Or is it just me?

And now … True Confessions of a Failed Gardener.

Today, like any other day, I had in the back of my mind that I would do something for no other reason than to be happy. That is the whole idea of this blog after all. That and the fact that I write every day. Always a good thing if you think you want to be a writer.

So I woke up planning to work on the raised beds for the front of my house. The ones that have been laying there in pieces for … weeks? And the poor plants that are literally dying for me to get it all together.

But instead I have a cup of coffee and set up the “Self Watering Chives” I got to augment the Chives in the herb boxes on my steps. For several years I have done these herbs. Each year pretty much the same. Parsley (which isn’t used enough), Basil (which grows like a weed), Mint (which is a weed, but doesn’t always grow), Coriander (which grows but is hardly used by me), Lavender (which smells great), Oregano (with mixed success) … and Chives (which come back each year).

The only consistent one from year to year is the Chives. They are hearty and require no effort whatsoever.

My kind of plant.

I think last year killed all chances of the Chives coming back well. It was the insulation we pulled down from the ceiling out in the front room that did the Chives in, I’m thinking. It went everywhere, including the herb planters on the steps. And I didn’t do a really good job last year of cleaning that out.

This year the lucky herbs are Basil Boxwood, Parsley Curled, Basil Genovese, Mint Grapefruit, Oregano Greek, Chives Just Barely. You see Coriander didn’t make the cut this year.

And Lavender? Well, Lavender got a promotion. The plan was to have lavender … all dozen or so plants … stretching all the way down the front of my house. With the also hearty and re-blooming Orange Day Lilies that are at the corner of the house in the front.

Then I got all crazy … no comments … and got several Holly Bushes for the wall between the house and the garage. Also to be put in a raised bed planter. Also not yet made.

And to complete the whole thing … on the other side of the walk along the front of the house, I got some Spike Plants … whatever they are … and several Burning Bush Plants from the Amish. They also were going to go in a raised bed of equal size to the Lavender one. And, surprise here, it is also not made yet.

The only thing that has actually gotten done, other than the herbs, is the five hanging baskets of Purple Pansies. I hung them along the overhang of the front of the house. Just like a real little old lady.

I don’t even like Purple Pansies all that much, but I thought “Purple Lavender, Purple Pansies, Green … Other Stuff”. On Sale … Color Coordinated … Will Smell Good.

All of this … and the load of tarp-covered dirt … all sounds really good in theory. But in fact, the plants are barely hanging in there. The Self-Watering Chives will probably not sprout. The hanging baskets will most likely be blown away by the first strong storm. And the Holly … well, you never can tell about Holly.

So instead of doing the gardening I was dressed for I decided to … check out the world on the big PC here … mourn once again the fact that my Netpad was still MIA … remember why my heart was broken in the first place and feel some more sadness over that … have lunch with my friend eating a burger I didn’t need, a salad I didn’t like, and a piece of pie that I rationalized as a last fling with food before eating healthily for the summer.

Fat chance.

Emphasis on the fat.

Then I went out to the good old reliable internet / Facebook. Oh there is a pick me up. Animals broiling in cars left closed in the heat. Tornadoes ripping through Oklahoma, an inspiring teen died, all the glaciers are disappearing at an alarming rate, some town in Colorado is requiring the head of household to own a gun, rich getting richer, poor getting poorer, and various people in California saying that their animals are acting like there is about to be an earthquake.

Then I saw a post by my brother … or rather a post that he liked.

“Tired minds don’t plan well. Sleep first, plan later.”