Gardening in the Dark, or, Too Much Fun to Go Inside

When I began this project, way back, um, two months ago, it was light well past 8pm, and I often didn’t make it home for dinner until 9pm or later. Then, a quick shower, a little couch time with my darling husband, and off to bed for me. I was happily gardening eight or sometimes nine hours a day, and it was great. I loved finishing my day, watching the sun set over my lovely garden, wearing a tank top and shorts... sigh. Those were the days.

I was also racing the calendar for planting, transplanting, separating and all the related miscellany if having blooms this coming Spring is the plan, which, yes, as I check it, that is exactly the plan. So, the long days weren’t just fun, they were necessary.

Roll out now to the weeks after we have turned out clocks back, and while I do adore waking up in the light (because, truth be told, I am clearly part bird because if my alarm goes off and it’s still dark outside, I just cannot get myself going), I do not love being shut out of my garden at 5pm. It’s just too early! I’m not done! And I’m in long pants, long-sleeved shirts, and sometimes *gasp* even a jacket. I guess I have to admit Summer is finally over. Ah, well.

So, I have re-arranged my work schedule, which I am fortunate enough to have the option of doing, and now I garden in the morning, and come home in the dark. It’s not perfect, but so far, it’s working. I feel for all my gardening friends who work full-time and only get to visit their gardens ever-so-briefly as they leave the house in the mornings. The slight silver lining is that gardens are winding down for Winter, too, and aren’t as spectacular as they are in other seasons, so, if we have to miss seeing it, we’re mostly missing leaves dying and falling off. (See? Not so bad, right?)

The longer evening also means there’s more time for me to do the paperwork portion of this project, which is my inventory, and layouts. I’m using XL for both right now, but at some point I may do something more artistic with my layouts... I can’t help it, 30 years as a designer, and just typing names into boxes lacks the verve and excitement I feel when I am standing in front of those beds, cooing over my lovely rhizomes. I know I’m not the only one who’s like this, I just know some of you doodle and sketch your gardens...

Not long after I finished the planting and paperwork of what was going to be “The Whole Project” I found myself walking around my yard and noticing named iris in pots, and remembering the names of some others that were planted in beds, and I felt the irresistible urge to expand the original project, and bring more of my iris to the Project site. I originally thought I’d bring them all over, but after digging up something like 400 rhizomes, I decided maybe to think of the project as do-able in phases. So, Phase II began.

The original layout was “U” shaped, with a large empty space in the center for admiring all the beds/pools/tires at once. That empty space became the Phase II location:

We’d had some rain, and the weeds were starting to come up by the trillions, so I had to spend some time with the hoe, and then of course I put down a generous amount of Preen in preparation for putting out the weed cloth, wire mesh, and eventually beds that will go in this space. I have several more hours of hoe-ing ahead of me, which is not my favorite, but since I don’t want to use the herbicides that are so awful for bees, doing it by hand is the next obvious way. Plus, you know, I tell myself it counts as exercise. And it does, more than blogging does...

The photo above shows the first three beds that will be in this area. The rest of the layout will be a surprise, so stay tuned. Let me just say that with about four minutes of digging up named iris that needed to be separated from my personal garden, I filled three raised beds here at the project Phase II. I still have several hundred un-named iris that I would love to incorporate into the touring area, so Phase II is not the end of the expansionist era of the project. I kind of had a feeling I’d want to just keep going, but I’m being disciplined, and not expanding into Phase III until Phase II is done, planted, and irrigation in place. 

This self-imposed “finish what you start” has been a great motivator as I’m so excited to start Phase III that I’ve got my hustle on getting Phase II finished. I can’t describe how much fun I’m having, because talking about hoeing and cutting wire mesh and bringing in wheelbarrows of dirt doesn’t sound like fun, even to other gardeners. But if you’ve been in the position of creating something beautiful to share, you probably understand that even the bits that sound like drudgery are still motivating and exciting. I’m totally in that place right now. Woo hoo!

I’m also riding on the high of having a gardening buddy. Chris and I spend most of our gardening time alone in our own gardens, but when we get the chance to share our gardens and tasks, it’s just such a hoot, and I’m really loving it. So, thanks again, Chris, for being the person who shares the fun with me.

Keep your eyes peeled for more photos as the Phases and expansion continue. Until then, keep warm out there!

And, as promised, here’s an iris from my personal garden:

'Big Bad Bob' ( Tom Burseen, R. 2004). Seedling 01-483B. TB, height 37" (94 cm), midseason bloom. Cream washed chinese yellow (RHS 20B) self, Falls slightly darker at edges, flared; beards yellow ochre, very large uplifting self flounces; ruffled. 92-282: (95-119: (92-336: (8-163: ( 'Yellow Flounce' x 'Bride's Manor') x 'Deity') x 'Air Up There') x 'Cookie Combo') X 99-288: (96-206: ( 'Part Prude' x 'Triffid') x 97-610: (95-337: ( 'Dauber's Delight' x 'Open Arms') x 'Joan's Party')). Burseen 2005.