IN FLANDERS FIELDS

On May 29, 2017 by admin With 3 Comments - Garden Thoughts

It is a bit chilly outside this Memorial Day. Well, the breeze is chilly anyway. The garden plants are swaying in the wind and I am enjoying the type of peace and quiet only a garden can provide. Directly in front of me are two large pots that could quite possibly accommodate small trees or shrubs if I were so inclined. Actually, now that I think back, at one point, I believe I did have some small conifers in each of these but they did not survive. For the last two years I have dedicated these pots to growing a very special flower – the Flanders Poppy. As you all know, I am a very sentimental gardener and this particular flower provides more sentiment than most other flowers I grow.

The solace of my garden. Taken at the moment I created this blog. Note the two large pots at each end. They are filled with poppies.

Today, as in most Memorial Days that have passed, I like to sit quietly and reflect. My garden, my solace, my one place I can commune quietly with my thoughts is in perfect form today. How fortunate I am! I have a home, food in the kitchen and a decent size garden to just sit and relax.

I watched a documentary last night on PBS that focused on those that lost their lives in World War I and II. Men and women as young as 18 or 19 died by the scores to save the world from tyranny. I am forty-seven and I have never been drafted nor have I been anywhere near a war. No, in my late teens and twenties I was out gallivanting around enjoying my freedom to do pretty much whatever I pleased. I never had to advance on a beach head attempting to dodge constant gunfire, secure a post deep in enemy territory knowing that any minute an explosive could go off and end it all or worry if a sniper was hiding somewhere ready to end my life. I never had bombs going off all around me as I watched my friends lose limbs or being blown to pieces. No, I have been blessed by not ever having to experience any of these things.

Interlude:
In one part of the documentary, it showed bombs hitting the ground and as they exploded it was as if a geyser of earth had erupted. The narrator then mentioned that men were buried alive under all the many tons of dirt and debris. Imagine that! You are marching forward and bombs fall and there is so much dirt and debris falling over you that you are buried alive. What an absolutely horrific way to die! Maybe if the fates were kind something would hit you on the head to either knock you out or kill you instantly as opposed to breathing in dirt and slowly suffocating.

Thinking about all this now actually has brought tears to my eyes. I think of all the black and white photos of men and women smiling in their uniform or pre-military photos of home life. Men and women who died. These people were someone’s father, mother, brother, sister, son or daughter and because of their bravery and selfless dedication, they gave their lives so that I can sit here in this garden enjoying a type of freedom most still only dream about. It is because of this I view this day not as a chance to have a three day weekend or perhaps take advantage of some sale, I consider it a duty of sorts to sit peacefully in quiet reflection and thank those from my heart who gave so much.

When the bombings were over and the earth was a disfigured war-torn mess, one beautiful thing did happen. Where once there were bodies,carnage and earth stained with blood, a flower grew. Poppies love to grow in disturbed earth as they need light to germinate. With all the seeds brought to the surface, the red of the blood spilled was replaced with the red of a most beautiful and humble flower. It is interesting to note that in many major wars throughout history, poppies would grow from the disturbed earth. With their soft, papery petals swaying in the wind, Lieutenant John McCrae was inspired to write a beautiful poem dedicated to the flower and honoring the men who perished.

Here is John McCrae’s poem as it appeared in the December 8th 2015 issue of Punch Magazine:

IN FLANDERS FIELDS

IN Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Every year I spread Flanders Poppy seeds in more and more places in the garden as it is my way of honoring and remembering. I absolutely love all poppies but there truly is something special about the small corn poppy now known as the Flanders Poppy. Beyond the confines of my own garden, it is my hope to inspire others to grow this flower in their own garden. If you live in a cooler climate, you can spread them in February or late autumn. If you live in a warmer climate, you can spread them in September. Not much is needed really. Just ensure the earth is a bit loose, grab a handful of seeds and broadcast them. That’s it. They will come up faithfully after the cool weather ends. When they have finished flowering, the dried seed heads can be pinched off and when you are ready to plant again just squeeze the dried seed pods to break open the hundreds of tiny seeds inside. To get you started, I definitely recommend buying your seeds from Botanical Interests. If you would like some of my seeds, please leave a message in the comments section and I will contact you asking for your address and will be happy to send you some.

As always, thank you very kindly for reading. I pray your day has been blessed.

Here are photos of the poppies that have graced my garden throughout the years:

blessings, Botanical Interests, Flanders poppy, gardening, John McCrae, Memorial Day, natural gardening, peace, solace, spring

The Bellis Perennis Obsession

On August 24, 2016 by admin With 1 Comments - Featured Plants

24Aug2016 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.

featured_bellis 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 its new location. This is an image from this season.

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.

Everwilde Farms

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!