The Fair Weather Gardener

The rain on the window was the inspiration for this one. There seems to have been more than a fair share of that lately.

A few consecutive days with dry, non-windy weather, and who knows what might happen. You may just see that pig fly by.



The Fair Weather Gardener

Hi! I’m a fair weather gardener;
I think that’s the term that they use.
The slightest appearance of rain in the air
It gives me the chance to refuse
To go out the door – it would damage the lawn,
If “lawn” is a suitable term –
It’s green and it grows and it responds to mows,
Beyond that, I’d have to confirm.

So I cannot get through to the edges
Where the grass and the weeds tend to grow;
Where dandelions drill down with oil-seeking roots –
They don’t understand the word “no”.
I can’t reach the shrubs where, last season,
They threw out their branches with glee,
Resulting in orientations
That leaves a new challenge to me.

The weeds and the couch grass blown in from next door,
I need to root those out once more.
I need to prune back the growth on the trees –
That’s something I cannot ignore.
I need to dead-head the rose bushes,
I need to rake out all the leaves
That have covered the borders all winter,
I really must roll up my sleeves.

The trellis needs urgent attention
The posts have been rotted by rain
The wind then altered their aspect:
Don’t think I can fix them again.
I’ll probably shift them as soon as I can
But will not replace them just yet.
I need to decide if there’s something out there
That does not react to the wet.

A few days of sunshine would do it,
A chance for the ground to grow firm.
I’d get out the mower and push it around –
A quick win in quite a short term.
It brings such a sense of achievement
To win each new garden campaign:
At least ‘til the weather unfairly fights back
And I’m sent back inside once again.