| 2004 garden report sub-directory Flower Essence sub- directory Flower Essence Handbook Sub-directory Flower Photo Index Teaching/Bio sub-directory Site Directory CONTACT h-o-m-e |
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| CLICK HERE for most recent garden report entry. This is a good time to start thinking about how you want to prepare for next year's garden. Hook into some seed exchanges or find another friend or two to split the cost of seed orders. Most seed packets can keep two or even three family-sized gardens very well stocked. If you share the packets you also share a bounty of greater diversity! This is also an excellent time to set up a co-operative flower essence brigade. If you'd like to become part of the Sparkling Lotus 'co-op coalition' please click here to contact Acey |
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| To read more of the latest update please turn to the next page. 2004 year has been a landmark gardening experience in that it was the first time in my adult life that I've worked with-in such a space as a hobby rather than an avocation. It seems both fitting and highly ironic that the work I was "escaping" through my newfound relationship to the Sparkling Lotus garden beds related very strongly to those beds in their past years' incarnations! In mid-winter when the seed catalogs began to arrive I read them thoroughly with no intent to order seeds. Another first! I didn't buy a single packet of seeds this year! I intended to grow some flats from the previous year's seed leftovers but Crow Spirit apparently wasn't having any of it. Every time I'd go in the basement, there'd be no grow light bulbs in the hanging fixtures. When family or friends went to verify the absence, the grow lights were always well in place! Such is the nature of Sparkling Lotus-land from time to time. Life went on with my intention to reclaim the beds from the 'wilding' they experienced the previous summer when I was on the road rather than in their attendance. It was a formidable project involving a lot of exposure to cleavers -mysteriously dominant as newcomer. There were many casualties of both the botanical aggression patterns and our second treacherously frigid winter. Our beloved buddleia bush is no more - it is an ex-buddleia, pushing up the daisies, etc. Although it has no immediate bearing on this report, some folks might enjoy knowing that I do actually perform the dead parrot sketch for the dearly departed wooden skeleton's clear enjoyment. Also departed are both lavender bushes, all but one of the garden sages, many of the strawberry foxgloves, all of the white species, all but one clump of Sophia oriental poppies. Our dark-flowering crabapple is struggling in what could be a losing battle. The dog roses and antique white climbers were sorely decimated by the winter's perpetual coating of ice. Of course, in spite of my 'hobby' status I had to perform a few Sparkling Lotus-generated experiments. For instance: study what happens when Acey stops hating on the japanese beetles! This year I did it where in other years I have failed. I authentically accepted the evening primroses' clear willingness to sacrifice their leaves in favor of the roses' continued health and happiness! And so over five years time I've gone from grim consiglione to a state of larger tolerance. As no surprise in result, the JB's did the most minimal damage of their career here in Sparkling Lotus-land. I did my best to love them as much as I love the hummingbird - slipping up only once in the naming of two picture images: Public Enemy #1. In the pictures the beetle looks so unassuming and blameless ... Of course the rescue and recovery work was bound to loose its thrall as a sole source of gardening gratification. I purchased a very modest number of six packs from a local supermarket, hoping to keep the hummingbird happy even without the buddleia bush. She has never wanted any part of my offerings but does come to the feeder she ignored for four consecutive years. Thus the see-em-everywhere red salvias and scarlet petunias became my first green babies of the season. I'm very happy to report I put aside many growing snobberies that were largely acquired through the Main Line side of my family tree and subsequent reading material. What I learned this summer is that there is nothing inherently 'wrong' with these plants simply because they happen to be so common, unquestioned, and largely unchallenged by many mainstream accounts. Other purchases, meant to be far more special, were purchased down in CT at the formerly incomparable Logee's greenhouses. Alas how the mighty and its alluring perfume have fallen! The new generation in charge lacks affinity ('the son', who waited on me, managed to convey very overt classist dismissal mechanisms while he was simultaneously careless enough to break-off flower heads on three of the five plants he packed for me), concrete botanical awareness (his wife, when questioned very specifically about a plant, proceeded to show me something that possessed the direct opposite characteristics from what I described) and a sense of personal accountability (when I wrote an email complaining about both these facts it was resoundingly ignored). Less than impressed is a polite summation of my conclusive nature... The decapitated black and blue sage did manage to make a comeback that has been greatly enjoyed in recent weeks. I hope to collect seeds and get a good thriving colony of them going for next year. The more resilient coral nymph sage has been a very strong player. It lives in concert with several salpiglossis and some thriving oft-picked basil. In the same area my beloved Old Fashioned Sunset rose made a suprise comeback after two years of absence. Blooming just after my birthday, it requested a presence on my prayer altar and so it was cut to unfurl and remain gorgeous for over two weeks! Also returned after a long absence - Sunsprite roses, Angel Face and a miniature red. We've been eating a lot of bananas and so the roses have been getting lots of food from the pulverized skins. They respond by sending up twin buds on nearly every plant. Right now we're graced with the first of two double delight roses. Further to the front of the same bed, a pair of Tropicana twins has been blooming unphased throughout the mercurial storm patterns. Near the beginning of the season I also bought some white marigolds, nemesia, hot pink million bells and pink zinnias. I also purchased parsely and basil seedlings. My beloved magical red allamanda is coming into bloom. Goldenrod is ready to pick for sore-muscle oil but it needs another day of sunlight to dry. Dead-heading chores abound. The marigolds and zinnias are running riot just as I pictured and hope they will remain until the killing frost. My attempt to grow a transplanted moonvine in a pot was NOT a success; the ragweed seedling in the same container thrived while the vine did the very opposite! Still the heartshaped leaves on the vine have been much admired. People of all ages have pointed them out with happy smiles. |
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| a wandering Ronin ... |
| red nikki |