editing and smelling

Sometimes there is too much of a good thing. This weekend, I had a great time editing overgrown plants in my perennial garden. The brazilian verbena, a tough annual that reseeds, was in too many places. I pulled out several, trimmed back others. The nepeta, or catmint, always requires a haircut about this time of year. I also deadheaded daisies and monardia (bee balm). I cut back chives as well. I trimmed back my big sage, too. I pulled out dead larkspur, spreading the seeds that were in the pods. And I finished cutting all the day lily stalks.

This created a hearty musky smell as I bagged the cuttings.

For me, the purpose of having lots of herbs in my garden is not for cooking or potpourri. It's for the pure sensory joy I get of snapping and smelling them as I work in the garden.