Moments in the garden ......................................................Carol Ann Harlos

Moments in the garden

Alliums Photo by Carol Ann Harlos

Gardeners should be among the happiest people in the world. But I worry that gardeners who regard one leaf as something to be raked out of the garden, who obsess about every weed, who don’t enjoy wildlife and fear bees, aren’t finding as much joy as they could be. I believe there’s pleasure to be found in even the most mundane and minute moments.

When I return to the house, dirty and sweaty, my husband greets me with, “How is it going?” He loves to hear what lit my fire that day. I’m excited to share with him—and now you—the things that have excited me in the garden this year, and inspire you to not only think about your own, but also about how you can maximize that which delights you about gardening.

I saw flowers of “the umbrella plant” Darmera (also known as Indian rhubarb) emerge ahead of its rounded leaves. The pink—in the fall, they’ll turn a beautiful red—five petaled flowers in the form of a cyme were glorious. There was the rhododendron in full glory, the only one in the front garden since I must acidify the soil to keep it healthy. There were perennial geraniums finishing their first bloom. I cut them back; they’ll oblige with a second bloom later in the season.

The balls of purple, maroon, or white allium flowers are finished, and I await their stems’ disconnection from the bulbs. I play a guessing game as to which ones are truly finished; the answer is revealed when I tug. Alliums are rather prolific in my gardens, producing many bulbs, which I dig up and share with others. They have a habit of showing up in strange places. As they are frequently covered with insects and produce seeds of their own, I assume this is how they spread, though I haven’t taken the time to collect the seeds (perhaps a later project).

I have been digging up some of the pink and white lamium covering garden beds and putting them in the border with newly planted shrubs. Not only is this visually pleasing, but it cuts down on weeding. Lamium grows in the rose garden and there are seldom weeds (hurrah!).

The viburnums have finished bloomingand are producing fruit.They are an incredible shrub, providing three seasons of interest as well as nectar for insects, roosting places and food for birds, and beautiful red leaves in autumn. This year, a Japanese maple (a free plant) is finally experiencing a burst of growth. (It’s sat tucked among some perennials; I thought of moving it because not much happened until this year.)

Of course, there are weeds and aggressive plants; I need to keep up on mulching and weeding. It would be remiss of me not to share a wonderful trick I learned from Sally Cunningham, my Master Gardener teacher and gardening guru: keep the front of the border as perfect as possible when you don’t have the time to clean up the whole garden bed. People will automatically think the entire bed is perfect. It works.

I look forward to sharing with you next month, and to hearing about your moments in the garden. FY

Carol Ann Harlos is an awardwinning retired math and science teacher, Master Gardener, beekeeper, writer, and speaker. She tends extensive gardens, including herbs, and loves learning from others and sharing her knowledge. Send gardening questions and comments to caharlos@verizon.net.

CAROL ANN HARLOS

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