“Novels and gardens,” she says. “I like to move from plot to plot.”
― Bill Richardson, Bachelor Brothers’ Bed & Breakfast
A garden, like a book, has a story to tell, but its story is never truly finished, for as every digger knows, a garden is an eternal work in progress. Shovel something in, yank something out, weed, water, revise.
My own gardens have been rewritten more times than I can count. Sometimes it’s an overhaul of the narrative (out with that bed of sickly roses), and sometimes just a tweak in punctuation (a few more forget-me-nots, please).
Heavenly-scented phlox paniculata is one of my favorites.
One year, lost in a gardener’s dream, I decided the lantana I had planted for five summers in my little patio beds should be replaced with something else, something fragrant, perhaps, with more of a cottage feel. I pondered for a while. The lantana, a workhorse plant that is resistant to drought and pollinator-friendly, had been something of a sure thing. Not to mention it bloomed with cheery yellow and pink flowers all season without even a word of encouragement. But I was ready for a change, not just in plot but in genre. So I planted in a newer, more genteel cast of characters that included phlox paniculata, true geranium and coral bells. Now, on summer evenings, when the heavenly perfume of the phlox carries on the breeze, I know I made the right decision.
Of course, a garden, like a book, tells nothing of the labors behind it. Broken fingernails, pulled muscles, bee stings. As one astute observer said, “Gardening requires a lot of water, most of it in the form of perspiration.” But when it all comes together, and it’s working just right, you like reading it again and again.
Do you have a gardening story to share? I would love to hear it. Contact me HERE.