Summer Planting

My ipod tuned to the Wilco station on Pandora, I got my hands dirty today. I finally got around to planting the impatiens Daniel's mom gave me at our engagement party - which was months ago...these babies were bursting out of the plastic pots after being rained on over and over. Ants moved in and made the roots their home - I am not sure if this is a bad thing or not. One time I had a ficus tree - inside - that was infested with ants. Every so often I'd see a little tiny ant - thought nothing of it until the sad look of the ficus inspired me to replant it - I thought its pot was too small and that was why it was always losing leaves, etc. Luckily this replanting endeavor happened outside - there were thousands of them - little ants, their larvae, etc. That was what I encountered today - but with the ficus, I cleaned off the roots. washed them off with water, etc. and replanted the tree. It is still alive to tell the tale - so I guess I saved it's life. The impatiens seem pretty happy to me, and so did the ants, so I left good enough alone and just planted them - they are staying outside, so what's the harm?

The wedding is in 10 days and I thought it would be nice to make our yard look a little prettier. I have bigger plans for this little backyard space -- but this year, I am a little closer to my goal - the backyard oasis. I don't really know much about gardening, but have decided that - I am not afraid to ask and as long as my plants aren't dying, I must be doing something right! Put that on the list of things I would love to take classes in.