Miss Dirtiness
My crew hates when I come to the job. I get dirt all over the furniture, at best, and at worst I am tinkering with the design when they want to get on with business. But when I am home, I can be the Miss Dirtiness I have always been.
I cannot abide gloves of any description. Even if I could stand to have them on, I invariably loose them, or pitch them out with the trash. Diana never plants for me without gloves-everyone has their own way of doing, which makes for an interesting gardening world. I like to plant with my hands whenever possible. As you can see, I have no fear of dirt. I have no fear of it in my wine, down my socks,. or in my hair. I have on occasion fallen into bed, dirty. After all, the table can be cleaned, and the sheets washed.
I like everything I am working with right there in front of me. Buck was horrified the first time he saw me put dirt on the dinner table, but he is mostly over that. Its a good thing people cannot see the organisms on every surface, and in the air. It would make the Alfred Hitchcock movie The Birds seem boring. Most organisms are friendly, even necessary-that’s the scientist in me. I like giant tropical bugs, worms, and toads. However, I could never bring myself to eat a snail; I can barely look at Buck when he eats them. Go figure.
In spite of his tolerance for my habits with plants and dirt, he is always relieved to get to the cleanup part. Pretty soon, we will be over the dirtiness phase.
Posted on: June 12, 2009 3 Comments
Roses Representing
My little collection of roses is starting to “represent”, as my Texas friend would say. I only grow a few. The dwarf climber Jeanne LaJoie is perfectly hardy and willing for me; it does not mind at all being planted with the electric meter. Mini-Jeanne is paired with a voluptuous large flowered climber named Eden-the flower is so beautiful, and the plant is so-so for me, although the foliage seems healthy. This large flowered climber, also known as Pierre de Ronsard, and bred by Meilland in 1987, hasn’t flowered yet-but it is showy.
I grow the shrub rose “Carefree Beauty” for good, and sentimental reasons. Griffith Buck bred very hardy, very sturdy shrub roses-this is one of my favorites. I alternate this with his rose “Earthsong”. Some say its better than “Carefree Beauty-I can’t tell. But if your interest is in a low maintenance rose, these qualify. The tall ,English bred shrub rose “Sally Holmes” has gorgeous peach buds, and large single white flowers; I have been growing it for years. One year it died back almost entirely to the ground, but came back.
I am not a rosarian by any means. I am not really crazy about rose gardens either. But I do like roses in a mixed border. Roses are such prima donnas-they sulk if there’s anything growing at their feet. So I try to keep my white Japanese anemones, and boltonia out of their hair. I wouldn’t want to do without a few roses.
Posted on: June 11, 2009 2 Comments
The Transmission of Knowledge
Dr. Waring, a professor I had in English literature in college, once said he thought the transmission of knowledge from one generation to the next was the most important organizing metaphor for a life properly lived. I have no memory of what this was in reference to-nor do I know why I do have a strong enough memory of him having said this such that I still remember it 38 years later. For my 25th birthday, my Mom took me to the National Peony Show at the Kingwood Center in Mansfield, Ohio. My strongest memory of that trip were how many people-probably then the age I am now-were so pleased that a person as young as myself was interested in peonies. At my age, I sometimes worry that not enough young people will become interested and active gardeners; what a shame if the beautiful peonies bred over the last 100 years were to no longer be grown. This is very similar to the numbers of gardeners who are interested in preserving heirloom varieties of tomatoes, or antique roses, or heirloom apples. It is a very natural and right thing to transmit the knowledge of the plants, and how they are grown, to the next generation.
I will be the first to admit that I see very few young people interested in what I do and cherish. I don’t pretend to understand what they are interested in, although I do remember being a completely self absorbed pain to my Mom, when I was that young. Nonetheless, she managed to get me interested in plants at a very early age-before I got to that “age of attitude”. I had my own private garden at 6, which I kept-and she stayed out of-until I got to be 16, and sociable; gardening is a fairly solitary pursuit. No more garden for me until I was out of college. When I got to be an older young person, something clicked in. I became obsessed with growing tall bearded iris and peonies. So every young person I meet, I try encourage them to make something grow-you never know when that might surface in them, long after your effort.
Posted on: June 10, 2009 2 Comments