After that I could only half-heartedly garden. I wanted to plant the garden and have it perfect... always.
In the last twelve years I've had a lot of change in my life. That is no longer my home. I am no longer single. And life has taught me some hard lessons. Lessons that have brought me back to the garden.
Because you know what? Things will never be perfect. Not in a garden, and not in my life. There are seasons.. and some flowers just won't make it through all of them. But, oh....my! are they beautiful when they get their time in the sun. This year our irises poked up through the ground and stunned us in both the front and back yards. These were transplanted from the old house, and clearly like it here. I snapped a lot of pictures of them because I thought they were stunning.
My front porch containers made it through winter with their geraniums in tact. They really grew and got really leggy. I added pansies (another of my favorite flower) and some petunias because petunias will never fail you, and they smell awesome.
In the other container I also have some "horse tail" that I pulled from a friend's yard and a smaller container with the tiny hydrangea from last year. Oh, how I wish someone could help me grow a hydrangea in my front garden. I know it would never make it in the back, but I think if I did things just right, one would grow in the front. Right now the front garden is a tangle of Mexican primrose and the greenery from the irises. That primrose is fantastic for out here. It spreads and blooms and doesn't dy in the desert heat. However, it can start looking scraggle-y, so I'm on a quest to make the front garden more cottage-y, and to tame the primrose.
This weekend I got some discount salvia and some yellow daisies as well as some coreopsis (another of my favorite flowers) I also have some window boxes to put up, and in them I've got more geranium (since I know they will stand it) and some deep purple and velvet looking petunias. I've just got to figure out how to get those window boxes screwed up there solidly enough that they don't fall right off when they're wet. I've not done anything yet but move plants around, because I want to make sure that I have everything where I want it.
There have been even bigger changes in the backyard. Granddad came over and dug a veggie garden and Liam and I started seeds (most of which were a gift from an awesome student!) They will be ready to go in the ground in a few weeks, I think. I've already got a tomato plant and red bell pepper plant in the ground...oh! and some strawberries on the porch. Liam and I are having fun seeing which seeds have sprouted in our mini greenhouse.
Our side garden is blooming with Mexican primrose, honeysuckle and rootstock roses. Those rootstock only bloom once, but they are amazing when they do!
I planted the beginnings of a rose and lavender garden. It needs some mulch pretty badly, so I'll be adding that next. I have dreams of being able to open the hearth room window and seeing/smelling the roses and lavender. Right now it isn't much to look at.... but I believe!
Tomorrow before everyone comes for our cookout, I plant to dig this up more and add some bark. I need to add some under the swingset as well.
I spent almost the entire day outside. When I wasn't cleaning up the lawn or planting, I was laying on my porch swing reading a book, or enjoying the view. It was one of those lovely mornings when everyone was busy, and we got an incredible amount of work done, so that made the relaxation later in the day all the sweeter.
That's what a garden is. We work, we wait, we wait some more and then wow! the beauty we get to enjoy. But we have to know, too that there is a season, and that the flowers will fade, some plants will die, and some may just never flower at all.
Yes, there is a lot we can learn from a garden.
