Nov
7
So, I have this problem.
(Well, I have many problems, honestly. But here is one of the problems I have today.)
I have gardens. I have issues with my gardens. They’re never quite right. This is a combination of bad planning (whoops), bad soil and drainage (what a surprise) and bad location (next to Where The Wild Things Are, Who Come And Eat What You Plant). But despite this, every year, I start out optimistically buying and planting, weeding and trimming, until it begins to a) become tedious or 2) go horribly terribly wrong, and I lose interest.
Fortunately that is followed quickly by Fall, so… problem solved for another year.
Anyway. In my fit of optimism, one June day I went out to buy some plants. Being cheap, I bought only a few things. But the planting season was drawing to a close, so there were many discounted plants and shrubs.
And there, on a flat of shrubbery, was where I met Yew.
For five dollars, there was a shrub that called out to me. It was Yew. I knew Yew would be a great addition to our gardens. I had vague ideas that perhaps Yew would be good in the Far Back Reaches of the Far Back-est Garden, where he could help keep the weeds down, and provide a warm place for the birds in winter, and probably, when he got big enough, be something for the deer to munch on when things got desperate.
So that sunny June day, I bought Yew home, and I put him on the porch with the other little plants I had purchased.
And there Yew sat. And sat. And sat.
All the flowers and vegetables were planted, and yet Yew sat in his little pot, waiting patiently for a home. And although I watered him regularly, I could never get motivated enough to go out there, into the Far Back Reaches of the Far Back-est Garden, with a shovel and gloves to do battle with the horrible clay soil and rocks and weeds.
And then, it was September. I knew I had to get him into the soil early, so he had a chance to settle in before the ground got too cold. Except the weather didn’t cooperate, and it got cold and wet almost immediately.
And still, Yew waited for me.
And now? It is November. It is too cold to plant Yew anywhere. And I am afraid that, in his little pot, if I leave him out on the patio, his roots will freeze and he will die.
So, what am I going to do with Yew?
I have a couple of choices. I could just let him take his chances on the patio. But I have grown attached to Yew, and I hate the thought that Yew will die because of my neglect.
I could buy a big plastic pot, fill it with dirt, and plant him there. He could sit on the patio, wintering over as evergreens do, but the stone south-facing patio plus the insulation of a big pot full of dirt might help him endure the cold until springtime.
Or, I could do the big plastic pot thing, but bring him inside for the winter. Yew would be warm, but it will also be dry and dark-ish in the house, and I have not been terribly successful because of this when I have tried to bring plants inside over the winter. Plus we have cats, and cats love dirt, and that means my choice of location for Yew would be limited indeed.
So I bring the question to you, my all-knowing peeps: What am I going to do with Yew?
