Hello Rural Sprout readers, I have an invader in my garden.  I went out to check on my spinach the other day after I noticed a critter had been digging in my raised bed the night before.
My spinach is looking pretty darn good. And I patched up the spots that had been dug up and poked a few uprooted seedlings back in the dirt.  And that’s when I saw it.  Almost smack in the middle of my raised bed, there was a yellow…something…growing up out of the dirt. As soon as I saw it, I knew what it was, and I knew I hadn’t planted it. I waited a day or two to be sure, but in the end, there was
no doubt. It came up out of the ground yellow because it was in desperate need of chlorophyll. It had spent more than the normal amount of time in the dark, underground. It had traveled further than your average hyacinth to reach the top of that raised
bed. When I moved in last year, I inherited quite a few flower beds. All of them were, well, to be honest, they were a hot mess. Someone had planted spring bulbs at some point years ago. There had been some perennials at one point as well, but over time, everything succumbed to the Creeping Charlie and other
weeds. Essentially, the flower beds were mounds of vining weeds. When I made the decision to put a raised bed in that spot, I pulled up all the weeds, put down landscape cloth and then several inches of river rock. Then, I set up my raised bed. I put cardboard down in the bottom and a layer of old firewood before
adding soil to it. Â Â That means this little hyacinth had to push through landscape cloth, up through river rock, through the layer of cardboard, around or between firewood pieces and then up through about a foot of soil before it finally reached the surface and
the light.  Plants are amazing things. They’re tough and resilient.I had no idea there were bulbs in that spot; otherwise, I would have dug them up and moved them before putting down the raised bed there. What a trek! Instead of growing five or six inches up out of the earth, this thing had to grow nearly two feet and
around and through numerous obstacles. By the end of the week, it had already greened up and was getting ready to bloom. I needed this little invader to show up in my garden this week. This persistent little hyacinth is a reminder that when our world is turned upside down, and we find ourselves in unexpected darkness, if we keep on growing and striving, no matter the
obstacle, eventually, we will find the light again.Â
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Mulching flower beds is a sure sign that warmer weather has arrived each spring. Suddenly, everywhere…
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I'm a lazy gardener. I am, I'll admit it. If something is going to double my cucumber harvest, but it…
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One of my favorite things about gardening is the opportunity to start over. After a winter of…
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Mycorrhizae has become a popular organic tool for home gardeners to boost plant health and yield.…
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Did you miss a newsletter or want to read a few for inspiration? Find past newsletters here. Don't forget to check out our Facebook page for daily updates. That's all for this week, Rural Sprout Readers. |
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