The Perils of Clay Soil....

Ok...so I had to have a title that related to gardening...and I am wrestling to dig my new perennial bed around the garden fence...the ground is so hard and compacted, I could scream!! I can look at the bright side and know that clay soil is chock full of nutrients...and some nifty butterfly and hummingbird attracting plants, that I am actually planting, don't mind the clay at all, like:
Bee Balm (Monarda)
Black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia)
Butterfly Bush (Buddleia davidii)
Columbine (Aquilegia spp.)
Coreopsis (Coreopsis spp.)
Gaura (Gaura spp.)
Joe-pye Weed (Eupatorium)
Lantana (Lantana spp.)

So I guess it's not so bad!


Admitedly, this post is homage to Sicilian roots and the perils of clay soil.

Sicilian Tomato Garden:

An old Sicilian lived alone in New Jersey ..
He wanted to plant his annual tomato garden,
but it was very difficult work, as the ground was hard.

His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison.
The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament:

Dear Vincent,
I am feeling pretty sad, because it looks like I won't be able to plant my tomato garden this year.

I'm just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot. I know if you were here my troubles would be over.. I know you would be happy to dig the plot for me, like in he old days.
Love, Papa

A few days later he received a letter from his son.

Dear Pop,
Don't dig up that garden. That's where the bodies are buried.
Love,
Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning, FBI agents and local police arrived and dug up the entire area without finding any bodies. They apologized to the old man and left.

That same day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Pop,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now. That's the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love you,
Vinnie

Sigh! Guess I will have to keep digging myself, as to the best of my knowledge, no bodies are buried in my yard, and I have no cousin Vinnie!