Right Now, I Have an Ugly Garden

There is a lot of discussion right now in the garden blogosphere about "ugly" gardens.  More specifically, about "ugly" vegetable gardens.  Without wading into that fray, I will simply say that I believe that form and function are not mutually exclusive... nor does something have to be useful to be beautiful, or vice-versa.

I will also say that a garden does not have to be weed-infested or poorly designed to be ugly at certain times of the year.  Case in point:  My own front yard garden, shown in these pre-spring-cleanup photos that were taken this evening:

Two views:  From the top of my steps (above)

and from my driveway looking toward the steps (below)

I am pretty sure that the current state of my front yard garden horrifies at least a couple of my neighbors.  One couple has gorgeous traditional borders, but admits that naturalistic gardens are not their thing and that they don't much care for grasses at all.  Another neighbor, Ms Type A Personality, whips out the Roundup at the slightest hint of renegade greenery, and keeps things neat as a pin in the block-lined beds near her porch. 

Unstated, though understood, is that my yard feels a little TOO messy to all of them.  I like all three of these neighbors, for the record, but this is the only time of the year when I agree with them in regards to my exhuberant front yard garden!

So why do I let my garden get to this state?  Several reasons.  First and foremost, saving all of this cleanup work until the spring saves me from my own enthusiasm.  It's still March--in Cleveland--for heaven's sake!  I have no business doing much of anything outdoors besides some late winter pruning, and planting the earliest of edible crops.  But if I didn't have spring cleanup chores left to do, I would most certainly be outside anyway... getting myself and my garden into trouble.

Second, this garden IS my front yard, which means that fall cleanup would leave a boring, barren landscape for me to view during a long Northeast Ohio winter.  Perennial skeletons poke up out of the snow and make interesting mound designs in the white stuff.  Buff-colored grasses add some height and movement (it's very windy here) and even provide a nice complement to some of my early flowers like the 'Ivory Prince' hellebores shown above.

Thirdly, plant detrius helps me to overwinter some marginal plants here in the front yard.  Unfortunately, this is NOT the year that my 'Black & Blue' salvia finally, miraculously overwinters (boo!) but various grasses--like the carex albula 'Frosty Curls' shown above, and nasella (aka stipa) tenuissima--regularly come back for me each spring if I leave them alone in the fall.  And in 2008 I lost one of my caryopteris by cutting it back too early in the year.

Last, but not least, I might miss out on a few miracles of spring if I wasn't out in the yard doing cleanup.  The feeling of elation at picking up a mat of wet oak leaves and finding my little species tulips peaking through the ground is something I would hate to miss.  So is seeing the otherworldly, deep purple sprouts of sea kale.

And if I hadn't been out working in the yard this evening, I would never have noticed the first official front yard blooms of 2010, shown above.  'Purple Dragon' lamium fills up the circular bed that showcases a cutleaf Japanese maple... but the delicate blooms on this branch were on the side facing my neighbor's house, and so they would have escaped my notice entirely.


So for all of these reasons, I embrace having an "ugly garden" throughout the month of March.  And as I dirty my fingernails and grimace at the squish of decaying leaves between my fingertips and palms, I look at my ugly garden and smile... knowing that come summer, it will be beautiful and exhuberant once again.

Dazzling and Confused...

I know that "Dazed and Confused" is how the saying--and the song--goes.  But my 'Sweet Lillian' amaryllis is more dazzling than dazed in its confusion:

This is its third bloom since I bought it back in November 2008 as a present for my grandmother.  The first bloom was a lot fuller, but I'm not complaining.  It has yet to receive a rest period--or fertilizer--and it is planted in a serving bowl with only pebbles (no actual soil) anchoring it in.  Given the sum of that abuse, it is performing admirably, I think!


And maybe, just maybe... maybe this will be the year that I remember to bring it in for a rest, and then pot it up for Grandma.  Finally.

My 2010 (Gardening) Adventure

I am notoriously bad at keeping New Year's Resolutions.  (Even when I (grudgingly) make them, I admit that they are going to be broken immediately, as you see here.)  So while I was toying with the idea of making a resolution on growing more edibles in January, something held me back:  The idea that this was one thing at which I actually wanted to succeed.

And then, I had my eureka moment:  I need to think of it not as a resolution... but as an experiment!

Experiments, now there are things that I can get into.  A quick search of my blog shows that I have pages worth of posts that contain the word "experiment."  They cover things like growing currants as topiaries in a semi-shaded spot that needed some structural plants... which had the added benefit of resulting in a delicious tart, made from these:

I'm just such a fan of melding form AND function... and of eating from my own backyard... that this makes sense on all kinds of levels.  So my EXPERIMENT for this gardening year will be as follows:

In 2010, I will limit my plant, seed and corm/root purchases to things that are actually edible.  Because I am all-too-aware of my weakness for pretty plants (and already had a couple of plans concocted) I will allow myself 3 exceptions to the above rule... and will strive for everything else to be both pretty AND tasty.  I will also consume, share and/or put up as much of my garden's produce as humanly possible this year.

I hope that you all will follow along with this gardening adventure of mine. I'm sure that there are going to be some bumps in the road, a few inventive recipes, LOADS of temptations, and lots of dirty fingernails along the way.  Stay tuned!

Beautiful AND functional:   Peach tree blossoms from the 2009 garden.

Orchid Watch - Day 4

The bud is about the same color, but as you can see from the photo above it has dropped down a little bit.  And the stem has straightened out some, too.  Here is the first photo of the bud  for comparison:

I promise not to post a new photo of this orchid every day--frankly, I'm not organized enough for something like that.  But, fair warning:  I'm excited enough to share at least a few shots along the way to full bloom.  So you'll see a few more!

March 2010 Foliage Follow-Up

Yes, I've shown this kalanchoe beharensis before.  And I can tell you right now that I will probably show it again. I'm completely fascinated by its leaves, which look like velvet silver:

But with a hard, slightly toasted edge:

Of course, if you look in the right light, you can see more than just the flat silver sheen of the fuzzy leaves.  Look closer, and you'll notice the lighter-colored veins that radiate out from the leaf stem end:

In some lights, the silver doesn't look so rich.  In some photos, it even washes out to an ugly yellow:

Sighting seems to be everything for this plant--the right conditions, but also the right companions to set off its chunky, soft, silvery texture:

I like where it was placed in the photo above.  I think that next year, I'm going to literally plant it out in that part of the garden instead of leaving it stuck in a little 4" pot on top of the ground.  Maybe it will get even bigger and more impressive if  it has some room to stretch its roots?  We shall see!


To find out what other plants are catching the eyes of garden bloggers everywhere, visit Pam @ Digging and see the Foliage Follow Up links for March!