My dad was a Gardner, he never referred to himself as a gardener, but he was. His lawn was his passion and he had the greenest, the most dandelion free lawn in town. I do not remember ever seeing a bare spot or a brown spot. I have vivid memories of thick turf, deep healthy green mowed to an even height overall edged meticulously along walkways and flower beds. And never, never, never a dandelion or sprig of crabgrass.
The lawn was enclosed on the sides by a mulberry hedge that you would swear was trimmed by a barber with a carpenter’s square and level. He used an electric hedge trimmer that required dragging a power cord along. I remember him having a technique for wrapping the cord under his left arm across his back and over his right shoulder to keep it out of the way but still, occasionally, it would get clipped by the trimmer blades. Sparks would fly, the trimmer would stop, and the air would turn a shade of blue with the colorful expletives that my dad had for occasions like that. The cord got shorter and shorter as he did repairs over the years.
The lawn was a constant at our house. Always green, always perfect. But the garden was a different matter as it seemed to change often. Dad seemed to have interests that changed. Some years tomatoes, some years radishes and onions, some years cabbage, some years beans and peas. Maybe it was a crop rotation?
For a while, we had marvelous strawberries huge and ruby red and sweet. That was all well and good, but he had not counted on the fact that strawberries spread like wild and are hard to eradicate. For several years, long after he had lost interest in the strawberries and had moved on to other things, we had strawberry plants sprouting among the melons and cucumbers, and worst of all, sending runners out into his perfect lawn.
When it got to be too hard for dad to move hoses and sprinklers, he had a watering system installed that was over the top in complexity. He was the only one who understood it and could program it. A huge panel of timers and switches was mounted in the garage, only dad knew how to change the settings to compensate for rain, adjust for extra water during particularly hot dry times, and shut it down to dry out for mowing. He wore out several power movers over the years and finally after a stroke slowed him down, he graduated to a riding mover that he could maneuver like a NASCAR driver.
One memory that stands out in my mind is the bags of Scotts Lawns Fertilizer that showed up for his scheduled three times a year feeding program. He had loyalty to Scotts and would not use anything else. Now, years later, more years than I want to admit, we still have Scotts Lawn Fertilizer, as a matter of fact, we have Scotts Turf Builder and Scotts Weed and Feed in 5000 square foot bags. Come on in and get some. Check out some of our earlier blogs on lawn care. Reading Get Your Spring Garden Green Again will provide you with tips on how to get that perfect garden. and then you can move onto Planting, by reading Planning Your Spring Garden.
Now, If you're really looking for a challenge, we have one for you. Dunsmuir Hardware is for sale. Now, after over 40 years we are ready to pass it on to a new owner who appreciates how special it is. Want to learn more about this amazing business opportunity? We’re open from 8:30 am to 5:30 pm Monday to Saturday and 10:00 am to 4:00 pm on Sundays. Come and see us we’re at 5836 Dunsmuir Avenue Dunsmuir, California, or call (530)235-4539.