My Little Paradise
Done Cleaning
Once all the cleaning and planting were done, the garden quickly filled its borders with lush green foliage.
The smell, look, and feel of the garden scream summer, and I am confused as I ponder the absence of flowers, only to realize we're two months ahead of their expected arrival.
The weather forecast recently warned us of freezing temperatures for two nights in a row, and even I, the ever cautious gardener, couldn't take that seriously.
It's summer, people! It's undeniably summer.
After all these years, it's still surreal to see a messy pile of sticks and debris turn into a beautiful garden overnight.
Following a fierce battle of wills, which I won, I managed to restore the Species roses to their original beauty, and they now boast a wealth of flower buds.
Turk's cap lilies promise bountiful bloom, even in the shade, giant purple balls sway atop the long stems of the drumstick alliums, and flowering Brunnera lays delicate blue lace at the feet of the crab apple tree, itself laden with blossoms.
Someone said a garden is the closest thing to Heaven, I'm sure they must be right.
New Plants for Spring
Speaking of planning, research and resisting impulse buying, I went to the plant nursery just for supplies, and ended up bringing home a whole garden's worth of plants.
When you know the choice is right, there's no reason to postpone things.
What new plants joined the flower borders this year?
Alongside the must-haves, delphiniums, lilies, coneflowers, and daisies, I'm thrilled to experiment with plants I've never grown before, like Cala lilies, Cannas, foxgloves, crocosmia, and giant orange dinner plate dahlias.
Several short-lived perennials have completed their life cycle, leaving empty spaces behind them, and that provided an opportunity to add four more roses to keep company to the rest of the just tamed shrubs.
Some coral bells, lupines, yarrow, zinnias, and salvias, also made their way into the garden, as did, of course, heliotrope.
I'm looking forward to beautiful summer borders. With this assortment, how could they not be?
About Annuals
The annual seeds I scattered on the perennial flower beds last year ended up growing out of control and suffocating everything. This time, I'll wait longer and plant only annual seedlings.
Still, the County Fair zinnias were irresistible, as were the lovely memories they brought back.