“Within
The Secret Gardens Of The Heart, Displayed, Are Intimate, and Tonic, Flower’d
Joys Arrayed”
07/20/13
Oh,
my dearest, kindest friends, and ever-constant, loyal readers,
I have always loved flowers; pretty ones, unusual
ones, striking ones, which range from the deep, dark red of the rose, “Mr.
Lincoln”, to the odd, Venus Flytrap.
I dote-upon, and can spend hours, and hours poring
through nursery catalogues to see their many-splendored offerings.
And, as the dreaded heat of summer wears on, and on,
I eagerly wait until Fall, when—hopefully—the incinerator that is Florida
finally begins to cool, until it is safe to venture outside, knees pads on,
attired in ‘work clothes, and trowel in hand; and there with potting soil, cow
poo, top soil, and mulch,( and, convenient rolling seat to sit upon), take
precious seeds, or seedlings, in hopes of transforming a rather plain, and
quite uneventful stretch of weeds, and lawn, to make of it a sheltered
paradise.
That is the wish I entertain, and have entertained
for the past twenty-seven years.
There are—however—probably six or seven things that
have ever thwarted my most plangent effort.
1)
Always, cash has been a problem.
2)
Somewhere in that 27 years, I was
altered, made the worse, changed from an energetic thirty-two year old, with
more ideas, than sense, into the fifty-eight year old wreck I
am—regrettably—today; full of pain, illness, anxiety, agoraphobia, and oxygen @ three liters, 24/7. In addition, I seem to be allergic to nearly
everything that groweth, or, creepeth upon the ground (think caterpillars, spiders,
snakes, and biting flies).
3)
Until I became ill and disabled, I
worked full time night shift, so the majority of my ‘off-the-clock’ time was
consumed doing errands for my late mother and father, or, just trying to
somehow, get enough sleep to make it through the next night.
4)
While some people are admittedly born
with a ‘green thumb’, mine is of the most ebon shade of black; plants recoil
from my touch.
5)
I once tried to make the outline of a
huge, flower plot in the side-yard, using a hose to shape the outline, and the
amending the holy Hanna out of the soil, which was mostly sand. I must have purchased $200.00 worth of
various flower seeds (which looked SO
pretty on the packs), only to discover that the ants, and the birds LOVED the
seeds, and they proceeded to eat every last, blessed seed.
6)
If you will observe on Google-earth, a
map of Florida, and then drop down the west coast, until one reaches the mouth
of Tampa Bay (on the map, it looks exactly like some demi-Godling took a bite
out of the peninsula), you will find yourself in the vicinity of where I
live. For you gardeners out there, we
are talking zone 9; there’s only two more zones, until one runs out of land at
Key West, and finds oneself walking out into the water. What zone 9 means, is that, probably 9/10ths’
of everything listed in the plant catalogues will just shrivel up and die here.
I longed for tulips, I
dawdled over daffodils, I loved the oriental poppy; all for naught, as none of
them would ever survive the heat and the humidity here.
How do I know this to
be true? Because one year, I was given
(and bought more) a box of dahlia bulbs, which actually grew, and looked
astonishingly beautiful; in fact, cars passing by would slow to take in the
sight. Until arrived the relentless heat
of July. I couldn’t get home early
enough to keep them watered, and, in a short while, the sun burnt them to the
ground, and the bulbs rotted. Damn.
I did grow an orange cosmos from seed (until the
local bunny rabbits on the loose, ate them to the ground)…think of a very fat,
bearded, and bespectacled Elmer Fudd {…kill the wab-bit!}
And so, my dearest friends, in 27 years, I have
little or nothing to show for it, save for an unquenchable desire to plant AND
grow something very, very pretty, and to—somehow—feel a part of the whole
‘creation/seeing new life emerge’ thing.
This summer is no different, dear friends. I have my handy, dandy flower catalogue (it
is one I’ve always liked) from “Bluestone Perennials”.
For those of you who are itinerant gardeners, or
those who routinely (and with great success!), plant flowers all the time, I
must tell you that this catalogue is wonderful, and can be had for free. Again, dearest friends, I am not getting a
dime for indorsing this company. But, to
get a general look-see, go to:
Otherwise, their mailing address, and telephone
# is:
Bluestone
Perennials
7211 Middle Ridge Rd.
Madison, Ohio, 44057
Telephone #: 1-800-852-5243
Hours of operation: Mon-Fri,
9
a.m. to 4 p.m. ( E.S.T )
There are many reasons why I adore this particular
catalogue:
1)
For each genus of plants, they provide
two graphs, one, for length of blooming time, and the other, for sun or shade
requirements.
2)
Each established ‘seedling’ is about 3”
high, giving it a head start over trying to cultivate from seed only.
3)
Their pots are 100% biodegradable
4)
I believe they guarantee their plants to
arrive in good condition AND to grow
(with no particular time limit), or they will issue a replacement, or a
refund.
5)
Bluestone offers a huge variety of
perennials, that—generally—cost about $7.95 each, plus, of course, shipping and
handling.
6)
The photographs of the flowers, scrubs,
ferns, ground-covers, and trees are gorgeous!
7)
And, for those—like me—likely to step on
a rake, therefore bashing in my conk, they offer already planned gardens for
shade, for butterflies, for direct sun, and for the newcomer.
I’ve already been poring
over, and poring over their catalogue, and I think I have narrowed it down to
just three or four perennials to ‘experiment’ with:
1)
When money frees up, of course, I think
I may get a few “Stella D’Oro” day lilies, as with some protection, they might
survive up under the front hedge, where the hedge has gotten spotty.
2)
For the full-sun area, I like the
‘Gaillardia’, Mexican and Indian blanket flowers; I first discovered them—on my
way home for work, once—growing in a vacant lot in pure sand! And with no care, whatsoever. They love the hot sun, love poor soil, and
infrequent watering, and these, I think might look pretty out around the
mailbox, where no hose would reach. In
short….MY kind of plant!
Even though I will now have to have someone to plant
them for me, and then put in a soaker hose on a timer out at the pump, to give
them a trickle of water, still, I am excited about fixing the yard up, and
maybe making it look pretty.
And although I don’t go outside very often, I can
still see them through the house windows, as they grow, and gently sway in any
fit of breeze.
And I know that—even obliquely—I will have tried to
capture a little bit of glamour, and beauty, and calming effects of such
wonderful flowers!
My dearest friends, and loyal readers, my questions
to you are:
1)
Do you garden, at all?
2)
If you have a garden, what plants do you
have in it?
3)
What are you favorite plants, and why?
4)
What plants—if any—help you to ‘feel
good’?
5)
Where do you get your plants? From a neighbor? From seed? From a local ‘home-improvement’ store, in
their garden department? Or, do you buy
from catalogues?
6)
Do you ever have cut flower arrangements
in your home? And why?
Please kindly share your thoughts, feelings, and
experiences with planting flowers, or flower beds in the comment section,
below.
And,
as always, please know that I think of you so very often, and that I love you
dearly!
‘Zahc’/Charles
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