So I’ve had a bit of extra time on my hands.
I have two freelance writing contracts with two fantastic clients. When I put them together they amount to part time work with odd windows of time here and there. (Am I looking for a full-time gig? That’s a really great question! I don’t have a clear answer just yet. Sigh. Prepare yourself for an upcoming post titled “Reinventing myself.”)
SO. With this change of seasons and the longer, brighter days that come with it, I’ve been taking care of some things here at home that have been steadily bringing me down over the past weeks/month/years, such as closet clean-outs, vacuuming of bedroom baseboards, trips to donate goods to charity etc. I’ve also gotten rid of a few houseplants that were no longer bringing me joy. Look at me Marie Kondoing the sh!t out of things!
One of the tasks we’ve been putting off for YEARS has to do with our peony bushes. Every spring (since, er, 1997) we talked about buying cages and holders and stakes and fancy wire supports of all kinds to keep them upright but never actually did anything about it. Most years, the peonies were ok without them. During rainy years they were less than ok. Their heavy rain-soaked heads forced them to prostrate themselves on the garden path, which eventually lead to their soggy demise.
Well, this year we have finally taken action. (!) I did some research and learned that because our peonies are quite established, standard wire supports wouldn’t be suitable. According to Martha Stewart, we had to corral them with stakes and twine. Here’s her post about it. It’s worth pointing out that she DESIGNED HER OWN METAL STAKES for this job. I remain impressed.
While Martha had hired help, custom-designed stakes, and miles of jute twine that intersected in multiple ways, all we had was what was available at our local Home Depot, jerry-rigged to suit our purposes. We opted for 4′ tall metal posts (called U-posts) that are normally used for chain link fences. They are about $4 each. And then we bought a ball of nylon cord to string between them. This is the result. (Please ignore the enormous amount of weeds. Clearly we need Martha’s gardening team to intervene!)
This was taken just yesterday:
Looks like they may have been successfully corralled!
I wish I had a photo of the row when it’s in full bloom but I’m afraid I can’t find one right now. I’ll update this post with more photos as the season continues.
