed big rocks to fill the space that my 50euro budget couldn't AND a great dog deterrent! See that big dog run away!
Awww. Doesn't that look sweet? A little more color in the former home of my tomato plants.
Ummm...well...that's it. Ok, there are some hanging potted plants that wouldn't photograph so well in the dark. It seems that the flash on the camera needs something closer to reflect on than the mountains on the other side of the valley. And the empty pot got the old geraniums...I decided I wasn't ready to give up on them (or myself) yet.
(mental note to self - me, not the store The Self - if you're really not going to slack, don't spend the majority of your gardening day at the beautiful Italian Riviera beach when there are many hours of gardening to do and you finish after dark. Particularly if you want to photograph them for your blog.)
And there you have this episode of This Ol' Garden. Impressive, no? I'm sure my parents will be gushing.
Ps. If you're wondering what the hell I spent 50euro on, like, are mums THAT expensive here?! No, they aren't. I also had to buy tons of potting soil. And a new door mat that will welcome the folks into the house so they don't spend too much time enjoying my landscape architecture.
Next OliveKnitting blog will focus on interior improvements.
Pss. I hope you all took the time (all 9 minutes) to listen to Arlo's accompaniment (the video of the day). I would like to thank Arlo - nice song, fun dialog. And my husband for introducing me to, among other things, this song, Arlo, and playing along with me in this life leading to a garden near the Italian Riviera that I get to work inch by inch.
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