5 things for the weekend 25.20

staking peonies, on menopause, remembering what we read, forget you have a phone, orchid care

Oh happy days! I have a big reason for May being my favourite (it’s my birthday month), but every year I fall in love with it again because of the glorious weather we get. I am finding so much joy being outside, whether working in the garden or just watching things grow. (Seriously, I will stand next to my flower beds and just look at them.)

It’s warm, and sunny, but not too hot yet, so doing yard work is a pleasure. I set up the little fountain again, and I have to say that impulse buy last year was such a good decision. I highly recommend it.

The garden is slowly taking shape, and I’m glad I went slow, because now that I’ve worked on it for a while, I know which plants I want to add this year to flush it out some more. I’m hoping to find some of them at the farmer’s market this weekend.

And every year I work out there I remember a board game I loved as a child called, I think, “How Does Your garden Grow?” which I would love to find again. Have you ever heard of it?

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5 Things

1. If you’re new to growing peonies, or even if you’re not , you might not realise that they need to be staked. The blooms are actually quite heavy, and can cause the entire plant to flop over. Here are three ways you can easily stake them to prevent this. I tried a couple of the methods and they work!

2. One of the things I appreciate about this timeline, amidst its horrors, is how women are so much more open about things like motherhood and menopause. Ursula K LeGuin was ahead of her time on the latter with her 1989 essay on the menopausal change.

3. Why is it so easy to forget the details of what we read? Especially if we’re reading to learn from non-fiction? This essay from Eva Keiffenheim examines why, and how to fix it.

4. I forgot I had a phone while working out in the garden on Wednesday (and missed important notifications, but that’s another story), so I was chuffed to see this post from Candice on projects that make her forget she has a phone. If you’re looking for ways to scroll less, her projects and suggestions might spark some inspiration!

5. One category of plants I struggle with are orchids. I have two. One bloomed two years ago after loosing its initial blooms, but never bloomed again. The second which I rescued from a local florist, has never bloomed. I’ll be taking this article about orchid care to heart in the hopes I can share their flowers with you eventually.

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I am:

Reading: Practical Magic by Alice Hoffman

Creating: a peony garden

Smelling: green tea incense

Hearing: birdsong

Cooking: Chicken and rice with caramelised lemons

Planting: hollyhocks

What are you doING?

“If you don’t know what to say, say everything”
― Anne Hadiman

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