Posts in Category: Featured Plants
Remnants
Last of His Kind
Today, I read a story about the death of a man who was the last member of an indigenous tribe in Brazil. This man “known as the “Man of the hole” had lived in complete isolation for the past twenty-six years on the Tanaru indigenous land, deep in the Brazilian Amazon in Rondonia state.” Source: CNN
This completes the genocide of this man’s tribe. “The rest of his tribe was wiped out by several attacks since the 1970s mainly from cattle ranchers and land grabbers.” Source: CNN
I do not suspect this story will make headline news but reading about this man’s lonely and tragic death related directly to the message I wanted to convey with what will eventually be a series of posts related to hoary vervain and the remnants of the once vast prairies of the Great Plains.
When It’s Gone, It’s Gone
I often wonder how many of my fellow humans experience the same amount of exhausting sadness as I do when it is learned that some living entity has either disappeared completely or is on the verge of doing so. Granted one species or another will naturally die out for whatever reason as part of natural selection. BUT – what bothers me is when the human species is directly responsible for the extinction of any living organism.
With our ever expanding numbers and our insatiable desire for things, precious land is cleared. Habitats for millions of other living things vanish. Entire ecosystems are destroyed. I could speak of rain forests, swamp land, or temperate forests, but this series of articles will focus on the quickly disappearing North American Prairie.
The Mesic Prairie Systems Have All But Disappeared
According to National Geographic, all but 1% (ONE PERCENT!) of the Great Plains’ original plants have been replaced by farmed grasses. Source: Rootwell.com
Imagine an area stretching from Canada, through the entire middle to western US and then down to Mexico covered in swaying grasses. Mixed in would be the purples, whites, pinks, yellows and reds of various wild flowers. The vast array of plant, insect and animal species that once made up the North American prairie ecosystems must have been (and to a lesser extent still is) astounding! Flowers such as alliums, milkweeds, spurges, partridge peas, coreopsis, prairie clovers, prairie blazing stars, penstemons, royal catchfly, cone flowers and of course vervain. That is just a small subset of the plants that can call a prairie their home. Not to mention the multitude of insects, invertebrates and other animals!
Royal Catchfly from my own garden. There IS a story associated with this plant and I will definitely be sharing said story in a future post.
Interlude:
During my time on earth I only ever wish to make things better for others and for our planet. This is why I garden. I often embark on many online journeys researching plants or the other amazing forms of life that call my garden home. During one of these journeys, I was fortunate enough to discover the Prairie Ecologist Blog by Chris Helzer of The Nature Conservancy in Nebraska. His work, his words and photographs are so inspiring. I consulted him for advice for this blog and Chris’s words will appear in one of the next installments. In the interim, because of his exceptional photography skills, I reached out and asked him if had an image I could use demonstrating a healthy prairie showing grasses and flowers. This is what he sent. Thank you so much Chris!
A very healthy and diverse prairie. Photo compliments of Chris Helzer of the Nebraska Nature Conservancy
Hoary Vervain, A Prairie Plant for Every Garden
In time, I may create articles on many of the plants mentioned above but for this series of articles, I want to focus on the many attributes of Hoary Vervain. There are several reasons for this. To learn more of my thoughts on this plant, please be sure to visit next month when I shall continue with Part II of this article series.
I wish to thank all of you once again most sincerely and humbly for taking the time to read my garden musings. I appreciate your presence. Until next time, I wish for you and yours the very best in health and all things. Many blessings.
As always, here are some current photos of the garden. Enjoy!
The amazing beauty of the swallowtail butterfly.
My corn patch with mountain mint in the foreground. The mint attracts the pollinators who in turn help pollinate the squash nearby. I will be creating a post on this later when I discuss my three sisters bed.
The beauty of an emerging sunflower.
Some say love, it is a flower and I am so in love with this beautiful pink rose.
The story behind this photo: A random seed blew in and attached itself to this dried flower stem. I just love the intricacy of the design.
The beautiful down of milkweed seeds
Penstemons — A Must For Your Xeric and Hummingbird Garden
Hello everyone and welcome! It is a tremendous blessing to have you here.
’tis the very best season… Spring! It has been a rainy day and we have been blessed with the best type of rain… that slow, gentle, constant rain. The ground is slowly soaking it all up and that in turn will work wonders in this very dry, Colorado garden. Welcome rain!
First, some updates:
Primula Denticulata: From my last post, I would love to be able to share with you my overwhelming success with growing this plant. Alas, I did not have any seeds germinate, not even indoors. I will not give up though. I will set a note next January to create a space outside where I can set aside some small dedicated pots with JUST primula seeds added and see what happens.
The Bird’s Nest Fern: As Charlie Brown said of his little tree, I killed it. Perhaps the root rot had already set in. I have not had the best of luck with these plants so this shall be my last endeavor to grow this plant.
Let’s Talk Penstemons
This coming Friday, May 6th and Saturday, May 7th I will be volunteering at the spring plant sale, specifically the Water Smart Division at the Denver Botanic Gardens. There has not been an in person sale for the last two years so I am looking forward to attending once again. This for me is a wonderful opportunity to talk about plants and emphasize the importance of growing natives and embracing a more Water Smart way of gardening.
Though I love all of the plants offered for sale by the Water Smart division, there is one plant I am rather fond of and that is the penstemon. I had never thought of growing them until I discovered them during my opportunity to volunteer at the annual spring plant sale. Since that time which was five or six years ago, the penstemon takes pride of place in my garden. I currently have them growing in a gravely bed and within the steps that lead to the top of the garden. This year, I have noticed I have MANY little volunteers appearing here, there and everywhere. I will be digging up a lot of these to share while relocating others out of the way of my normal walking paths.
The rain has subsided so I went out just now to capture these images.
Just look at all these volunteer penstemons!
What’s so special about penstemons?
Do you love hummingbirds? Do you prefer to garden with more native plant varieties that don’t require as much water? If you answered yes and yes, then this plant will reward you handsomely.
First, the hummingbirds: When your penstemons flower, they will be visited by hummingbirds daily. They will prefer this to any feeder.
Next, saving water: Within large portions of the western United States, it is becoming integral that we conserve water in all ways we possibly can. Converting your growing space to a Xeric based landscape will help with that. The penstemon is one of the best plants you can use for your water saving endeavors.
These are but two attributes associated with growing these amazing plants. When in bloom, they are, in my opinion, the most beautiful plants in the garden. Have a look at this:
Looking Forward to Growing New Varieties
It has been brought to my attention that this year the James’ penstemon (Penstemon jamesii) will be available at the spring plant sale. Looking at this plant’s profile on the Santa Fe Botanical Garden website, I have fallen in love. I currently have some open positions in the garden and these plants will be perfect! Look at those leaves and that color! I am getting very excited.
For Next Time
I am sure I will have a lot to talk about in my next post including the treasures I brought home from the spring plant sale. Until then, I wish to provide for you a little penstemon care sheet I created. You can download that here: penstemon-care
I wish to thank you most sincerely and humbly for taking the time to read my garden musings. I appreciate your presence. Until next time, I wish for you and yours the very best in health and all things. Many blessings.
As always, here are some current photos of the garden. Enjoy!
All being well and we don’t get any hard freezes the rest of the season, I could very well end up with a LOT of apples! Fingers are crossed.
Remember my bellis perennis obsession? Well! This image is of one of many volunteers appearing below the flax bed.
One of many sets of emerging columbines.
Beautiful phlox in the rock garden.
Do you see the little bug?
Another huge success! I have so many common violets growing now and I could not be happier since I very much wanted this plant to thrive in my garden. They are naturalizing beautifully.
Primula Denticulata and More
7 March 2021 16:30 p.m.
(Date I originally began this post)
Sipping deliciously refreshing Moroccan green tea. Busy day today. I am sitting outside finally able to relax. So, what have I accomplished today?
Trading One Fern for Another
In the family room, I have a beautifully decorated ceramic pot. There, an asparagus fern (actually a herb and not a true fern) has been languishing for a while. I brought the pot outside, dug out and discarded the asparagus fern, emptied the old soil into the bed where the elderberry’s grow, filled it with black gold soil and planted my little bird’s nest fern that has managed to hang on despite my neglect.
I am amazed the bird’s nest fern is still alive. It has been sitting on the north window ledge for so long in its original, small plastic pot, it was completely rootbound and removing it proved to be quite difficult. So much so, I had to cut it out. Once released, I discovered it was sopping! I trimmed away the little grow pot thing that encased it… well, as much as I could. I then tucked it away into its new home and topped off the pot with some orchid mix.
Looking into the crown, I could see that any new leaves that were trying to emerge were black. ? so hopefully it will find a way to thrive in its new home. One pleasant surprise was the Oxalis growing in the center. It is very welcome to flourish at will.
Bird’s nest fern in its new home. May it happily thrive!
Oxalis in center of bird’s nest fern
Interlude:
I truly do not know what I was thinking! Bird’s-nest ferns are epiphytic and grow in tight, nest-like clumps usually in nooks and crevices of trees. If I were to leave this plant in the pot seen above, it would languish and die. I promptly removed it and transferred it to a small terracotta pot as seen below:
More Primula Denticulata!
… The obsession continues. Prior to today (7 March 2021 when I wrote this post), here are all the places I have planted some drumstick primula seed:
• Climbing rose bed
• Under sugar maple
• Yellow pot under sugar maple
• The two small pots at the foot of the left set of stairs
• Little black pot indoors (set up in the basement as they need things cool to germinate)
The left set of stairs leading to the upper slope of the garden. I planted the primula denticula seeds in the two pots at the bottom.
…. and here is the right set of steps just so you can see the other side of the garden! 🙂
There may be more places but that’s all I can remember right now.
Yellow pot under the sugar maple (I still owe you part III of the Cicely and maple story arc). Just behind the pot are Flo and Ringo my resident flamingos and to the right of Ringo is Dum Dum my Easter Island head pot. 🙂
And Today (7 March 2021) …
I emptied a terracotta pot sitting on the bottom shelf of the wire grow rack. I don’t suspect the original inhabitant – Virginia Stock – that was planted last year will come back. I then broke up the soil clumps, added some black gold mix, soaked the pot and added the drumstick primula seed.
Here is the wire grow rack I mentioned. You cannot see the bottom level due to the drifting show from our recent storm.
Next…
I have two scalloped pots near a wagon wheel next to a bed dedicated to my strawberry mint. I filled these with black gold mix and again planted more primula seed.
My most sincere hope is that I will get just a few of these plants to germinate and better yet bloom! Oh! The hopes of the gardening soul!
Right Now (7 March 21)
The sun is setting lower in the sky, finches are arguing for a place on the cylinder feeders filled with black oil sunflower seed, the peanut feeder has been filled but so far, no jays have descended upon it, my custom crafted wind chimes made from bottle caps and various trinkets is singing to me, the dried grasses rustle, a robin searches for seeds and it is getting cold. So, that’s all for now.
A dear friend of mine custom crafted this wind chime using a colander, bottle caps and other random treasures.
Until next time, I wish to thank you most sincerely and humbly for taking the time to read my garden musings. I appreciate your presence. Until next time, I wish for you and yours the very best in health and all things. Many blessings.
As always, here are some current photos of the garden. Enjoy!
** All photos were taken by the author. If you wish to buy some primula denticulata seeds. I recommend Plant World Seeds. They have such a great collection of not only primula seeds but many other wonderful and unique varieties.
The Gift of a Christmas Cactus
For Linda
Winter will soon be here and the garden for the most part has gone dormant. I have failed to keep this blog up to date and for that I sincerely apologize. I have so much to share but it is just a matter of taking the time to sit at my desk and write. Easier said than done so it seems.
With not much that needs doing outside, my energies are devoted once again to the indoor (winter) garden. For this post’s inspiration, my Christmas cactus has once again put forth a profusion of blooms.
Meet Mary
Preface:
As it turns out, I have written about my Christmas cactus previously. That only confirms my sincere infatuation for this plant. You can read that post from nearly five years ago here where I not only share my thoughts on the Christmas cactus but the wonderful Cosmos plant.
A profusion of blooms on my beautiful Christmas cactus
I love to name my specimen plants and I do not think I am alone. This beautiful Christmas cactus was given to me by mother-in-law Grace. In her honor, we have named her Mary which is not only Grace’s middle name but also her mother’s name.
Each year, around this time (which I suppose technically would make this a Thanksgiving cactus), I am blessed with a sudden burst of abundant red and fuchsia colored blooms. As the outdoor garden sleeps, this magnificent display of color is definitely most welcome… particularly this year.
It has been a very challenging year for everyone and now more than ever, it is vital to appreciate anything that provides joy. My gardens, both indoor and outdoor, provide an abundance of simple joy. It is this joy that I love sharing with anyone who will listen or in this case read.
If you are able to visit your local garden center (please try and avoid big box stores and it is so important to support small, local businesses right now) I recommend treating yourself to the beautiful and easy to care for Christmas cactus. Given the right conditions, this plant will provide years of happiness. I promise.
Some intimate shots of Mary’s beautiful flowers taken a couple days ago:
The Secrets to My Success
I know there are some out there who have a difficult time getting their Christmas cactuses to rebloom. For all those people, I will share with you what I do. This is really a very undemanding plant and if you follow these guidelines, you too will be greeted with a plethora of blooms just in time (or slightly after) Thanksgiving.
Water and Fertilization
Do not let the name cactus catch you off guard! This is a tropical plant from Brazil. They are actually epiphytes and their native habitat is within the rainforest tucked into trees or rocks. So, they like water and humidity. Because of this, I do not let the soil go dry. I also am careful not to overwater. I find that in the summer maybe a thorough watering twice a week is sufficient. In the winter, just once a week.
When it comes to fertilizing this plant, I mix in some orchid fertilizer with my water. Just to make things easier, I mix in a pinch or two of Flower Fantasy Fertilizer granules from Fantasy Orchids, fill with very warm water and use that to water my Mary, the Christmas cactus. She seems to like that.
Light
My Christmas cactus is near a window that has a southeast exposure. It seems this is sufficient for what it needs to thrive and of course continually bloom. Oh yes! Speaking of this. Once the primary bloom of November ends, don’t be surprised if you see subsequent blooms even into summer!
Pruning
I never really pruned this plant until it grew so much I could no longer close the blinds. So, last September, I took my garden scissors and gave it a massive haircut. What happened next is why I will forever and always prune this plant in September.
The blooms had multiplied 10-fold! I was always so blessed with a decent amount of blooms but after pruning, every single stem had blooms. This year, I pruned again and had the same result. Based on this, make a note on your garden calendar to give your plant a trim in September before flower buds form.
Final Thoughts
As mentioned above, this has been a difficult year and any one thing that can provide joy is so appreciated. If you are reading this blog, you are one of those people that gain joy from gardening. I have always thought that if every single soul on the planet took the time to grow something, anything, the world would transform into something amazing.
As I close this post, I want to thank you so kindly for reading. I truly appreciate it.
There is one thing I failed to mention. All those stems you end up with after pruning can be planted directly in soil and they will make a new plant (rather quickly I might add). So, if you cannot get a plant this year, would you like me to start one for you? Just leave a comment or send a message and I will be happy to share a cutting from my plant.
Thank you again and I wish for you the best in health and all things.
Until next time, happy gardening!
Benny
As always, here are some photographs taken toward the end of this year’s gardening season. Enjoy!
A volunteer sunflower most likely planted by my bird friends. This sweet little bloom lasted months. It stood in solitude near the fence and brought me joy each day.
Ami blooms. You can barely make it out but there is a native bee on this cluster of flowers. I started these indoors but next year, I will probably just plant directly outside.
It rained and then the rain froze. This viola bloom became frozen in time as a result.
This is a beautiful variety of snapdragon called Night and Day from Botanical Interests. SO beautiful.
Seed pod clusters on the Norway maple.
A Swenson Swedish pea bloom. Sadly, there was a hard freeze not long after this photo was taken so I could not take part in enjoying a second crop of peas this year.
Special Notes:
If you too want to grow what I grow here are some links you may find helpful.
You can purchase the astoundingly beautiful Night and Day snapdragons from Botanical Interests.
If you would like a very dependable, robust pea, I cannot recommend the Swenson Swedish pea more. You can purchase this seed variety from Seed Savers Exchange.
Sweet Cicely and The Maple Part I
Introduction and Hope for Rain
Dear friend and gardener. It is a warm afternoon but with a slightly cool breeze drifting through now and again; sitting outside is tolerable. During the warmer months, I try to make it a point to enjoy my lunch outside as often as possible. I just glanced westward, and heavy gray clouds are heading this way. Maybe we will be blessed with rain despite the forecast indicating otherwise. Once can hope! I have spoken about this before but living in an arid climate, every drop of rain is so precious.
In my last post I mentioned that I have had some great successes this year. So begins the story of Sweet Cicely and The Maple Tree.
Botanical Drawing of Myrrhis Odorata, Sweet Cicely
Sweet Cicely
In the Beginning
This story began in May of 2013. I created a post describing my delight in planting some sweet cicely seeds. That was also the day I discovered I have high blood pressure. I would subsequently learn I have diabetes as well. That aside, it turns out May is not the time of year to plant sweet cicely. Cicely seeds need cold treatment to germinate so the ideal time to sow is in the autumn. Not knowning this, I thought something was wrong with my seeds. Months passed without germination.
I belong to an online community called The National Gardening Association. I cannot recall all the details but somehow, I reached out to other members of the site asking for advice on growing cicely. A very kind soul from Belgium reached out and explained I should sow my seeds in autumn. Thinking nothing would come of the seeds I originally planted, she was kind enough to send seeds from her garden. What a blessing! I planted this new set of seeds in December 2013 or January 2014. Because I planted at more or less the appropriate time, I hoped they would germinate after winter released its grip.
Germination
Winter blew in then melted away. Then, it happened! I believe it was April when I noticed small fern like foliage emerging. Success! Sadly, the plants did not put on much growth and they did not flower at all. All throughout the season, the plants declined and eventually faded away to nothing as the gardening season ended.
Try and Try Again
Over the next couple years, I contemplated, and attempted to correct whatever I was doing wrong. Is it too warm to grow this herb in Colorado? Possibly, but cicely should still perform well during the early part of the season. Maybe the bed I chose to grow this plant was too crowded? I had raspberry plants in this bed and if you have ever grown raspberries, you know they spread very rapidly. My raspberries never produced fruit, so I dug them all out. I thought maybe this would help. It didn’t.
I even tried digging up the clump and moving it to a berm in full sun and that failed miserably. The plant languished in its new location and eventually perished. I was certain my desire to grow this fine herb had finally been thwarted.
Fast Forward to 2017
April came around once again and thankfully the delicate fern like foliage emerged again ever so faithfully. I am sure I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized I didn’t kill it by trying to move it. Whatever root system that remained was enough to produce foliage once again. As it turns out, the root system of sweet cicely runs deep so that is most likely why I didn’t kill the entire plant when I tried to move it.
As the months passed, there were a few leaves but nothing remarkable. I kept the area clear, but the plant once again languished.
A New Plan of Action is Formed
2017 faded away as did the leaves of the plant. 2018 arrived, a few leaves emerged but then nothing. By this point, I was determined to successfully grow this herb! So, at the end of last season, I formulated a plan and put it into action.
…To be continued!
Thank you so kindly for reading. This story may be comprised of three parts so please stay tuned. The rest of the story shall be told.
Until next time! Happy gardening and thank you for being a part of my community!
As always, here are some recent photos of my garden.
Every morning, there is always a congregation of these little flies on my sunflower and black eyed Susan leaves.
Faded Cosmos Bloom
The wheat (Utrecht Blue Wheat purchased from Botanical Interests) has dried leaving behind the beautiful blue grains. I grew this with the sole intent of photographing it!
Pink cosmos with stinkbug
As the sunflower blooms fade, the seed heads form. This seed head is dropping almost to the ground. It’s only a matter of time before some critter chews it off and takes it away!
Green bug on pincushion flower
The Bellis Perennis Obsession
The Bellis Perennis Obsession
The lunatic is on the grass.
The lunatic is on the grass.
Remembering games and daisy chains and laughs.
Got to keep the loonies on the path.
This is a snippet of the lyrics for Brain Damage by Pink Floyd. Every time I hear it I think of my time in England and the profusion of white lawn daisies – Bellis Perennis – that would adorn each and every lawn for miles around come spring. Lawn purists hate the lawn daisy because it can grow lower than the grass is being cut and just like our dandelion, the little white daisy soon pokes through taunting said purist. I could never understand how anyone could not want this flower to grow en masse but alas.
The lawn daisy, to me, is such an amazingly beautiful little flower that evokes pure happiness and joy. Lazy summer days sitting on the grass making daisy chains is something all should experience. Should you not know what a daisy chain is, basically, you pick the daisy as far down as possible ensuring you have plenty of stem. You then join each stem of each daisy forming a circle. That circle can be as big or as small as you like. A scene comes to mind of a young girl making a chain big enough to fit over her head. Pure joy!
Interlude:
Even Chaucer adored this beautiful simple flower:But for to looke upon the daisie,
That well by reason men it call may
The daisie, or els the eye of the day,
The empress and floure of floures all,
I pray to God that faire mote she fall,
And all that loven floures for her sake.
Longing for those days in an English Garden
As the years have passed, the longing for the ideal gardening conditions of England has not really dissipated. There were plenty of plants that graced my English garden I never thought twice about or in some instances actually considered a nuisance (geraniums for example) that I now tend to pine for. An English garden is something extraordinary to behold and when I find myself missing my own personal piece of paradise of yore, I attempt to grow plants from my gardening past. There is always the hope that perhaps I will get it right and the plants will move beyond survival and actually thrive.
While I could easily find the taller, Bellis perennis double varieties at practically any garden center, this is not the simple lawn daisy I was longing for. They are too fancy for a start and they are not the English lawn daisy I knew and loved. Trying to find plants proved impossible so I had to opt for seeds. I found a good vendor selling them on eBay. I just checked my online order history and it seems I started this project to grow lawn daisies in July of 2012 which would have been one month after moving into this house. I am trying to remember now where I would have planted them. I have a bed along my right fence that I dug out for the purpose of growing bulbs. It is quite possible I planted them there but if that bed was not formed yet, I would have planted them somewhere else – perhaps under my aspen in the retaining wall. I wish I had created a journal entry to mark the occasion.
Regardless, it seems this endeavor failed because I ordered more May 24th 2014. I do have a journal entry for that and I did plant them in the bulb bed near the front. Here is that entry:
Seed planting! I have been putting random seeds in random locations. For example I potted up the sweet potato vines in the hanging baskets and added some sweet peas along with borage. I took a bunch of miscellaneous seeds including some Achillea and broadcast among the withering bulbs. I also planted some Flanders Poppies. My Bellis perennis seeds arrived and I planted them at the base of the bulb bed. My Phacelia also arrived and I planted them in the right corner near the patio where I placed some Gladiola bulbs. I also put some in four small starting pots and they now sit on the dining table outside. They are also planted in the black planter near the old stand where the converted watering can sits. I hope to see them come up.
The Ever Changing Garden!
I am amused by that old journal entry. While it does accurately record my first planting of the Bellis, I realize that the other seeds planted are now nowhere near their original locations. The Phacelia now is controlled to one area under the kitchen window for example. It is only this season that I had a successful bloom of the Flanders poppies and I never did see the achillea come up. Well, just today I was cleaning up that bulb bed a bit and I think I did see some small sprouts of achillea but it is doubtful they are from that original broadcasting of seeds but the result of my residing birds doing their own bit of gardening.
Phacelia
A bee enjoying one of the many poppies that bloomed this season
So, what happened to the Bellis planted in the bulb bed? Well, they came up and I did receive a few small blooms but I discovered a problem. They were growing way too close to the lawn. Now, I know that these plants can be mowed down to ground level and would come back and bloom BUT that was in the ideal growing conditions of England. Here, in my arid, cold Colorado garden, I was not willing to risk putting any stress on these plants so I had to schedule a surgical procedure. I took out my Hori-Hori and dug deep down in a perfect circle around the healthiest specimens and managed to extract a large clump. I then found a space that received morning sun only, cleared it out, amended the soil with all sorts of yummy compost and the like and transplanted the clump.
Post-surgery, I monitored my patient and I babied it something terrible. I hand watered it and ensured no weed came near it. The area I cleared out was of decent size and I thought perhaps my little Bellis Perennis clump could use some company so I performed another surgical procedure. This time, I lifted some Labrador violets and placed them to the left of the clump of daisies. Days and weeks passed and both patients seemed to have adapted quite nicely. Oh, the reason I moved the violets is due to them being planted in an area that had wonderful deep, morning shade but then horrible, menacing afternoon heat and these plants do not like full sun let alone full afternoon sun!
Labrador violets growing happily in their new location. This is an image from this season.
Happy Little English Daisies!
The summer of 2015 came to a close and autumn arrived in grand fashion raining down reds, oranges and gold’s upon the earth. I raked these gifts over my patients tucking them in for a long winter’s nap. After winter released its grasp from the land, I was once again amazed by all the new life in the garden. I slowly removed a portion of the earthly blanket I created from my two patients and was so happy to see green underneath. Weeks passed and soon, the last frost date arrived so it was time to clear the entire blanket of leaves not just from the Bellis but from all parts of the garden. Each day more and more leaves appeared on my treasured plants and then I was graced with blooms. Success and blessings!
Today, as summer starts to wind down, the Bellis Perennis patch is not much to look at but there is a decent amount of growth and there have been many, many flowers and I am confident the seeds are making traveling plans in their quest to spread throughout this entire space and beyond. Well, that is what I would like to hope. Next spring shall tell.
Final Thoughts
Some say there is no room for sentimentality in a garden. Some adopt the notion of ruthlessness when it comes to achieving the perfect ‘look’ for their little bit of earth. Why? Yes, you can come to regret it if you are not actively maintaining your garden. You know, the usual deadheading, trimming, dividing, weeding and the like are integral to the success of any garden but some take it a step further and refuse to allow anything that does not ‘fit’. Take the manicured lawn scenario for example. A greater portion of our population will go to great lengths to ensure there is no form of adulteration within their patches of green. Yes, a lawn is gorgeous but it is also a menace. Perhaps not so much if you live in England where you have the rainfall to sustain the perfect lawn but for where I live, one can waste so much time and more important WATER trying to achieve the perfect lawn. Come Late July, early August, no matter your efforts, your lawn is going to be more brown than the coveted green. Thank you to those wonderful watering restrictions! (And I mean this most sincerely)
Sorry, I went on a tangent.
I get attached to plants. I am sentimental and I make no apologies for it. I love the stories behind the plants and I have shared one such story with you today. I hope it has inspired you. Perhaps you too have a special plant you have cultivated in your garden that evokes some special memory. If so, please share. Have I inspired you to grow the humble lawn daisy of old? If so, here is where you can order some seeds.
Put some down in the autumn and see if you get some sprouts in early spring. I promise you will be delighted by these petite, humble white flowers popping up to greet you throughout the late spring and early summer – and if you are lucky in early autumn.
I thank you kindly for reading! Blessings to you all and happy gardening!
PS: Oh, yes, after that horrific hail storm mentioned in last post, I am very pleased to say that overall the garden DID bounce back for the most part. Yes, I lost some plants, the trees were damaged as was the roof of our house but overall, after all is said and done, the garden doesn’t look too worse for wear. And now, some photos!
One of many volunteer violas gracing the garden with their happy faces.
Beautiful rose in full bloom
A bee enjoying one of the many poppies that bloomed this season
Honey Locust leaves
Gold finch scoping the area before getting some water
Happy little fly on a climbing hydrangea leaf
Desert bluebells
More desert bluebells
Clamtis in full glory!
A beautiful variety of achillea (yarrow)