Boundaries

Posted on May 8, 2013 by shobha

I’m knee deep in compost and soil as the pressure is on to get the garden ready for my Open Day on Saturday May 25 ( mark your calenerds please). So this week, I’m offering some food for thought by way of a short poem and approprite images.Enjoy.

Boundaries

Gardens are full of boundaries
Flower beds have flowing borders
Lawns have clean edges
Plants are trimmed and pruned to stay within limits
And then there are fences and hedges.

Is this all about control?
The need to exercise power
Maybe have something to rule
To civilize what tends to stray or run wild
Is taming nature the work of fools?

Check ‘Happenings’ page for Open Day details

Meditate On This!

Posted on April 30, 2013 by shobha

Hello, my name is Shobha and I meditate.
Meditation is very in these days. As ancient and as worldwide a practice as it might be, currently, we are hearing more about it as a mainstream activity. This, in my opinion is a very good thing. The mental, physical, emotional and spiritual benefits of meditation are now in the annals of science. These weighty findings have finally given it the heft of credibility and people everywhere can publicly declare without fear of being mocked that they are meditators.

I have meditated off and on over many years but have been practicing it more consistently of late. I cannot say exactly how it helps me except that on the days I skip my meditation, I don’t feel so great. I’m more cranky and not as productive. For some reason, it is not so easy to make the time. Especially since it is best to get it done first thing in the morning. I think it helps to set a positive tone to the day. However, if one has overslept, has not slept well or, has an early morning appointment, the meditation is unhesitatingly skipped. For myself, any other time of day does not quite lend itself to meditation. I am just too distracted. Clearly, I have a long way to go to be able to meditate anytime and anywhere. Gives me something to aspire to. Sort of like the quest to achieving true enlightenment.

Until such time, I have developed alternatives to the traditional way to meditate. You guessed it, it all happens in the garden. In truth, this can be done anywhere but being outside in nature is restorative in itself. How much time you spend on this is up to you. You must be satisfied with your effort and feel like you’ve taken an uplifting break from the day’s obligations.

Once you have entered the garden and visibly begun to calm down and breathe evenly, take a few deep breaths to send a message to the brain that it is in for a treat. Bring your attention to any object in the garden. Say it is a pear. Consider how you would describe a pear. Green, tear drop shaped, smooth skin, sweet in taste, you get the idea. Then, think about tinier details such as the speckled pattern on the skin, the subtly varied shades of the color green, the asymmetry of the shape, the aroma etc., Now you’re really honed into the exercise. Finally, up it a notch. Begin describing the humble pear all over again – this time, as you would to a blind person. Somebody who has never had the sense of sight and does not know this fruit. Tear drop shaped? What is that? How would you describe the color green? You see? It is a challenge. The description can no longer be in comparison to something else. The pear acquires an explanation that is unique to itself. Give it a try.

Like most things, one gets better at this exercise by doing it regularly. It is not so simple and at the same time, it is not really difficult. Anybody of any age can try it. After all, only you are privy to how well you do. No grades and criticisms are given. But right from the start it unfailingly takes you out of yourself and gives you a purposeful diversion. The bonus is that you will find yourself looking more closely at everything. Everyday objects start appearing more beautiful and interesting. In essence, you become more mindful of the moment. And isn’t that what meditation is all about?

I have learned to describe colors as feelings, smells as textures or tastes and generally expanded my descriptive abilities in words as well as in paint. Primarily, I’ve become better at looking at something for what it is. And I accept all of it: the good and the not so good. Because everything is important in making a spider a spider or a rose a rose. I aspire to graduate very soon to doing the same with humans.

Now that meditating has gained wide acceptance and approval, I’m fervently hoping the same happens for naps.

Meditate on these images!

Cobweb in the rain

Milkweed seed pod

Pears

David Austin’s Heritage rose

Bright pink echinacea ‘Gum Drop’

Aconitum – monkshood

Forewarned Is Forearmed

Posted on April 23, 2013 by shobha

As gardeners, we often take it as a personal failure when a plant succumbs to disease or dies in spite of our best efforts. There is always the question of what more could one have done that nags us in those quiet hours of the night. Okay, so they hound the likes of me and other plant obsessed people.

As frequent as it might be sheer negligence or excessive nurturing that kills a plant, there are in actuality more universal, insidious reasons at work. Pests like the long horned borer, fungi that kill Impatiens, the red lily beetle are all devastating and none are the direct result of an individual gardener. Some of these ‘criminals’ are stowaways from foreign lands – ensconced in the wood of crates and other packing material. Still others are brought in surreptitiously by gardeners keen to have an exotic in their garden. Cuttings, seeds, bulbs and entire plants have all been smuggled by those not ever intending to cause any harm. But, much harm has indeed been done.

Often, bugs from elsewhere have no natural predators in their adopted country. Hence, they can be unstoppable till humans come up with a choice poison. The pests can go undetected for several years. Then, when weather conditions support their growth, we suddenly notice a dreadful disease affecting a specific plant specimen. Thus, we see that there are actually two factors at work here. The murderous bug as well as the climate.

It is all too obvious our climate has changed. According to experts, we will be seeing more of the likes of hurricanes Irene and Sandy. The USDA plant hardiness zones have all been ‘upgraded’. So, if you are in Zone 5, you can probably now consider yourself in Zone 6. Pretty incredible right? I personally find it a bit disconcerting that one day my treasured agapanthus that grow in pots and spend the winters cosseted in the greenhouse, will one day, in the not so distant future, be a happily thriving clump in a sunny corner of the garden all year round.

But, coming to the immediate, at the Rocky Hills talk given by the highly respected plant pathologist Margery Daughtery this past Thursday, the audience was confronted with the problems of both boxwood blight ( Calonectria pseudonaviculata) and Impatiens afflicted by powdery mildew ( Plasmopara obducens ). In each of these cases, the epidemic is a result of the climate providing the best conditions for the pests. For the time being, these diseases are here to stay. It is safe to assume that scientists are busy trying to find ways to counteract the problems. But until such time, Daughtery advices that we refrain from planting new boxwoods and impatiens. Something else to know, the ubiquitous pachysandra is in the boxwood family and susceptible to the same blight.

Instead of boxwood, she suggests finding alternatives that could work just as well. Who knew that Lonicera, our native honeysuckle, can be trimmed to give similar shape, structure and function! I’m itching to try this and will do so as soon as I decide on a good location in the garden.

The familiar bedding staple that is Impatiens walleriana, is for the time being, a lost cause. Daughtery’s alternatives are New Guinea impatiens or begonias. Simple enough right?

Nurseries will not be carrying Impatiens until an all clear is announced. Most will also be cautious with selling boxwood. Instead of lamenting the loss, we gardeners must stand in solidarity and do our part. First and foremost, no sneaking in plants or seeds from foreign countries. Maintain good garden hygiene and strict organic practices. This includes composting kitchen and garden waste, mulching thoroughly, watering only as necessary and getting rid of all diseased material in tightly closed garbage bags with the regular trash. We need to fill our gardens with plants appropriate to our climate, preferably native to our country and with due consideration to genetic diversity.

Boxwood blight and the powdery mildew should be seen as the serious signals that they are. We’ve been warned.

Red Lily Beetle

Healthy boxwood hedge trimmed to shape.

Spring Awakening

Posted on April 16, 2013 by shobha

After what seemed to be an interminably long, harsh winter, it is finally spring. Hallelujah! Yet now, I feel as though I can’t quite keep up with the accelerated pace of this much awaited season. While I’m inclined to linger and delight in seeing the various signs of the emerging spring, I’m acutely cognizant of the tasks that await my attention in the garden. Each day reveals how rapidly the garden is coming alive. It is as though I’m watching the progress of a large scale painting in a time-compressed film.

While the garden is on fast forward, I get the sense that I’m being left behind. It is a bit overwhelming and tremendously annoying. After all, I’m the one who waited with great anticipation and joy for the arrival of this beautiful, highly popular friend. I made all the arrangements and plans to give her a proper welcome. Now that she has arrived, I’m barely given any of her time. The friend is off mingling and being the center of worldly attention while I’m left holding the trowel. So utterly unfair.

I cannot bear feeling this way. Thus, true to my nature, I decide to get a grip. I am not going to deprive myself of reveling in the season. Nor am I going to let myself be overcome by the rather daunting list of chores to be addressed. I’m a seasoned gardener I remind myself. So garden already!

I sit down to write my famed master list. Although the number of tasks are many and some quite physically demanding, I know they will get done. It is the fact that the garden must be visitor-ready for the Open Day on May 25th that makes it a matter of some urgency. In the process of getting organized, I find the list I made last year. The date on it indicates I am a whole month behind this year. The tediously long winter has set me back considerably. With a deficit of four weeks, it is no wonder I’m feeling the pressure! Just then I look out the window to see a cardinal perched on the sugar maple that is fast putting out its own red tinted plumage. I can sense my muscles begin to relax.

Ah, so it is not my fault but the hand of nature – this realization is a relief and empowering in a way. It always feels good to have something or somebody else to blame don’t you agree? List completed, I assign the items to days on the calender. Taking into consideration the time required, availability of help ( in my case my family) and other non-horticultural obligations, I put every chore down. When I’m done scribbling all over the calender, I’m pleasantly surprised to note that in spite of all that busyness, I have time every single day to luxuriate in the season. Some days offer up only a few minutes and some give much more. It is all up to me to avail of this gift. No matter the quantity of time, the benefits of letting nature nurture me will go a long way in my well being. I remind myself that I must never let anything get in the way.

If you are reading this, I know you feel as I do. So, make yourself a promise to partake of natures bountiful wonders on a daily basis. Observe what is in bloom, what smells good, what sounds you hear. This focus will be a meditation of sorts. I promise, you will feel wonderful. Together we will approach the rest of our busy schedules with equanimity and can-do-ness.

Remember, there will always be chores but the crocus will bloom but once each year.

Signs Of Spring:

Cornelian cherry – one of the first to awaken.

Crocus breaking through last years leaves.

A doves nest with 2 perfect eggs

Star magnolia in bud

Pear blossoms

Daffodil

Hellebores

God Is In The Details

Posted on April 9, 2013 by shobha

So, you’ve designed your garden. The sizes and positions of flower beds, the separate potager, the terrace for entertaining, plants, shrubs and trees have been sourced, and because I’m the eternal optimist, you’ve finally committed to a compost bin. In general, you’re ready to create your own bit of paradise. But hang on just a minute. Have you taken care of the details? Remember –

It’s the little details that are vital. Little things make big things happen.
John Wooden

A garden can appear to be lovely but in order for it to function well, there are several details to consider. Some are obvious and some quite subtle. You’d be surprised how often both kinds are overlooked. Based on my experience, I’ve come up with a rough list. Here we go –

1. Access to water from the various parts of your property. Even if you have installed drip irrigation, it is a good idea to have multiple sources of water handy. Unless of course, the garden is fairly tiny and a single hose would be adequate to reach everywhere.
2. Are there well marked paths connecting the areas of the garden? These don’t have to be permanent paths of stone or brick. Simple pavers or gravel/wood bark marking the trail would do. Personally, I’m not big on anything that can be painful underfoot. Just remember, weeds will grow and need to be diligently controlled. Pavers should be placed so they are easy to step on without demanding too much of a stretch of the leg.
3. On the subject of paths, It has been said that the ideal width is where two people can comfortably walk side by side. I generally ensure that a wheelbarrow can be pushed along without any trouble. Edging the paths is a matter of taste and style – do you like it a bit wild with plants spilling over or more formal and restrained is up to the gardener.
4. If you are madly in love with swathes of grass ( I’m not judging), and you entertain regularly, bear in mind that shoes with heels are not happy at all walking on such a surface.
5. Now we come to steps. Chose material that is neither too slippery nor too rough. Wood and certain types of stone are best. A friend of mine once called me over to see her new ‘Moroccan’
terrace. I arrived to see gorgeous, handmade Moroccan tiles covering the surface of the terrace and steps. It was too late to tell my friend she’d made a big mistake. Needless to say, this area was treacherous even when slightly wet and entirely unusable all through the winter.
6. There are ideal dimensions when building stairs. The height of the risers should be 7 inches, the depth 11 inches, the width no less than 36 inches and the stair rail between 30 to 34 inches above the step.
7. The garden should be designed to heighten the senses. Plant aromatic herbs and fragrant plants where they can be enjoyed as one passes by. I also like placing plants like roses, jasmine, lilac and wisteria near the house so they can send their fragrance through open windows. Similarly, plants that encourage our tactile nature should find themselves within easy reach of a visitor.
8. Every garden should have several places to rest or just stop to look at a view. Benches, statuary, water features are all critical elements in a well designed garden.
9. If possible, add features like hammocks, chaise longues that invite one to nap, read or day dream. Umbrellas and trees can provide shade.
10. It is best if the vegetable garden is within picking distance from the kitchen and outdoor cooking area. If that is not feasible, at least keep some culinary herbs near by.
11. In your entertaining space, apart from the dining table, keep additional surfaces where guests can put down a drink while they scrutinize your prize worthy roses or eggplants or hydrangea. Otherwise, for days afterwards you will be unearthing glassware from the oddest areas. Balanced in the fork of a shrub, upturned over a branch, nestled in the boxwood, in a flower pot …
12. In planning your garden, consider ‘borrowed’ views to visually expand your garden. Furthermore, try to ensure that the garden looks interesting from all directions. There will be a natural way in which you like your visitors to walk the garden. The reverse walk should be pleasant as well.
13. For yourself, the perennial gardener, keep tools like secateurs and favorite weeder close by. I also keep a collection of vases to plunge freshly cut flowers in them right away. A few not so so precious ones are kept so I can send a friend home with a bunch of peonies and such.
14. Finally, keep your garden as a true reflection of yourself.

This list is by no means complete. It is a good start. And sometimes the end. It’ll do. By all means add other thoughts that seem compelling to you and I have overlooked. Do please let me know?

A path at Rocky Hills

Ready for a gathering

Heritage rose up close. It has a lovely lemony fragrance.

A path that links the front and back of the property.

Artichoke in copper

Walkway made interesting

Wisteria

Busy As A Bee

Posted on April 2, 2013 by shobha

Busy As A Bee

If one were to ask a bee if it was busy,
I wonder if it would agree.
After all, the bee buzzes
as it minds its own business
Sublimely unaware of other purposes.

Gardening season has just begun and already I’m hearing the classic defense. What is this “ I’m crazy busy” badge of honor we wear so proudly? Does it imply a preoccupation to be envied or does it beg for pity because the busy one has no time for anything else? There is a distinct note of self-importance implicit in that “I’m very busy” line. I think it has become an easy excuse to explain away ones lack of varied pursuits and interests. Instead of honestly saying ‘no’ to a request, we hide behind ‘busy’. Rather than stick ones neck out to try something new and risk looking foolish if one should fail, we’re much safer being busy with the same old. “I can’t be bothered” is what “I’m very busy” often means. In that case, just say so! And the worst of it is that at one time or other, we’re all guilty of this refrain. Undeniably there are times when a situation takes over and other things are consequently neglected. But being in a perennial state of busy-ness that precludes matters that one admits to being of some relevance indicates that something is off kilter. An imbalanced life.

How can a person who is too busy to start a vegetable garden have the time to watch every episode of Judge Judy? Or for that matter, why is having children a reason to not have time to garden? It is the perfect time! Children can never be too young to be taken into the garden. They watch and learn more effectively than we can ever measure. I remember securing my baby in her bouncy seat and keeping her by my side as I weeded. I’d talk about what I was doing, offer her a whiff of a fragrant flower, run a velvety leaf of lamb’s ears up her arm and watch her sigh with pleasure. As I moved to weed another bed, I’d just pick up the seat with baby and take her along. As she got older, she learned to first deadhead and then graduated to weeding. In turn, I learned to unwind during her nap time. Catch a few winks, read a few pages or add a few more brush strokes to an emerging watercolor. When both of us were refreshed, we’d go into the garden. I got the hang of not being too busy and understood the benefits of an ‘unbusy’ life.

Try this experiment. Pick a day to get totally unplugged. I know, you’re thinking about the kids not getting a hold of you or the world falling apart. Well, for just this one day ask them to call another responsible adult in case of an emergency. Promise not to check emails, browse the Internet, answer the phone, look at a tweet or turn on the television. Don’t panic; it is for just one, measly day. You are still physically available if so needed. Now, use your time to do whatever you deem necessary, interesting or pending. It could be tackling the laundry, finishing the crossword, having lunch with a friend, preparing a new garden bed. No matter the task, be mindful about doing it well. It’ll be easier than you think as you’ve already eliminated the usual distractions and time guzzlers. At the end of the day, you’ll find that the world functioned quite smoothly without you and you got plenty done. It is rather sobering to discover that we aren’t missed so much. As long as you keep telling everybody that you are up front and center, they will pass on all sorts of responsibilities on to you. This just makes you overbooked. It does not mean you are indispensable.

Gardeners are some of the most active people I know. Not because they appear to be mucking about endlessly in the garden, but because they are invariably engaged in life as a whole. My totally unscientific but highly personal observations lead me to think that the lessons revealed by working in nature, inspire and empower the gardener to try many other things. Writing, designing, cooking, participating in causes both local and global, the list grows. In essence, we grow as our plants grow. And, along the way, like the bee, we don’t ask ourselves if we’re busy. We simply go about our business.

For myself, curiosity is fostered in the garden and then transposed onto other areas of life. Nature’s handiwork in pairing certain colors together translates to my wardrobe and interior decorating. The beauty of the flowers shows up in my watercolors. Fresh produce goes directly into innovative recipes. Naturally occurring patterns and shapes like that of fiddle-head ferns, centers of sunflowers, trumpets of daffodils, barks of trees are all fodder for numerous design projects. When the birds are building nests, I thoroughly clean and tidy mine. The garden is my muse for living well.

I want my days filled with creativity, productivity and lots of joy. However, I never want to be so busy as to fall short of my own expectations and potential. And, I always have time to stop and smell the roses.

There is art, science, engineering, music, philosophy, and pure fun in the garden. So create more unbusy time and get outside. Get some dirt under your fingernails, color in your cheeks and a good dose of inspiration. No need to thank me. I’m just happy you made the time.

Bark pattern that looks like an abstract watercolor.

Moss on bark – watercolor

Fiddlehead shape of a dried ornamental grass.

Watercolor of carrots

Romano Cauliflower – perfect design

To Everything There Is A Season

Posted on March 23, 2013 by shobha

Take the storms in stride
Let the rains come
Feel the sunshine
Ride the waves
Mark the tides

Spring has officially begun and with it comes renewal and rebirth in the garden. As much as one tires of the dark, freezing days of winter, would we be so thankful and welcoming of spring if it were not for the season before? When something is present all the time, we tend not take the trouble to appreciate it on a regular basis. Just look how often we take the people we love for granted. Or the luxury of having not just running water but hot water when needed. Think how your penchant for iced tea would suffer without the easy abundance of ice within arms reach. How frequently we fail to be grateful for the daily necessities that make our lives so livable. Even more overlooked are those details like a friendly smile, a newly opened flower, freshly laundered sheets, early morning birdsong; things that though not entirely essential, lend joie de vivre to the dailiness of our lives.

And so it is with the propensity one sees these days to have the ever blooming rose, the eternally immaculate, “no maintenance” lawn, the ‘instant’ tree or best of all, the effortless vegetable garden. If anticipation itself is half the pleasure, then the well-timed rose completes it don’t you think? To expect eagerly and then applaud the flowers that bloom but for a specific span of time cannot in any way compare to what is in flower all the time. We simply get used to things till we no longer notice them. The local, sun ripened strawberries of late spring cannot be matched by those imported at other times of the year. If we had firework displays all the time, would the fourth of July still feel special and celebratory?
Everything has a season for good reason.

The high price of a pristine lawn and the harm to the environment can hardly be worth losing the earliest sources of nectar for bees and hummingbirds – the much maligned dandelion. Much is sacrificed in the effort to keep that lawn just so that ,we’ve forgotten the birthright of children and animals to play there, pick grass to make a whistle, bury a bone or other treasure, search for four-leaved clover without worry of the toxic effects of weed killers and pesticides.

Disregard for the moment, the expense of planting a mature or almost mature tree ( they are called ‘trophy trees’). After all, if one has the funds, why must a person be judged for how they spend it. It the foregoing of the utter satisfaction of watching a young sapling evolve into an impressive tree that is the true waste. So what if it takes too long for a baby tree to become an adult tree? Would we not think it a pity if we missed out on the years it takes a man-child to become a man? Think about it. And then, with the money saved, a multitude of whips can be planted instead: to create an alley, a grove or an orchard.

What exactly is a low maintenance vegetable garden? Does that mean not enough care was given to the plants? Were the plants compelled to jockey for space with rampant weeds? Or maybe no sleep was lost when pests ate up a good portion of the crops. To get healthy, abundant vegetables, regular watering, weeding and organic pest control is de rigueur. Besides, if it were that easy, would you have the same pride when putting food cultivated by your own two hands on the family table? Gives one pause right?

Assuming one implements time and sweat saving practices, how then are those purloined hours spent? I’d be ecstatic if they were passed in noble pursuits like face to face conversations with family and friends, a pick up game with the kids, volunteering for community services or hardest of all, spending time being creative sans anything digital for assistance or company.

A better approach is to acknowledge that we are but small cogs in the big wheel of life. Invite the gifts that nature has bestowed upon us. Sunsets, rainbows, birds, butterflies, flowers, fruits, fall foliage, snow, rain, rivers and lakes, oceans, mountains, forests, prairie and, most precious of all, each other. There will be storms, droughts and the occasional locust invasion. Accept them. We’re meant to live in harmony with nature. Each day comes laden with its own pleasures, treasures and choices. Choose wisely and you will partake heartily of the day.

Lets make this a true beginning, an honest spring.

“A man’s children and his garden both reflect the amount of weeding done during the growing season.”- Anonymous

Wisteria

Bonica roses

Ornamental grass

Asters

The good life

Holy Heuchera!

Posted on March 19, 2013 by shobha

I’m in love with Heuchera. This is not a love that made me swoon and swept me right off my feet but one that has grown from a long friendship. A friendship that came about by sheer happenstance. Isn’t that the way so many good relationships develop? When we aren’t trying too hard or analyzing too much, when we’re more relaxed and open to receive what or who comes our way. And so it was with me and Heuchera.

Several years ago, I was trying to add visual oomph to an oft overlooked, shady part of the garden. Amongst the assorted greens, I added the almost acid yellow of Hackonechloa grass and needed a dark color to balance this palette. Shade tolerant, purple or burgundy hued, low to medium height and easy to grow were the characteristics that were required. At the nursery, as I trolled the aisles of happy perennials screaming “pick me!” and trying hard to suppress my impulse to adopt them all, I came across a plant that appeared to fit the bill. That was how I first met Heuchera. Rosettes of obsidian, palmately lobed leaves and quite unpretentiously handsome overall, it was ideal. An appropriate addition to the garden.

Once I realized how dependable this newcomer was, I looked for more to fill in various shady corners of the garden. To my sheer delight, I discovered that Heuchera come in a variety of shades ranging from dark to chartreuse to variegated. A multitude of hybrids between various Heuchera species has been developed. One could make a whole bed of the many Heuchera to create a stunning botanical rendition of a Flemish tapestry. Commonly called coral bells, because of the coral colored flowers on long racemes that rise well above the main body of the plant, Heuchera are not generally selected for their blooms. Its the foliage that make them so interesting and vital. FYI – the flowers also come in white, green and red colors.

That they are hardy, virtually pest free, shade loving and easy to propagate by division only increases their value in the garden. I’ve had Heuchera in pots that stay outside and unprotected all winter and to date, they have survived remarkably well. That is impressive don’t you agree?

But wait, it gets better. Heuchera are true North American originals! They grow in different habitats so there’s something for a garden anywhere in the world. The leaves are edible though I have not been inclined to nibble at them. Natives of the American northwest used to make a digestive tonic from the roots. Again, I’m not recommending that anybody try out a recipe. Though personally, I’m happy to know that they are standbys in case of famine or a sudden inclination towards gluttony.

With a truly extensive array of blossom sizes, shapes, colors, foliage types and geographic range, they are quite valuable in any garden. Besides, who can resist cultivar names like ‘Burgundy frost”, “Raspberry regal”, “Smokey rose”, “Purple petticoats” or, “Chocolate veil”?

I do believe this love affair is for keeps.

A Heuchera trinity

More!

Dear Diary

Posted on March 12, 2013 by shobha

Glimpse Of Spring
She arrived without fanfare
a quick visit
a prelude to the grand arrival
She thought she’d be unnoticed
but I saw her
I caught a glimpse of Spring last week.

Dear Diary

Since we are planning and preparing for a new season of gardening, now is a good time to start keeping a garden journal. Putting down ideas, plans, designs, progress, day to day horticultural happenings are extremely useful and enlightening. My paternal grandmother wrote a diary every day and I remember being very intrigued by that. She never encouraged me to do the same but I must have inherited the journaling gene because since my 20s, I have always kept journals. At first it was about my life in general – I vented, ruminated and, celebrated all the goings on. I wrote about my hopes and plans. The pages of my journals bore witness to my tears over disappointments, pride over triumphs and mostly a whole lot of mundane rubbish.
As a scientist, I learned to keeping meticulous notes of my work on a daily basis. Once I acquired some land on which to garden, maintaining a log of my activities combined with my observations and thoughts was natural. Keeping notes leaves nothing to memory which is notoriously unreliable. The records allow for comparing, referencing and following the progress of the garden over the years.
I’m always shocked by how inaccurate I am when remembering something that occurred in the garden. My garden entries are testimonials to this fact. I’ll be informing no one in particular about the delay in or early blooming of certain flowers only to read that the pattern is exactly the same as before. The same for how I recall the weather and how it affected my garden. If word of how poorly I recall these matters got out, those who must deal with me on a regular basis might rethink the association. But the truth is, most people have the same problem. Hence, it is well worth the time and effort to write down all relevant points.
Tasks, expenses, opinions, successes, failures, ideas and dreams all get written down. What is in bloom or in fruit, what the temperatures have been and how much rain has fallen are noted. Pests and problems are lamented. Nothing at length: just succinct reporting. There is the most to write about during the busy season which of course means there is the least time available to do so. I have often lapsed in putting down all the garden goings on and lived to regret it. A forgotten brilliant idea is plainly useless.
I do take lots of photos and they are incredibly helpful. But like a doting parent, I tend to capture the garden only when it is on it’s best behavior and not when it is throwing a tantrum and presenting itself in a weedy, pest ridden state. Amends are being made and I have begun to capture those not so proud moments. Photos do not however convey emotions, opinions and dreams. What I think I must do, might do, want to do can’t be surmised from an image. So it is still necessary to record those down.
Journals don’t get written with a view to leaving a legacy but there is a part of me that harbors the thought that perhaps one day when this piece of earth is no longer mine, my writings will enable the next gardener to understand why, what and how it used to be.
What would be interesting is to see how influential what goes on in the garden has on my writings in my personal diary which, over the years has become more reflective and less self absorbed. Did I write deep, poetic and/or witty thoughts the same week the garden looked great and all the related tasks got done? Do the seasons in the garden parallel the seasons in my life? I’ll bet there is a direct correlation but, I’ll set that project aside for now. There is much else to get done.

Three hyacinths

Making a start

On it’s way!

Voila!

March Musings

Posted on March 5, 2013 by shobha

Goodbye winter weary February, hello March! Coming alive with all the trappings of hope and optimism is the theme of the month. Look around. The evidence is everywhere. Bulbs determinedly pushing their way through the frozen earth, the willow trees turning an ocher yellow soon to be replaced by sap green, forsythia bushes studded with fattening buds of burnt sienna. I go on treasure hunts of my own – Spot the Snowdrops and Unhide the Hellebores.

This past Friday, in celebration of it being the first of March, I went on a reconnaissance of my garden. In the midst of patches of grass left exposed by the last snow melt, I spied the earliest of the snowdrops! A sight that never ceases to thrill. I rushed to check the hellebores. Sure enough, sweetly nestled beneath the protective mantle of last year’s leaves were buds galore. Firm assurance that spring was well on its way.

In the greenhouse, the primroses brought inside in pots last fall, have begun putting forth flowers in colors that could only have been chosen by a child. Deep red, fuchsia pink, egg yolk yellow sit happily on rosettes of cushiony, kelly green leaves. They’ll be moved into the house to provide instant cheer.

Heralding the hyacinths still breaking through the ground, are the ones being forced indoors. I have placed the forcing vases and pots where not only I, but others will be sure to notice the daily magical transformations. Idealistically I imagine that such gems will improve our moods and outlooks. They do.

The annual orchid show of the New York Botanical Garden started this past weekend. Like a pilgrim, I went with fervor and faith in my heart. At this time of year, I’d go to just about any floral exhibit. Never mind that the flower shows are not entirely realistic. The sight of a gazillion flowers in bloom is the perfect ticket to banish all traces of the winter doldrums. The more gaudy the splashes of color the better. I am now brimming with renewed energy and desire to serve my garden. As soon as it gets bearable to work outside, I’ll be pruning the roses.

The gardens at the NYBG are always a couple or so weeks ahead of my garden. Surveying the swathes of blooming snowdrops and eranthis, the fully open hellebores and even a few daring crocus, I had a very satisfying preview of the pleasures to come. Is there anything more sublime?

Even the light has changed. The soft, pale amber of winter has turned a distinct shade brighter. After we move the hour hand forward on the tenth, we’ll be waking to sun burnished mornings. I cannot wait. I too have awoken from my hibernation.