Give some an inch and they’ll take over your garden; give
others their own premium location and they sulk. It’s too bad plants aren’t
sentient enough to realize that if they don’t grow as expected in my garden, there
are severe penalties — and I’m a tough love judge, a three strikes and you’re
out judge, a hanging judge. In fact, I make Judge Judy look like Mother Theresa
on valium.
Oh yes, my garden may look peaceful and serene, a botanical
sanctuary, but it didn’t get that way by me being a sentimental wuss.
Insensitivity goes a long way in garden care. Don’t get me wrong, there’s
plenty of opportunity for rehabilitation, and the three strikes and you’re out
policy is relaxed if it isn’t three consecutive strikes, which a few plants
appear to have figured out. They play dead for a couple of years then give a
gold medal performance. I praise them, I reward them with an extra layer of compost,
and then the following year they look like they fell off the final sale rack outside the grocery store. Then I have to start over and give them another chance.
It might be too hot, too dry, too wet, too windy, too sunny,
or too shady for a particular plant’s liking. There are variations between
species. For instance, blue or green hosta prefer more shade while the gold or
yellow types like more sun. This is why, even though I may be ruthless, I take
all these factors into consideration before sentencing.
I often move plants
around, sometimes two or three times until I find a spot the plant is happy with,
but then what happens? It grows like it’s on a mission to replace the lawn and
I have to dig three quarters of the plant out before there’s no room for
anything else in the garden. For instance, I have clumps of daylilies that I
seem to recall adoring, but they’ve begun to annoy me and will have to be dug
and divided, or even disposed of.
2 comments:
Having the gift you do
The gift of putting down on paper, so to speak, what you feel This article could have been written by myself about the garden. and survival and ruthlessness at times etc. but never could I have done the job of putting my thoughts down so well
As well am slowing down on being able to manage some of the work Not a good thing for a gardener not at all a good thing.
It is lovely to see what you are creating and have done
It's good to read of your struggles with plants. I don't feel like I'm alone in the plant sagas. And good to know that some plants go into the compost. Sometimes I can't be bothered to divided nicely and pot them up for someone else. This was a better year for me to do that, but who know about next year? Gardening is an ongoing adventure.Thank you for sharing.
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