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It has been three years since I started sharing my gardening woes and successes with my Garden in the Rough blog friends. In that time I moved back to the land of black dirt and generous amounts of rain and high levels of humidity. Due to the demands of a new job and the desire to spend most of my free time with dad gardening has been limited to three flower beds, potted flowers, and a raspberry bed. The time, money and work put into the gardens last year paid off this year.

After attempts to grow luscious colorful gardens in the desert with limited success, I am shocked at the fast-growing perennials growing in our Iowa flower beds. I want to rush out and buy more plants. Patience is required as I must keep the gardens manageable due to all the projects I am working on. I love looking at the plants and blooms as I walk through the wet grass.

Spring Cleaning

After living in the desert for over three decades, I cherish rainy days. Today was the perfect day to take off from work as it was cloudy, cool, and foggy all day. By mid-afternoon, the clouds opened up and released the spring's first rain. Breathing deeply, I inhaled the smell of fresh rain and am looking forward to the one and a half-hour drive home.

Upon arriving at home, it dawned on me that rain was a curse and not a blessing, as I originally thought. The weed-free flower beds were now no longer weed-free.