My son suddenly appeared at my door Friday about noon. Now this is a normal occurrence for most people but not for me. My son lives in Indianapolis, very nearly a six hour drive from me, but he has a boat here on Lake Barkley and spends a lot of summer time in my area. Sometimes he's been known to take a Friday off from work.
So he was at my door, all smiles and hugs and he said: "Mom, I need a garden and I need your help."
Being all practical minded and full of common sense I said: "Sweet Son, you live in a third floor apartment in the middle of downtown Indianapolis, exactly where do you think a garden will grow?"
"On my balcony!" son said, "just like those big pots of plants you have on your back deck! Will you help?"
I have peppers, tomatoes, basil, rosemary, chives, cilantro, parsley and lots of flowers in pots on my deck but I didn't think he'd noticed.
This son of mine is a pretty good cook, mixes herbs and spices with the best of them, as long as it's done on a grill or in the oven and in aluminum foil. I don't remember that he enjoys cleaning pots or pans. I figured his gardening genes might have finally kicked in so I agreed to help. My mind was already packing my clothes.
Son said: "What do I need, Mom, come with me to a nursery and I'll buy everything we need, then you can plant the pots and I'll take them home with me on Sunday."
I mentally unpacked my clothes, gave up on his gardening genes.
We bought the pots, we bought the potting soil and we spent hours deciding on the perfect herbs that would grace his 12' x 12' balcony. And tomatoes and peppers, I must not forget them. And a few flowers.
Son said: "Mint, Mom, I need lots of mint! Mojitos, you know!"
I said, "We don't need to buy mint, my dear, I have tons of it growing at home. I'll be more than happy to share."
We got back to my house long after dark, having stopped along the way to have a bite of dinner and make plans.
The pots, plants and potting materials were unloaded, all lined up on my front walkway in the middle of Friday night.
I spent the day Saturday building a potted garden. I have no idea why he selected red pots, but I remember hearing him mention that he'd place them inside some larger ceramic pots he already had. What he bought here was light weight plastic, easier for him to transport back to Indy and up to his third floor apartment.
He stopped by to pick up his garden yesterday. I heard him before I even knew he was here.
"Wow! Wouldja look at this! My mom built me a traveling garden!"
He called last night, "Mom, the garden's on my balcony! Should I water it now or should I wait till tomorrow and how much water, Mom, how long will it take the peppers to form and you said don't let the mint bloom and what's this green and purple thing again? Not an herb but what did you call it, I can't eat it, can I?"
"Coleus," I said. "The green and purple leafed thing is coleus. It's only for pretty, not for food."
"Thanks Mom! This is the best birthday present ever! I love you!" Son said.
His birthday isn't until September.
It was a good weekend.
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6/10/12
Here's the garden, planted on his balcony in Indianapolis. It's an old renovated building and the apartment itself is huge, open, lovely and sunny. The balcony seems to leave a little to be desired, but the plants love it!
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Blooms May 30:
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And my sweet Rose of Sharon that never blooms till mid July; guess she just couldn't wait this year.
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New blooms May 29:
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Well of course that rose doesn't belong in there but she's too pretty to resist. And I saved the ugly for last:
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Most of my daylilies are very old, given as gifts, some came to me even before botanical names were created I think. (Linnaeus would love that comment!!) I'm working on their ID though, slowly but surely.
New blooms May 28:
Another lonely rose again . . .
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It's so very dry here, no rain in forever and none in sight. The daylily foliage in some areas is already brown and yellow, crisp. They seem to just keep right on blooming.
May 25 -26:
Odd ones first, look closely at the buddleia and the oxalis came up out of nowhere:
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Ending with Polly's lilies.
Should have ended before my toes showed up there.
New Blooms 5/23/12:
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The yellow daylilies were first to bloom this year; these two came from my great grandmother's farm in Bardstown, KY in the early 80s. The third image is the same plant as the second, just better lighting. The fourth image above is the fruit or seeds of the Dracunculus vulgaris, a most interesting stinky plant, a gift from the birds, I think.
And then there's this little thing, the dark green standing straight up hairy petals around the brownish center. What is this? It looks so familiar but I can't remember what it is. I need to post in Plant ID.
**** Found it, field garlic, or wild garlic in this image. It's located near my goldenrod and black eyed susans, so I guess it felt it was in a safe place.
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And would you look at this ugly thing attached to my baby Witch Hazel tree. They are all over it and I'm so upset. The first two images are the top surface of the leaf and the third one is underneath. Makes me upset, I love that tree. Researching now, I really hope this doesn't spell baby WH disaster.
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New blooms 5/21/12:
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The last whirly image is seed forming on Blue Ravine Clematis. Nature is so pretty.
(Scroll over images for info.)
19 May 2012
What a gorgeous day! I started this morning here in my Blue Garden as the sun came up behind me. No matter the hour, this is such a peaceful place to be. Shaded by the brick arches, a few slats across the top and the lush foliage of the river birch, sometimes I just let my coffee get cold and don't bother to move for an hour or more. Somewhere I hear mourning doves cooing, and always there are bird songs. It's where I begin my days and where I end them.
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It's very dry here already, we are in first level drought conditions and have been for more than a month. I want to enjoy the green while I can because it might not be here for long. The roses are gorgeous in the back gardens. They're scattered here and there and have been blooming since March. Carefree Beauty will continue to bloom till late fall, probably the happiest rose I have. This one came with a tag that said 'Sophy's Rose', but it isn't. It's hard to change names after all these years so I just call her Sophy. She didn't even get pruned till late February; didn't seem to bother her at all.
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| Carefree Beauty (aka Sophy) | Veggies! Ha! |
Also in the back I've potted some vegetables. I hadn't planned to do this, I was going to be all ambitious and have raised beds this year. That didn't happen with the very early spring we had. The weeds and plant growth got ahead of me so I'm going with pots and hope for the best. I potted up a couple kinds of basil, some rosemary, chives and onions. I also have a roma tomato and another whose name is gone from my mind at the moment. Two peppers too, one a bell and the other, whatever. It was a little wilted at the garden center and I felt sorry for it. It also had no name; it will be a nice surprise. With my luck, it'll be too hot to eat. Might be good for winter chili though. I should have planted potatoes. It isn't too late for a late crop, but I wish I'd already planted them earlier. I might anyway. My lettuce is already history. Half runners evidently were shared with unknown critters. Maybe a late crop of them too.
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Here's another favorite resting spot, beneath the wisteria, beside the Norfolk pine and just off the back deck. It gets a little hot here in the back yard, since the sun travels east to west across the entirety. Mostly I just grab a seat here when I'm too tired from gardening to drag myself up the two or three back steps to the deck. The roses are just across the path that is beside the Norfolk pine, so it's a nice view here too. I cleared out beneath the bench this morning, making way for some pavers and bricks that will connect the bench area with the walkway.
Strangest thing about the canna above, which is just out of view of but close to the yellow bench; it was sent to me from LarryR in Iowa last summer and I placed it in this pot then. When fall came I thought I dug it all out of the pot and overwintered it in the corner of my garage. Late March I looked at the pot and the canna was growing; I checked the bag where I'd stored what I thought was canna in my garage. Mush. What on earth? At least I know now that cannas will winter well in the pot in my back yard. I have no clue what the mush in the burlap bag was. Whatever, it's now compost.
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The daylilies are in full bud, not much earlier than usual but much more lush and full. The stellas are already blooming but I didn't want to get the bottom of my skirt wet in the morning dew so I didn't climb the hill to the back garden this morning, only as far as the butterfly bush, which grows on the corner of the daylily bed. This gorgeous plant towers over me, same as most things do. But it is a sight from beneath when it's in full bloom. So are the bees that love it. That's a good time for hats.
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Here's the fun corner of my back deck; behind the glider is the summer home of one of the two 10'+ tall ficus trees that live inside during winter. It shades the glider a little bit. The other ficus lives beneath the brick arches in the front garden. Behind the lattice and on ground level is my potting shelf. The little red and yellow totem thing is about as close as I will ever get to a chicken. The yellow bench is just down the steps. Yeah, I'm big on matching colors. ;)
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In the front yard and beside the rock wall there's a lone coneflower. I didn't plant it here, but I'll leave it and hope it looks a little better eventually with another bloom or two. If not, that's OK too, I have others in a better spot, they just aren't blooming yet. Also beside the rock wall is my experiment. I'm trying hosta there; it's a shady spot that only gets very late sun, but it's so hot and I worry that the rocks will retain heat; bad for the hosta. Even so, I'm letting the dreaded vinca and a bit of ivy climb slightly down the rocks in that spot; maybe they'll provide a bit of shade. We'll see. I have the same hosta in much better places, but I really wanted to try it beside the rock wall. So far, so good.
At the end of the rock wall is a pot that remains the same most of the time. It holds sedum, and the Tradescantia, Purple Heart, that I stole from somebody's yard in Florida one time. (Oops) Well, they'd mowed and the plant was just there, broken and battered. I rescued it. The pot also holds the vinca vine that I swear loves my yard more than anything. It does make for a nice spill in pots, so I try to use it that way. This pot overwinters just as it is. Comes back every year. I really need something tall in it.
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This is a big leafed hosta growing near the shady brick arches, which I've found is the best hosta spot. This one is very nearly in bloom. Nearby St. Francis watches over the hosta and heuchera, columbine, and baby hydrangea and behind him nearest the next arch is my baby hosta bed. It's where small hosta divisions are planted and from where I share. A few other things grow there too, but mostly it's hosta, sometimes baby yucca if somebody has asked for some.
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And then there's the potted coleus all along the walkway that separates my house from the arches. I overwinter the coleus every year, it lives in water in my kitchen window then. I planted it out in March, thinking for sure it wouldn't survive, but it did. I think it's about 5 years old now. I take cuttings every year in November and just keep them in water. Along with the various coleus, there are petunias, sweet potato vine, more Purple Heart and the forever present, persistent vinca vine.
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Here's a solitary bloom left on Blue Ravine, struggling to climb up the holly tree.
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And Granny Laurie's rose taking over the white garden at the east end of the house. One of the canes fell from the roof and I didn't find it till it bloomed. Here I just let the vinca grow. There's also Chameleon here as well as some Russian sage, not visible in the picture.
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My next plan involves moving pavers and bricks for a wider walkway beside the yellow bench in back. When that's done the world will for sure know. It's already too hot even in early mornings to be moving stones and bricks from one place to another. One step at a time, I keep telling myself.
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So back to the Blue Garden again, with a few things left to plant, one being a lovely heuchera that I couldn't resist but have no idea where it will live; no doubt somewhere in the Blue Garden where it will be shaded and cool. Me too.
There's something about my Blue Garden that inspires me; there I think only of good things: things that I still want to do, still want to paint, still want to write; I make plans, scroll through memories, think of old friends and count my many blessings. It's a good place.
