In My Garden

The subject comes around from time to time

Usually when I travel.

Flower envy.

I’d define it as wanting to grow things

That just won’t grow where you live.

After all

There’s a reason for USDA Hardiness zones.

It’s hard to grow palm trees in much of the world!

My flower envy began young.

As a nine-year old my family traveled to Maui

My father had been stationed there during WWII

The Marines would leave the safety of Maui for places

Like Saipan, Tinian and Iwo Jima.

But he had a love for an undeveloped Maui

And it’s people.

In 1959 just before my older sister turned old enough

To have to pay full fare.

He and mother took us all there to meet the people

Who had welcomed a war tired Marine into their homes.

One of them was a doctor

Who grew orchids in his greenhouse.

He told mother and the three of us to go

And pick all the orchids we wanted

To make our own leis.

Can you imagine

Setting a nine-year old loose

In a greenhouse of orchids

To pick at will.

Talk about generosity.

I never realized it before just now,

But this is likely where my flower passion started.

My family traveled far and wide.

By the time I went to college

I’d been to 48 states.

Still haven’t made it to Utah and Alaska.

But the place we went most often

Was to the Rocky Mountains.

And there in the heat of summer

I would find smiling pansies, cosmos, daisies, geraniums and petunias.

Lots and lots of petunias.

John and I have continued this pattern

Especially since Elliott, Kristina, Harper and Henry

Live in Colorado.

We have visited most summers for several years.

And the flowers only get more extravagant.

After all, if your bread and butter as a state

Is tourism.

You want to look pretty.

And oh how pretty they look.

But there is a trade-off.

There always is.

And that trade-off is a short growing season.

The last freeze in these mountain towns.

Occurs in what they affectionately call “mud season”.

When all the snow is melting.

Technically it’s June 15th or so.

And the average first freeze is just after Labor Day.

Now all gardeners push the edges of these dates

To the limit.

We’ve all been nipped by a late or early freeze.

So while the cool days and nights

Allow for glorious blooming annuals and perennials

It’s still a trade-off.

They get three months of growing season.

I get nine sometimes ten.

Blooms lumber through my zone 7 backyard

From Valentine’s Day.

To Halloween or later.

In the mountains

It’s a flashy summer run.

Short and sweet

Or long and lovely.

I’m thankful I get to enjoy both.

And grateful for dirt under my fingernails

For so much of my life.

Gail

My garden is certainly having

A showy summer.

The rain gets all the credit.

We got even more of the luscious stuff last week.

So the mid-summer show

Is pretty wonderful.

Purple Coneflowers and Gloriosa Daisies

Have had quite a year

They are just past their prime,

But should be happy for a few more weeks.

Tall Garden Phlox is just about to peek.

It’s  a great old friend.

Sturdy stems make it a favorite

When the winds and rains come.

It’s vibrant color can be seen from across the yard

You will often see a patch of it in yards

As you walk through old neighborhoods.

It’s been on the old friends list

For quite awhile.

It also cuts well for arrangement.

A pre-requisite for survival

In my garden.

A haircut in spring will keep it

From getting way too tall.

It also delays the blooms till mid summer.

A time that can always use a little boost.

This year the phlox has a new friend.

Her name is Annabelle.

Hydrangea arborescens ‘Annabelle’ to be exact.

I ordered the first one two years ago.

Liked it so much that I bought two more

At the end of that summer.

Then this spring I found spots for three more.

Accidentally ordered these bare root.

But they have grown and grown

Now I’m thinking I’ve found places for one or two more

Maybe.

Annabelle blooms a lot.

Great big blooms at that.

Their blooms start out white

And change into that wonderful lime green

That is so good in the garden and arrangements.

It’s a color I work to incorporate.

It’s a little hard to find.

Envy Zinnias and Bells for Ireland

Also add this color

But I have trouble getting them to grow here.

Annabelle on the other hand

Seems to love my garden.

Annabelle is a fast grower

And prolific bloomer

It’s a great new friend

That seems right at home

Here in my garden.

Gail

“Make new friends, but keep the old.

One is silver, the other is gold.”

Anonymous

I first saw larkspur in my friend Sally’s garden.

It was blooming wildly throughout her garden.

I knew immediately I wanted some.

She was kind enough to share.

Eager actually

As most gardeners are.

My last two gardens have been

Blessed with shall we say ample larkspur

Throughout late May and most of June

For years now.

In my garden it’s a self seeding annual.

Which means that as the blooms fade

If you leave the plants in place

The blooms will dry out

And seeds will fall

Making new plants and blooms for next year.

Now, I’ve let it go a little wild in my garden.

I always think I’m going to be more firm

With this garden child

And thin it out harshly.

But each year I  let something get in the way

And never quite get it done.

This year I think I’ve finally figured out why.

It’s the “little black dress of the garden”.

It goes with everything.

As you can see by the pictures sprinkled through this little tale.

It’s a bold backdrop to the pastels of May

And the hotter colors that follow in June.

So, I’ll continue to let it go to seed.

And plant itself around my garden.

Sometimes it takes time

Even years

To figure out why something is in my life.

Keeping myself open to reasons that are not easily apparent

Makes the years even more interesting.

Enjoy the week and get your hands in the soil.

Gail