One of the greatest pleasures in my life is looking at a freshly weeded, newly mulched, crisply edged flower bed. This is best viewed fresh from the shower where I had taken inventory of my injuries and washed my hair because it is the only good way to get all the dirt out of my nails. When I am at the pleasure part, the tan line on my feet shows deeper where the straps are on my garden clogs. I have washed the sweat and the tiniest of mulch particles that cling to it , off of me. The sun is setting and I can admire my handiwork.
Here is the bed I did today. I do not have a before picture because it was too embarrassing. Let's suffice it to say that an injury sidelined me from maintaining this bed last summer, and it is the last one to be done this year. Yes, it is well past the planting season and a more dedicated ( or less distracted) gardener would have planted some annuals among the roses, boxwoods and lavender that inhabit this bed.
All of my flower beds have a story. The story of this one is order. In decorating a room, it is often suggested that you leave a wall blank to rest the eyes. This is my version of a blank wall. Not a lot going on to visually stimulate. Lots of mulch, roses that visit and depart and return as the suits their folly as summer goes by. In the winter, the boxwoods are some of the only green I see.
I also perked up the front flower bed. I didn't get a whole lot of satisfaction from this one, but it does look cleaner free of the weeds and gone- to- seed Belles of Ireland that I did not plant nearly enough of. I am disappointed in a number of the annuals in this bed, but the vinca, once again, prove to me that they are worthy of front and center status. The story of this bed is usually a color story:purple, lime green and bright pink. But this year, I added the yellow. The gold finches and bumble bees seem to like it, and I think I do too.
My peak season is fading. I am not very good at late summer blooms, some zinnias dot the beds but this year I was on a quest to fill empty spots with phlox. In the early spring, while the ground was still frozen, I envisioned a sea of phlox. I purchased several ( several= more than I care to admit) bare root phlox. I experimented with root placement, additives, even soaking a couple of them in miracle grow for an hour hoping to stimulate their roots. Now, mid summer,the only new phlox that I have in my flower beds is this one. Taller than me ( which isn't hard) and standing proud in the middle of a bed of daylillies is this specimen. This volunteer specimen. If you aren't into garden lingo, that means it just appeared. I didn't plant it there.
Yes, one of my greatest pleasures is looking at a freshly weeded, newly mulched, crisply edged flower bed. Another one is taking my friends on a garden tour.
Thank you for that!
