I am still working my way thought the spring clean up and last weekend I focussed on the vegetable garden. It is a special kind of mess since, with limited time for actual gardening (due to book writing) through all of last year, much of it was left to be taken over by the encroaching weeds. I am considering a weed torch purchase (actually, I have politely requested this as a mother’s day gift) as I am not sure anything else will effectively deal with the profusion of weed seeds left throughout the gravel paths.  Without, I think it might be years before I see the end of the damage. Plus I am quite excited to imagine myself all Sigourney Weaver-like – flame torching my Alien weeds.

Have you ever had the joy of re-discovering something lost in your garden? Isn’t it the best when you re-discover a long-lost favorite trowel, or your sunglasses (I am currently holding out hope to find my favorite Ray-Bans)? Well, you can color me impressed over one of the discoveries amongst my weedy mess.  I accidentally dug up what I am quite sure is a still-living gogi berry plant.  Yes it is the same one that I planted 2 years ago – which was promptly mown down by a woodchuck and left for dead.  Then I ignored the whole plot for a year and didn’t even give a thought that some poor plant might be trying to live in that hell pit.   But the superhero gogi is still alive – keeping the faith and lying low beneath a gang of thuggish weeds.  Now that I have cleared the miscreants away, I keep pinching it to make sure it is green on the inside (I question since I did rip it out like a weed, and then hastily re-planted it once I realize my mistake) – it is even tolerating this extra injustice.  It lives – seriously, this thing deserves the T-1000 Terminator award — it just won’t die!

But back to Mother’s Day — what is your stance on this holiday?  I’ve sent my mom and mom-in-law a beautiful selection of these (I’m trying not give away the surprise) – which I hope they will enjoy. But for myself, I am perfectly happy to have my family take me out to a lovely brunch (as they will be doing) but then I am on the fence about the rest of the day.

Do I demand they help me all day in the garden since it is ‘my day‘ — or do I let them fade away for as many hours as I want and take the time completely for myself?  I never know in advance how I will feel on the day — but this year, I think I will let the flamethrower (this the last time I will ever refer to it as a boring ‘weed torch’) decide….if the mothers day gift fairy brings me one, I think I might need to get lost in my action hero fantasies — really letting the power go to my head … I can already hear my mental dialog — “Back off crab grass, you’re terminated…”…<cue the flamethrower>…

images – Bloody Disgusting, Proven Winners

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Proven Winners.  I am not an employee of Proven Winners and all opinions are my own. See the other posts in this series.