Keeping It Real II

The good news:

The garden is coming along well. 

So far, no unexpected fatalities amongst members of the plant family.

These are the cucumbers, planted from seed, finally poking their heads above ground.

The yellow squash is growing.
Just to the left, in the little round circles, is the zucchini.  Barely visible with the naked eye, beginning to germinate.

Tomatoes, peppers, basil are surviving.  

I haven't killed them off yet.

Every thing is growing.  Looking a little anemic, but growing.

I've got the summer geraniums in their urns.  And the little spiral evergreens planted last April have survived their first year.

The iris has quadrupled in size and blooms.  

The rose bush has big luscious blooms, right next to the potted mum that survived the winter.

If you look in just the right places, this seems like such a bucolic setting.

Manicured, manageable, meticulous.

That's what it seems...

...the reality, however, is this:
The weeds here look like remnants of the prehistoric age.
They're menacing, malicious.  You need tools to remove them.  
And protective gear.  Plus, I'm not a big fan of commercial weed killer.

Some weeds don't have the monstrous spikes.  
They're just monstrous, period.

To put it into perspective: 
See that Painted Fern?  I planted it last year and have fertilized it diligently, consistently, painstakingly since.
Seemingly overnight, that monstrous weed is twice as big, without a drop of fertilizer or extra water.  Hmph!

Remember Tree Mans neat little mustache?  His face has been swallowed up.  He's under that mess, somewhere.
He needs rescuing.

Baby monstrous weeds are invading a mulched bed.  
If I don't get them soon, they'll be as tall as the pot.

We have these random grasses that grow in the liriope.  
They look like corn stalks, minus the benefits of corn.
These things will take over a bed in no time.
Crazy Big 'Ole Nasty Dog grazes on these tall stalks of grass.

Then today, this web was created by the driveway.  
The builder picked the sunniest spot and decided to construct a condo.

This is a beautiful wildflower.  Dainty, delicate, delightful to see.

And it's right in the middle of this jungle of thorny weeds, fallen limbs and debris.
We'll have to be extra careful to protect it when we clean out this area.  

The front lawn that was so lush just last week is starting to bake in the dry heat.  
Or maybe it's the winter weeds dying off now.  I'm not sure.
Either way, our lawn is browning up nicely! (sigh)

Finally, all these flower seeds and two tomato plants still need a permanent home.  

I'm at a loss of where to put them.  

Lots of work still to do but

keeping it real 

on Whippoorwill Road,

Bernadine