This spring day was gorgeous…warm, but with a cooling breeze, sunny, but with occasional cloudiness. It was the perfect weather for spending the day outdoors, working in the garden. I say working, because I accomplished so much. However, playing would be the more appropriate word, playing with colors and containers.
Three gardening projects drew my focus.
I planted most of my containers today, 27 of them. I have seven more to plant tomorrow, but I’m very happy with today’s results. My Aunt Annie’s old red box received its summer update, with flower pots filled with begonias and coleas. More begonias fill containers next to the box. The shallow bowl was another treasure from my aunt’s house, pressed into service holding flowers.
The yellow baker’s rack was filled with a variety of colorful containers and equally colorful flowers and plants. I saw a quote once that said that gardening is an art that uses flowers and plants as paint, and that’s my experience. I focus on creating pleasing arrangements that balance color, look whimsical and have touches of surprise.
Pleased with the finished front porch, I filled containers in the backyard garden…
…and turned my attention to the second project, planting perennials that my friend Beth gave me from her garden. I love how gardeners are so willing to share, both knowledge and plants. I visited Beth and viewed her charming garden, and left with native phlox and Becky shasta daisies. I hope to return the favor by giving my friend plants from my garden that she doesn’t have. These new plants were tucked into the ground, successfully filling a couple of bare spots in my southern border.
Before completing project three, I considered how I could use several objects in my garden. Every container has possibilities, and my imagination fired with ideas for two vintage cone colanders that once belonged to my aunt…
…and a minnow bucket that Greg brought to me from a friend’s yard sale. Plants will go into the colanders and the solid bucket. The interior of the minnow bucket will make a whimsical candle holder. More on these projects later!
Finally, I completely redid a section of the garden. I had a great idea for the space just inside the Peace Gate, as shown in the picture above from 2014. I still like the way it looked. However, in reality the idea wasn’t practical and didn’t work. When it rains, water comes under the fence and floods the area, creating a little river that follows the path. I can’t keep mulch in the area, as the water carries it away and deposits it around the corner.
Janet Kilburn Phillips says, “There are no gardening mistakes, only experiments.” I acknowledged that this experiment failed. Time for a fresh idea. With Greg’s help, five slabs of concrete, left over from a demolished sidewalk, were repurposed to create stepping stones. Forgoing mulch, I am filling in the area with ground cover.
I’m very pleased that I’m partially accomplishing this task by using creeping phlox from the garden of Greg’s mother. Leta had a beautiful phlox garden. Although it’s been at least 20 years since that garden has been tended, the phlox returns every spring. This weekend I dug up the creeping phlox and brought it home. This re-created space is currently muddy and raw looking, and I’m going to love it.
What an incredibly lovely day, engaging in one of my favorite activities. I’m tired, and wind blown, and extremely thrilled with today’s creative playtime. Oscar de la Renta is the person who said, “Gardening is how I relax. It’s another form of creating and playing with colors.” I totally agree!
