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h-o-m-e
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
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.
