flowers and war

No, I don't mean war as in Dubya's rotten Iraq war. I mean war as in "Troy". But they do share one thing in common - All hype, no substance.

Even half-naked Brad Pitt couldn't save Troy. (Though his character does do a good job at burning it to the ground...) I was certainly excited when I was first bombarded with media propoganda - "buffed and bronzed" Brad Pitt, wearing that sexy gladiator outfit; put him alongside the latest hottie Orlando Bloom and a couple of cat-eyed beautiful women; throw in some swords, armor, an intense fight scene between our two heros, plus some flaming balls of hay for mass destruction - and hey, I liked what I saw. Visually, the movie did deliver as the trailers promised. The fight scenes were exciting and Brad Pitt couldn't keep his clothes on. Beyond that, though, it was overdone and overdramatic to the point of being downright corny. Now, I know that it was based off of classic literature, but I could hardly conceal my giggles at some of Brad Pitt's inspirationally corny speeches.

Gladiator definitely dominates in this genre still!

While watching the previews, they showed a trailer for the movie "King Arther" - and, much like my initial reaction for "Troy", I was immediately drawn to the "once upon a time" setting and beautiful people (the hot chickee from Pirates of the Caribbean) and thrilling fight scenes. Then I snapped out of it and realized that it would probably end up just like Troy, just a few hundred (thousand? I never was into history hee hee!) years newer. It will probably disappoint, but I will probably pay that $7 to see it in the theater anyway. That's just how it is. ;)

On the landscape front...

Last year, when I was gone, my family planted flowers in the early spring and that was IT. All nurturing and care ceased after that. Tiny invisible seeds of evil lurked in the fertile soil, waiting for just the right opportunity to explode into weedy action, popping up in every inch of soil, mulch, or even from within bushes. For some reason, nobody touched them and they were prolific in their domination of our landscape. Canada thistle, clover, and something with little yellow flowers... Somewhere buried underneath were beautiful, colorful flowers, drowned out by the sea of invasive forbs.

Considering I spent all last summer controlling these beasts, I was appauled to see that they had all gone to seed.

Rule #1 in controlling weeds: NEVER let them go to see. NEVER!! There's a reason why they are called weeds - they have thousands of seeds that can plant themselves anywhere!!

And so the problem got worse. Which is where I come in.

(cue the old West cowboy music they play for a duel)

I gave in and nuked our yard with herbicides. This is a big step for organic, granola-crunching me, but there really was no way to kill the little weed babies literally carpeting the landscape. I pulled some and sprayed some; repeat. Now begins the fun part: planting!

On my shopping list:

Perennials:  Yarrow (yellow and purple); Coreopsis (yellow); Artemesia (silver foliage); Purple sage (Salvia)

Annuals:  Alyssum (white); purple and yellow Petunias; various Dahlia; something little and bright blue; and red cockscomb. Much more to come!

I'll take pics when I finish. Gotta make it look fantastic for Tara's shower!