Outside it's "hotter than Hades" [as my mother-in-law used to say] which is no place for this angelic being. [Stop laughing.] So rather than outdoor pursuits, I've sequestered myself here in front of the computer, fan on Low to circulate the air. It's a pleasant time for reflection.
Hemerocallis 'Rose Petticoats'
As the final vestiges of daylight sink below the horizon, the more sensible me [the one who is shooing away swarms of bloodthirsty mosquitoes] argues with the impetuous and highly stubborn me who insists on covering this last little bit o' earth with fluffy mulch. You see, it rained over the weekend. And we're talking RAIN. Record-breaking amounts of delicious downpour! My garden's soil, every inch of it, was blessed with free water from the heavenlies. The application of mulch is to prolong the blessing, acting as a layer of insulation to keep the soil moist. Admittedly this job should have been tackled weeks ago. But I just didn't feel like it. Any of you ever put off things you don't want to do?
[Stupid question. I read the bevy of confessionals from my last post!!]
Heuchera 'Midnight Rose' with Diascia integerrimus
Hemerocallis 'Rose Petticoats'As the final vestiges of daylight sink below the horizon, the more sensible me [the one who is shooing away swarms of bloodthirsty mosquitoes] argues with the impetuous and highly stubborn me who insists on covering this last little bit o' earth with fluffy mulch. You see, it rained over the weekend. And we're talking RAIN. Record-breaking amounts of delicious downpour! My garden's soil, every inch of it, was blessed with free water from the heavenlies. The application of mulch is to prolong the blessing, acting as a layer of insulation to keep the soil moist. Admittedly this job should have been tackled weeks ago. But I just didn't feel like it. Any of you ever put off things you don't want to do?
[Stupid question. I read the bevy of confessionals from my last post!!]
Heuchera 'Midnight Rose' with Diascia integerrimus
Canna 'Pretoria'Anyway, so I'm outside, in the dark, straining to finish the job. Literally. My arms aren't long enough so I, ever so gingerly, step inside the bed, between, let's see, what were they? Two plants. It was too dark to identify them. Just then, snap. I broke off a stem of potential beauty. Checking beyond the fence, neighbors don't seem to be home so my hospitable, "Crap" morphs to something a wee bit caustic.
Clematis 'Palette' And so all of this got me to thinking about how many times my good intentions have gone awry and caused more damage than good. For example, deadheading means beheading the DEAD. But often times my clippers defy me and murder the living [or the preborn]. And watering...? How many plants have I killed with kindness--typically in the form of too much water? Dry surface? Grab the hose. Yet not always the wisest of choices.
A hardy FuchsiaI won't dwell on my myriad blunders. Okay, maybe I will. How I inadvertently chipped and eventually broke one of my favorite pots while trying to free its crowded inhabitant. How the hose with a pathelogical propensity for kinking and royally pissing me off, twisted itself and landed on the brittle stems of an Agastache. [Hoses are evil.] And we won't discuss the number of dormant bulbs I've unwittingly unearthed in my cram-scaping efforts.
Clematis 'Etoile RoseThe miracle is that my good intentions don't go unnoticed and my garden's residents continue their forgiving ways, gracing me with unrivaled performance.
Who could not like gardening?
Who could not like gardening?
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19 COMMENTS, Click here to add yours:
Good morning Grace. So glad you got some rain this past weekend. We sure could use some. I have the sprinkler going right now. You have some very pretty pink blooms. That pink Hemerocallis is a nice full pink! Love the picture of the top down of the Canna.
As for confessions--I am still spreading mulch! I finally broke down and am buying one or two bags a week and putting down sections at a time. I do not like putting mulch down-- but it looks so nice when it is done.
I do hope you fix the problem of not visiting me, I so love your comments. This is a funny post. Haven't we all screwed up something in our gardens with good intentions? Yes, most of the plants do have a forgiving nature. Do be careful stepping between plants in the dark!
Grace girl .. you could be talking about "ME" .. my latest good intention of cleaning up clematis vine was to snip the life line of poor Niobe that is paired with Henrii climbing over the garden gate arbor .. the things I said to myself .. and it doesn't stop at the misguided snip .. you have to watch the die back happen SLOWLY .. I'm still turning tha air in that area BLUE ?? LOL
Joy ;-)
Oh my goodness those fuschias are amazing. Gardening wouln't be fun without the mishaps, otherwise we would never learn! Love all the pink in your garden.
I hate when I do that stuff. I'm always stepping on something or dragging the hose across something, and when I'm not, the dogs do it for me. We're lucky nature is resilient.
I'm with you, it's far too hot to be out there now.
Oh God, I hate water hoses! You get clear out in the garden and it naturally just has to kink up way back at the the far end somewhere. I tell you it is a conspiracy! After lugging and dragging the thing around in the heat it does just make you want to take a hoe to it. Some days you just do not what to do anything that you know is going to be aggravating ;-)
The 'Rose Petticoats' is such a pretty bloomer. The leaves on the canna is so prettily marked.
I always love reading your posts, I can always relate to most if not all of it. I've done the bulb digging so many times I think that's why I barely ever plant them anymore. Hoses are evil, I get so mad at them and they always drag over plants, especially the delicate ones.
Now I see 2 more clematis that I want and your fuchsia is beautiful!
This was me the other day: Happily purchase 2 plants that I've been trying to locate, they were just the thing for a troublesome spot and are fairly hard to find. Plant them. Water them. Notice a dead leaf on the flax next to one of them. Step over one plant to get to the leaf, pull off the dead leaf, step back RIGHT ONTO ONE of the two plants I just planted. Swear loudly.
Grace:
The hose has been responsible for so many inadvertant 'Ooops..... that as you say, morph into other explitives' and yet it is the only way to reach the back of the Shaded Walk. Dug up what I thought was a clump of Convalleria, only to remember that there was a precious Roscoea in or about the same spot..... and when I saw the roots.... damn it all! Alas, you are so right about the garden being forgiving..... thankfully!
Oh, I wish you had sent some of that rain slightly east to pay my garden a visit. All we received was some annoying drizzle. Enough gloom to cause powdery mildew to pop up out of nowhere! I admit I am quite guilty of being a little overzealous with the clippers at times during my deadheading sessions. What can I say? I get into a zone deadheading and the plants had better watch out!
I'm so enjoying your posts, Grace! You've identified, again, some of my foibles and frustrations! Grace, Grace, how does your garden grow? With floral bells and cockle shells... your photos show beautiful flowers and combinations! (Guess it's all worth the effort, isn't it?) ;-)
Etoile rose is a beauty. And the shot of Midnight Rose and diascia is a pretty one as well. I've been busy snapping pictures of my daylilies, and occasionally I knock off a bud, grumble grumble. It's especially bad when I do it to a new plant about to bloom for the first time . . . and delay the show for a whole year.
Oh, so true!! I find myself apologizing to my crushed plant, or broken stem. As if that will help it. But still they keep on coming back. Who couldn't love gardening?
Grace, I have canna envy. I have to check out the garden center, to see if they have this beauty.
What's the plant behind the Clematis Etoile Rose? Palette is TDF. Won't that Canna be the dreaded orange?
Laura,
Behind C. 'Etoile Rose' is Rosa 'Lyda.' I bought it at Heirloom Roses years ago. If you go to their website you can see more complimentary photos.
The Canna will indeed be orange but I cut off the flowers before they bloom.
Oh you are so not alone, I've done all the things you've mentioned on too many occasions to count. ;) We had a nice rainfall yesterday (almost 2") and I was thrilled beyond words!
Wow, I was actually right about the Canna! I've actually learned something at this expensive school.
Hi Grace, I just had to laugh along with you as I recognized some of my own garden 'oopses.'
So far this year I've only 'broken' two plants - the geranium I brought with me from a previous garden (that's taken 5 years to establish itself here,) and the red trillium I stepped on. The geranium is recovering, and I was able to root the big broken piece so now I have two. The jury's still out on the trillium. I hope it comes back next spring.
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