A friend asked the other day why I havent posted any pictures of the border garden I take care of where I live. Well, thats because its very much a work-in-progress. The thing I love most about gardening is the creation of the garden, the envisioning, the planting, and the tweaking--the moving around of plants, the subtraction of some, the addition of others. Gardening is very much like sculpture, I think, in that its working with color, shape, texture, and three dimensions. Happily, Ive discovered over the last few years that the gardener has enormous latitude in shaping a garden, thanks primarily to the toughness and survivability of most plants. For many years I thought of all plants as being fragile and delicate and virtually certain to die if not treated with the utmost care at every turn. Then I discovered the real truth: that plants are inherently survivors and moving them around isnt brain surgery but often a matter of simple expediency. That Rudbeckia (black-eyed Susan) has grown into a space-hogging monster? Jam a spade into it and divide it to make more space and plant the divisions wherever you like. That ornamental grass now blocks out three plants behind it? Divide, divide, divide. That particular color scheme isnt working? Pull some of the colors and plant them where they might look better and bring in some new ones. And, contrary to what Ive been told so many times by so many sources, Ive discovered that I can do this reshaping and transplanting at any time of year, in the spring or even in the hottest part of the summer, even in the late autumn, even, so help me, in the winter, and, by gosh, as long as the plants get enough water, they survive. So thats what im doing with the 150-foot border garden at the moment--reworking it in various ways. Its shaping up nicely and more and more things are coming into bloom and before long Ill be done moving things around. Then Ill take a picture or two and share them here. Oh, and, meanwhile, I wish you the best of luck with your very own garden-tweaking.
Posted on: Mon, 30 Jun 2014 08:31:44 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015