FEELING GARDEN-WHELMED

There was a time - when gardening was a fairly simple, relaxing thing for me to do. My beds were small, so all I did was hop in my wee little truck and head over for one load of compost at my community's free site each season, spread it all by myself, then stick in the free plants friends gave me whenever I felt like it. I had no expectations for myself, nor did my family have any for me, as I was totally new to this, and none of them were gardeners either. We were all extremely pleased and rather shocked, whenever something managed to survive.

But that was many years ago, and the bar has been raised since then. I went back to school to study horticulture, worked for a landscaper, did designs for other people, and worked at a garden center for 6 years. People expect much more from me now. Of course, I haven't had a garden to practice in for the last 5 years, so I've become a bit rusty. I didn't use it, so I began to lose it. And, 10 years can make a huge difference in how much manual labor one is willing or able to do, believe you me.

Now, you people up north get a break from gardening each winter - time to think and plan, putter and prepare. There's a definite time to put your garden to bed, and a predictable time for it to wake up again. Things are a bit more confusing around here. My existing plants - lots of salvias, lantana, ornamental grasses and other deer resistant stuff - were still going great guns in December, so I was busy trimming them all back right up until Christmas. Right after Christmas we had a few hard freezes in a row, causing everything that was left to turn into mush. This week we're back in the 70's. OK, guess winter's over now (though we can usually count on one last freeze, the minute we let our guards down and plant something tender). Better start thinkin' about spring, get those new beds downstairs ready for planting!

I was hoping to add compost, not only to the new beds, but also to all the existing beds on the upper level. So, I went out to take some measurements. Holy Guacamole! I had no idea that I had about 340 sq.ft. of new beds, plus about 360 ft. of existing ones, for a grand total of over 700 sq. feet! And that's not even counting the beds around the lower parking area! If I were only to add two inches of compost to those 700 ft., I'd need 4 cubic yards - which would take about eight round trips in my little truck. Hmmm, wonder if anyone delivers, and how much it would cost?

Last night I went on line to visit the websites of several purveyors of bulk soil that have been recommended to me. So many choices in soil blends and types of compost! Two of them had email addresses, so I decided to ask for recommendations on how to best prep these beds, which are already filled almost to the top with native soil. Gardenville recommends spreading a bit of sulfur, to help counteract the alkilinity of our soil, then spreading four to six inches of compost over everything, and working it in down to one foot deep. OK, forget about the upper beds. I need 4 or 5 cubic yards of compost, just for the new beds alone! And, how on earth do I fit it in, if they're already full? Do I have to somehow remove several inches of soil first? And how long would it take to move 5 cubic yards of compost, one shovel at a time? Whew, I'm worn out just thinking about it. Think I'll go crawl back in bed.