Diary of a Gardener Gratitude

I am extremely grateful and humbled by the turn out for the plant sale this past weekend. Friday night’s pre-sale was standing room only. Saturday’s weather was gorgeous and if there is any indication by how many native plants I have left, everyone is ready for spring. They are planting! Opening my garden for people to wander allowed everyone to stop for a moment and enjoy the day. For those who had been here prior to my massive plant and pot downsize, they noticed how incredible the gardens looked. The roses spoke to us with their ever-changing color, the show stopping dahlia everyone comments on but what stole the afternoon show was the thirty monarch caterpillars chomping ferociously on the giant Milkweed plant. From tiny to large and leaving their frass (poop) behind. It is a good thing the plant grows back like a giant weed because after this week there will not be a leaf left on the plant. We were all oohing and ahhing at the little baby caterpillars like they were little babies in a hospital nursery. They were chomping away, gaining weight, and preparing for their next stage in life. Oh, to be a caterpillar. Eat without worrying about too many calories, then sleep for a long nap, even for weeks. When you wake up, you are completely transformed into one of mother nature’s most beautiful creatures. If that could be bottled up and sold, everyone woman on earth would buy it. I would settle for the long uninterrupted nap of no back pain, no dog crowding my feet or whimpering to be pet in the middle of night. He’s hard to say no to.

We went from winter to spring all in one week, overnight. It is glorious. Cool weather is not my preferred weather. I love 80 degrees and holding. The plants do too. Many of them will start to come out of slumber and back to life. After I displayed my garden to all the customers, I pruned every rose. No more blooms. Stick-like shrubs, not even a leaf left. I hope this will promote beautiful and healthy plants in a couple of months. It is time to prune everything, which I also did to a certain extent. It is an attempt to practice what I preach.

I finished planting flower seeds. The last of them were being chilled in the fridge or soaked in wet paper towels to increase the germination rate. They look like little tadpoles hatching after they soaked for a week. Of course there was some more rearranging, as I perfect my maximalist garden.

So many wonderful things happened at the sale this weekend. I met some wonderful people, saw friends, and repeat customers. I got to do what I love, talk about plants. I now have two consults scheduled, an appointment for a new landscape design and an exciting watercolor workshop being hosted here at the gardens by my dear artist friend. My brain is too tired to do more right now as I must prepare for yet another event and speaking engagement and oh yes, I gotta work. This would all be easier if the bills stopped coming, right?

Till next time. Always keep growing.