One of the best, and most obsessive times of the year.
For the past few days I've planted what I call the "annual" garden, which surrounds our house in rural Scott County. It is one of the best times of the year! This year I seem to be more obsessive about the garden than usual. Chalk that up to the year I've had, and the angst that most people in the country feel about government leadership. One of the few places I do relax is in the garden. I read "Better Homes & Gardens," as well as "Birds & Blooms," and more recently, "Magnolia Journal." (An aside: The latter is published by Meredith Corp., and edited by old friend, Iowa State enthusiast, and DeWitt, Iowa, native.) All of these magazines give ideas to this gardener, who gets to work on a yard that stretches over one acre in size. To date we've built about 13 gardens, all mulched and bordered by 'cobbie' stones. I've discussed both mulching and the borders in previous blog posts. The fun part, which is d