A Clueless Gardener in a real garden

Spring is in the air and the birds and bees doing what they need to do; as nature intended. There is a distinct sound of spring for me - people gardening, lawn mower going off somewhere, and chatter coming from neighbours nearby as they sit around in their porches.

As spring broke, I began to see the garden slowly come to life. It was a welcoming sight after a dreadful winter. Then I started worrying - what do I trim and what do I throw or pull out? I was still learning how to keep a garden back in Leesville and now I was suddenly thrown into a smorgasbord of flora (compared to what I had back home in my virgin garden). I was afraid I may pull out and discard the wrong plants. It was time to ask for help. I usually try not to bother the landlords because of my lack of fluency of the language (otherwise they would have had me hanging out in their apartment from the time we met in December). However, I did not worry so much when I found out that their son, their walking translator, was around. Eager to help me out, they were there the next day after I made that gardening-911 call.

The son took care of cleaning out some icky green stuff from the top of the pond while his parents showed me what needs trimming. Luckily, I sought their help. What I thought were weeds turned out to be a bed of beautiful tiny blue flowers.

The parents trimmed and threw away lots of weeds and dead leaves. I kept telling them that I will do the rest (with the help of Jochen, the interpreter) and just show me what I need to do and take care of. Either they did not trust this clueless gardener or they just loved what they were doing. Within two hours, they had done half the garden.

They left behind a green house too and initially I thought there were weeds taking over that place. It turned out to be parsley! I told you I was a clueless gardener. Anyway, suddenly the mother had a bright idea. She said "let's go shopping for some salad to plant." Jochen, of course, translated and went on to say that his mother would like take me to the store where we can get them. The father wanted to help me get my vegetable patch going. I thought Jochen was going to accompany us but learned that he will stay back and help his father clean up more. Just then, I panicked and wondered where is the thunderstorm when you need it. I could not avoid this trip to the store and did not want to offend her. So, I got into the car with her and off we went.

It wasn't too bad. I managed to speak some German. But boy! it took some effort. When we got to the store, it got a little easier. I was so captivated by the beauty around me. All I kept saying was "schoen" (beautiful). That alone killed some good minutes and saved me from struggling to form a sentence. After we bought what she needed, she paid (told me it was on her), we got in the car with our prized salads and headed home. When we arrived at the house, almost everything looked trimmed and clean. The biggest surprise - they got the fountain working. It was such a welcoming sight.

After four weeks of taking care of the rest (a little more pruning, trimming and mowing the lawn), I have this garden now. (If you are on my list in Facebook, you would have seen these already).

I am now going to sit in my porch and enjoy a cup of tea.