Gardening With Mommy

The last time I planted flowers was literally the day I got pregnant with Zach. It was Hyacinth bulbs. When I found out I was pregnant, all gardening ended until this week. During the 6 months between my third miscarriage and getting pregnant I was trying to find distractions to focus on. The thing with OCD is you need something to obsess over and so I was trying to change my obsessions.This came in handy. I started collecting favorite recipes from family and books and writing my own down. It's a recipe binder and I'm still missing a few from my checklist but nothing big. I also included notes on roasting cook times and hints and stuff like that. Another obsession was gardening.

I went to the National Gardening Association's website and started collecting pictures and information on any flower and bush I see around here and tried to learn what I could about gardening. I told my upstairs neighbor about all the flowers I'd like to plant in front of our window and she agreed. But earlier this week we both noticed the hyacinths didn't bloom this year and thanks to the October storm ruining a Lilac bush near our space and her having the landscapers do a banzai look to this other formally full bush (in the picture below), there was just a large patch of dirt (disclaimer: she only agreed to the bush thing because another neighbor had first had the landscapers do that to the matching bush on the other side of the stairs so this way at least the bushes match). We agreed Zach is old enough for me to go back to having flowers.

For the summer I used to get Marigolds and tend them carefully. They look small now in the pots but will grow and now they take up a lot of space. My decorations are mixed in and behind them. For the Fall, I'll go back to getting Mums (1 yellow, 1 Orange, and 1 Red) and my usual 9 pumpkins. Squirrels eat at the pumpkins though so I explained to her that I'll get the pumpkins but as they get eaten it will start looking less full. But there isn't anything there in winter so that's understandable. In early to mid spring new bulb flowers will bloom (bulbs are planted at the end of September). The current plan is a mix of yellow Tulips, white Hyacinths, and purple Tulips. To fill a large space I got a Forsythia bush and planted it. Zach helped.

For Mother's Day we get our Mother's garden flowers every year. My mom said the best day for her to go was May 7th. I decided not to wait that long so on Thursday when Zach woke up from his nap we went to get the Marigolds and Potting Soil. He was in awe while we where there and had so much fun helping me collect rocks for drainage and putting the soil in the pots. He already loves watching me water the flowers (started last month with the Hyacinths). When Paula came home, she said the Marigolds were great but we needed something for excess space in front of a basically dead from being chopped up Lilac bush so we agreed on the Forsythia (the bush with the yellow flowers in the picture below). Zach woke up early Friday, excited because he knew we were getting and planting it in the morning. They gave me free delivery since it's so close and they know me well (but I did tip) and we planted it ourselves after digging a hole. You know how much three year old boys love digging holes. Zach helped and played while I worked on the harder part of the rock removal. I only have hand spades (gardening shovels) so this took a lot longer then if I had a big garden shovel. He's so proud and loves looking at the garden.

It occurred to me that I need this distraction now. It's back to that wanting another child but knowing we can't afford one thinking. This gives me something to care for and obsess over that benefits us and our neighbors. Paula said she didn't expect this so soon but appreciates it. Now that Zach's in school tending will be easier then when he was smaller. I had fun teaching him about gardening.