Right now , here in fall , this is when all the many flaws in my garden are on splendid , full on , full head-on display . Proudly , they flaunt themselves , bemock me to every shipload of judgmental suburbanite that repel by , the pilots and passengers who fly over my house , and the hordes of wheel course Walker across the street who glance my way , make remarks to one another , and snicker . So the other day , it hit me like a brick . Yes , it ’s been a long time of year . Sure , I ’m tired . Indeed , I ’m pretty darned burned out . But the constructive reply to all this humiliation is not to go across the street and chase around four middle - aged sister who had , in fact , snicker , but who also count among their number a county judge , but rather to put on my boots , pick up my jigaboo , and make needed change .
Having written that above paragraph , and then having reread it , and then having re - written it , re - learn , and then repeated that cycle 2 - 3 more times , a couple thoughts happen to me . One , committal to writing and horticulture are very similar . There is never a final merchandise with gardening . And there would n’t be for writing if it were n’t for deadline . The other thought , and one that worries me , is that not everyone will find the above revelationas solid ground - shatteringly insightful as I did .
Agastache ‘ Blue Fortune , ’ I tried . I really try out . But the soil here is not extra enough to keep you from stagger over . You ’re getting moved to the kind of inhospitable site that keeps you try .
Agastache ‘Blue Fortune,’ I tried. I really tried. But the soil here is not spare enough to keep you from keeling over. You’re getting moved to the kind of inhospitable site that keeps you trying.
It ’s very potential some people are chic than I. Youmight fall in that class . And , possibly , even as a small child you sleep with that poor industrial plant choices and tough innovation ideas majestically erect their ugly heads in the fall garden , thereby making it easier to lop them off . I , myself , am finding it somewhat dismaying that it has taken me almost 40 years of horticulture and 60 years of experience to discover this pithy truth . So if you are gravel by how obvious the whole assumption of this web log has been so far , I will ask that you read on anyway . I recall you ’ll be amused by the schadenfreude that comes from observing how much harder life history is for some of us .
Helianthus ‘ Lemon Queen , ’ like many of us , had a bad 2020 . And it was n’t so raging in 2019 either . It ’s on the short lean .
I ’ll say this one additional thing too before I block up all this paralyse self knowingness . I might have cerebrate this idea up before , and then simply forgot it . I forget everything . On several occasions when a issue of hebdomad had go since my wife and I had had married dealings , it was like Iwas a virgin all over again . I was like , “ Wow ! That was so incredible ! Tell me again what you call it ? ”
Helianthus ‘Lemon Queen,’ like many of us, had a bad 2020. And it wasn’t so hot in 2019 either. It’s on the short list.
A memory board this bad is why it ’s not good enough to just walk around and be accosted by my garden ’s many fault with the design of fixing them in the spring . Maybe your memory is bad too . If so , fix all you could now . For the remainder , take photos and make notes that you print and bind into a book which you ’ll keep in an inconvenient place where it might cut down on your foot several time over wintertime . That way , it wo n’t be out of mind come spring .
Have I inspired you to move yet ? Because I distrust a wad of you are smiling and nodding your chief wisely , and yet will not get outside and defeat all those unsightly component in your garden . And , I cipher I know the ironical reason why . It ’s because it ’s uncheerful to wander the garden this time of year . And why is that ? Hell’sbells , it ’s because of all those flaw ! The time to discover is now .
bonk my Crocosmia back in June when it look like the picture on top , but it has look like the icon on the bottom ever since . Not quite ready to live without it , I dug it up and relocate the medulla yesterday . It now lines my neighbor ’s side of a careen wall . Maybe the wall will keep it from flop like a Premier League soccer player . If not , it ’ll founder where I ca n’t so easy see it . My neighbor will , but he ’s a lawn guy . Most significantly , I know the rosiness will be hold above the wall enough that I ’ll still get to savor them . Moreover , I think my Crocosmia needed separate anyway , and will look better as a long , narrow clump than it did as an amorphous one . Whether it stand upright or not .
So do n’t sing yourself out of doing this important work . Do n’t evidence yourself that you ’re tired and you want to watch football on TV . Do n’t fall for your own Trygve Halvden Lie that your garden is already good enough . Do n’t think that thegarden mall will be a cheerless and disappointing ghost town with a shell shocked faculty allwandering around like zombies . Don’t be so stunned as to await you ’ll remember all the change you need to make next outpouring . Just go outside and jump working .
When I cut down the tree that was shade my Brunnera , I wondered how much Dominicus it could take . flex out , not this much . It will get moved to a shadier neighborhood , but , lower on the list , that might not happen until spring because I already have a lot of it and bonk it is quick and well-to-do to transplant them in give .
Oh , and one other thing . When you go out to judge the trade good , the bad , and the ugly , make anathemize sure you ’re in a abominable mood . The worst modality you may make bechance . Critically important . Your tolerance for tolerance should be way below the average . If you ’re a mean value drunk , do it drunk . If you ’re a happy drunk , do it solemn . If you ’re not a sot at all , watch four hours of the other side ’s 24 - hour cable television news channel before you go outside . With that sort of flak in your eyes , sentiment will not override ugly , and with a acuate nigga and some napalm , you could get material . Get really real ! You might be surprise how much less you hate your garden next year !
Loved my Crocosmia back in June when it looked like the picture on top, but it has looked like the picture on the bottom ever since. Not quite ready to live without it, I dug it up and relocated the bulbs yesterday. It now lines my neighbor’s side of a rock wall. Maybe the wall will keep it from flopping like a Premier League soccer player. If not, it’ll flop where I can’t so easily see it. My neighbor will, but he’s a lawn guy. Most importantly, I know the blooms will be held above the wall enough that I’ll still get to enjoy them. Moreover, I think my Crocosmia needed dividing anyway, and will look better as a long, narrow clump than it did as an amorphous one. Whether it stands upright or not.
So the Aster tataricus , despite being cut back by half in July , is down the‘Stewartstonian’Azalea . The azalea is also being devoured by lace hemipteron , which is exactly what typically pass here in chalky SW Ohio . Something here has got to switch , but I have n’t quite resolve what . But it ’s not looking good for the azalea . Best font scenario for it is that I receive a funny place for it and soak it with sulfur and iron from time to time .
When I cut down the tree that was shading my Brunnera, I wondered how much sun it could take. Turns out, not this much. It will get moved to a shadier neighborhood, but, lower on the list, that might not happen until spring because I already have a lot of it and know it is quick and easy to transplant them in spring.
So the Aster tataricus, despite being cut back by half in July, is devouring the‘Stewartstonian’Azalea. The azalea is also being devoured by lace bugs, which is exactly what typically happens here in calcareous SW Ohio. Something here has got to change, but I haven’t quite decided what. But it’s not looking good for the azalea. Best case scenario for it is that I find a shadier place for it and drench it with sulfur and iron from time to time.
