26 May 2013
06:35 a.m.

The title of this post immortalizes the feeling I had the day I planted four of these seeds. They were unusual looking seeds and I am looking forward to them sprouting.

Here is an excerpt from my written journal I created that day:

I sit now in relative peace and quiet and it is very relaxing. I was up with the sun and I feel blessed to have seen it rise. As I write these words I am reminded of Diane Lane in Under the Tuscan Sun as she writes a postcard for someone else. I am reciting what I write in my head just as she did in the movie.

There is a slight breeze which makes the aspen sing; this combined with the bird chatter creates a peaceful melody.

There should have been more to write in my journal that day but as it turns out, three hours later, I was rushed to the hospital due to a nosebleed that just would not stop. When all was said and done, the suspected cause was stage two hypertension and the severe nosebleed was a symptom to alert me to this. What an alert it was! After that, I could not do any work in the garden for over a week which was very frustrating considering all there is to do.

Fast forward three weeks and my blood pressure is more under control and it is business as usual in the garden and there is much to share. First, there are seedlings abound in the large pot where I planted the Kiss Me over the Garden Gate (Polygonum orientale). One item of note is I really should have taken the time to spread the seeds out more as there is a large mass of seedlings competing for space and I fear this may not work out too well. A few of the Polygonum seeds have sprouted but I am hoping there will be more. I may purchase some more seeds as I would love to have a grove of these growing along the entire fence. I paused from writing for a bit to order a few hundred seeds from Seed Savers Exchange. Though I of course do not need this many, this will ensure I am able to create that grove I want. From what I have read, there is a long germination time so I will be sure to soak the seeds first to speed up growing times.

Beyond the sprouts in this pot, there has been a prolific amount of growth everywhere in the garden and each day’s new discoveries are so humbling. There is a beautiful sort of magic that only tending a garden can provide and I am so blessed to have such a tremendous amount of beauty surrounding me.

When we first moved into this house, I noticed some viola tri-color volunteers emerging from the grass. At that time I employed a lawn mowing service and thankfully I noticed these volunteers before they came in with the machines and removed them. I rescued them and placed them in the half whisky barrel where eventually a group of day lilies went (note I need to get a few more clumps to create a mass planting). Within the last couple of days I noticed the small flowers of what is my favorite species of flower poking out which reaffirms my opinion of these being among the friendliest flowers. Speaking of volunteers, I intentionally purchased a plant from Holly Acres Nursery that had a viola tri-color contained within. At the moment, it is outperforming the original plant. I suppose that cannot be helped though considering it was a victim of the hail we had a couple weeks ago. Though not a devastating storm by any account, it did its fair deal of damage. My new Virginia Creeper was mangled and shredded along with scores of tree foliage, extensive damage to the bee balm and a fair amount of damage to other low growing plants including the Corsican violet. I am pleased to say that most everything is recovering nicely now and I have left a fair bit of the leaves etc. on the lawn in the hopes of providing organic material for it to possibly grow better.

My handyman came over to do a few jobs and considering he could dig a hole more efficiently and proficiently than I could, I asked him to create a nice size hole between the two apple trees. This hole would be the new home for some volunteer aspen saplings growing on the side of the house where the white dahlias and columbines grow. Removing them while trying to retain a decent root ball would be the primary challenge. Sadly, we broke several main roots in our quest and immediately I worried about the future health of these little trees. It did not help that we did this in the middle of the day and when we moved them their new location was saturated in strong sunlight. Immediately the leaves wilted which I expected but they never recovered and eventually turned black. I thought of removing them and put the whole exercise down to gardening experience but I saw some leaves on the smaller stems making a comeback. The main larger twigs of the trees are still bendy so there may be hope yet. I removed the black leaves and scattered them about the lawn as food for the worms. This is one project I would like to be successful. Stay tuned.

Back in February I wrote an article about how I was waiting for some Impatien seeds to sprout within containers inside the house. Well, to date, none have but a few weeks ago I nonchalantly threw a few into the whisky barrel at the front of the house and today I am pleased to announce I have sprouts! As I added all the varieties I purchased from Plant World Seeds, I do not know which will come up but the fact that any are growing at all is very exciting. I will provide updates over the coming weeks.

Before closing, I wanted to journal some plants I purchased from Wilmore Nurseries over last weekend (15-16 June 2013). The main reason for going there was to replace a St. John’s Wort, Mother of Thyme and trumpet flower that did not break dormancy. While there, I purchased some new plants to help fill in some blank spots. Here is what I purchased:

Two Delphinium grandiflorum ‘Blue Butterfly’
Two Penstemon “Scarlet Bugler”
One Lemon Balm
One Mystery Grape Vine
Two ‘SunPatiens’ Compact Deep Rose (Note, I really should have looked at the labels of these plants. I do not like engineered plants really. Despite being for the sun, these were placed in the shade)

One more thing for the journal is to note that the Strike It Rich rose did not make it sadly. I was able to exchange it and I chose this as a replacement:

Olympiad Hybrid Tea

Description: Each large bright true-red bloom is held on long stout stems and holds their color to the very end. Distinctive grey-green foliage on a very vigorous upright plant.

Color: Bright true-red

Height/Habit: Medium-tall/Upright

Bloom/Size: Medium-large, double

Petal Count: 30 to 35

Fragrance: Light fruity

Parentage: Red Planet x Pharaoh

The world of gardening is probably best summed up as ordinary miracles happening every day. Being a gardener is a sheer joy and to make something out of a little bit of earth is a blessing. I hope you are having an amazing start to the growing season and until next time, Happy Gardening and Blessings to you all!