Veni, Vidi, Veedy

I came, I saw, I gardened.
We've been here a little over a month now. And I have been coveting my neighbour's garden since day one. His entire back yard, small though it is, is planted with small shrubs, annuals, perennials, houseplants and any other growing vegetation you can think to stuff in.
Wistfully I have been gazing over the fence as he peppers me with gardening questions.
For a month I was strong. I passed by the leftover plants at Home Despot and Cambodian Tire in the first weeks when we were sorting out house needs. I turned a blind eye to the plants begging to be taken home at the grocery stores. I told myself I was content to use our back yard merely as a sitting area for catching up on my reading. I didn't need to buy plants. This isn't my house. It would be silly to buy plants for a yard that I don't even own. Right?
But this week, a number of factors conspired against me.
1. The weather turned warm and sunny again. And I started having breakfast in the back yard, surrounded by weeds.
2. I started looking for a job, which meant visiting several nurseries.
3. Most of the nurseries in Newfoundland close for winter in a few short weeks and they have put their stock on sale to avoid tossing it out.
4. The hardware flyers announced that bags of topsoil were only 98 cents.
5. I am usually the only 'customer' at this time of year but on Thursday there were other customers about too. This proved to be fatal.
I fell off the wagon at a place called Bickerstaff Gardens in Portugal Cove.
They had their annuals on sale for $1.
This was not a big temptation as I know I am hopeless at overwintering annuals in the house. We don't have the room either.
But as I was about to leave, some ladies were buying perennials because, as they pointed out to me, they were only $1 too. What? The perennials are only $1 too?!!!
Essentially, I bought a garden on Thursday. All the plants and the soil in one short spree. Just add hard work.
Today I added the hard work.
At the back of the yard, beside the gi-normous shed and under the clothes line went a double mock orange surrounded by double coreopsis, bi colour gaillardia, chocolate foxgloves, some lavender and a charming blueflowered plant called Cupid's Dart that looks like it is a member of the pink family.
Between the deck and the compost bin became a new bed full of tall blue speedwell, red geum, some more Cupid's Dart (white this time), purple heuchera, candytuft, more lavender and red dianthus.
Then it began to rain, saving me the chore of carrying water from the kitchen. It was like the weather fairy was anointing my labours.
I still have plants left to make a bed in the shady corner.
But I think this proves that looking for a job is never a good idea.