Am I an obsessed gardener... ~ handmade home

Chủ Nhật, 23 tháng 6, 2013

Am I an obsessed gardener...

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... in a normal year I would say no, but this isn't a normal year... at some point when I know for sure that things are to come to pass as I suspect they will, I will share with you why we are working so hard at trying to get all the bases covered, every weed pulled, and every bed edged.

The peonies no longer look this nice as the rain came in torrents

Somehow, with another two inches of rain this weekend, high humidity, and temps close to 90 degrees.... the farther we progress, the farther behind we seem to get...

Oriental Poppy 'Flamenco Dancer'

Following are some areas that have new edges created by my hand (or should I say foot) edger, but there are many more to be completed... At nights I would notice that my left foot was so swollen that the toes barely moved... Sarah said it had to be something I was doing to which I said no way.... the next morning I realized that this was the foot I used to push the half moon edger six inches into the heavy soil... whoops... as usual, you were right dear wife!!!

Nothing makes a garden look better than a crisp edge... in my opinion at least. Obviously I need a new technique so I've since been cutting first a shallow line with the power edger and then on successive repeated cuts have been working the depth to four inches. It's a bit hard on the edger, but better the edger than me. From there I use a large dung fork to remove the clods of sod and it's working pretty well.

In the past, this has been an annuals only bed, but this year we lined out a great many of my personal hybrids of hemerocallis. Sarah then installed lots of 'Moonstruck Yellow' marigolds that I started from seeds between them. The description on these purports blooms to 4. 5 inches wide and deep, completely hiding the foliage... I thought they should combine well with the daylilies and provide a lengthy period of color.

If the hemerocallis bloom half as well as they've been creating foliage, this should be a banner year!

Beyond the edging, I have been doing lots of mulching... twenty-five yards so far and I've just had another twenty-five yards delivered. A word of caution... keep the mulch at least a foot to two feet away from your magnolia trunks as magnolias need good air and drainage.

One completed and one to go... I've been going to create structures for training the weeping larches for some time... the goal is to make them sculptural as they age.

As noted earlier, I believed the drought of last summer has somehow affected this year's siberian iris bloom but now have my doubts about that... I'm now thinking more along the lines of our neutral soil being the problem as sibs do prefer acid soil. They get lots of sun and the soil is good and moist this season... perhaps a little "Holly-tone" will turn the tide for next season... it's certainly worth a shot. Application should be both spring and fall.

There is no shortage of bloom on the dianthus this season...

We tread lightly as we descend these steps into and through the rockery.

But, I digress... the title of this post mentioned being obsessive about gardening. Things that we enjoy in life can become idols and this is definitely not a good thing. I've been thinking about this a lot lately. We love to share our gardens and mentor where we are able. We want to bring joy to others and help them appreciate the beauty of creation and God's good gifts. Most of all, we want to share the joy of gardening and the closeness we feel with each other and our God when we are in the gardens. I do so appreciate the personal notes and thank you's from visitors who say that they are blessed by what they see pictured on this blog, and how it helps them through our long dreary winters. I often send photos out separately to people who can't get out to visit gardens and so often I hear back that these "made their day".

We recently had a good discussion in this regard with our older son... at what point do the things that interest us turn into selfish ambition. I have to admit that certain commitments I have made for this season have taken some of the joy out of our garden experience and turned it into a chore in some ways. Since I've made these commitments, I will certainly follow through as best I am able. We used to be a part of garden walks which honestly made me feel that we were somehow involved in a competition... eventually we decided that we would no longer participate in these situations and have since frequently opened our gardens during the season at times we felt would be enjoyable for those who come to visit. We put the word out, generally on short notice, according to the weather report and frequently get to enjoy the company of many folks we've not met before. We set up a number of chairs in a shady spot and thoroughly enjoy connecting with new friends as folks wander about the gardens at their own pace. Of course, visitors are always welcome, but many folks need a specific invitation.

The upside of this season is that we are being put into a situation that encourages us to get at things that simply need to be dealt with... the lesson to follow this effort involves maintenance, something I'm not always the best at since my biggest pleasure is change and design. So to answer the original question... yes maybe I am a bit obsessed this season.... after all, I did lose close to a month and a half with my three surgeries and there is a lot to do by way of honoring the commitment I mentioned earlier. On the other hand... these gardens are not my idol or god... rather they are a bit of an idyll... a place of joy and contentment, and a wonderful gift of God's creation that we love to share with any who would partake.

I'll close with a few recent garden scenes... Take care, Larry