Black Thumbs Update: Mysteries

Lots and lots of things have been happening in my garden, no thanks to me.  As the weeks go by I'm realizing how many plants were left behind by previous tenants.  There are perennials popping up all over the place.  With some help from Mom, I've been able to identify spearmint, hasta, a possible geranium and some sort of daisy (I think.) 

Another learning experience has been seeing which areas of the back yard receive varying levels of direct sunlight during the day.  I had planted three types of greens: a mesclun mix, leaf spinach and baby spinach and it is pretty dramatic how one patch is thriving compared to another.  The salad mix is almost ready to eat while the spinaches are still just starting to become recognizable as spinach.

I know that this statement is going to indicate how naive I was about the whole process, but gardening takes a whole lot of work.  Like, a lotta lotta work.  Who knew?  There are all sorts of invading fluttery things that seem to clog the beds overnight.  Dandelions pop up up between pavers, and the spearmint appears to be on a mission to take over the world.  It's overwhelming.  As the weather improves, though, I find myself going out there even when I'm not motivated to weed or water.  It's so nice to just sit and breathe and feel the quiet.  My ultimate goal in life is to live at The Cloisters, and I realized the other day that I can kind of create my own cloistered area with the garden.  Our next door neighbor has a water feature (!!!) which makes the imagining that much easier.

Since the season has really just begun, I'm hoping to do another wave of planting once I see how the seeds I've already put in (mostly flowers: nasturtiums, cosmos, marigolds, poppies and a cutting mix) have done.  Even if nothing takes, the leftover mystery perennials, alone, will be enough for me.