A GARDENER'S TALE: SLIGHT GREEN THUMB WITH DEFINITE BROWN TOE

I like to believe that I am the most fabulous and talented of gardeners. The fact remains, however, and with the greatest of sighs, that I am just average in my gardening expertise at best. Give me a house to design inside and I am in my glory but give me a garden to design and I am perplexed.  Not because I can't imagine what I want, but because I can never determine which plants go with which dirt and what fertilizer goes best with which plant and is the ground clay, or should the ground be alkaline, should you lime that plant, or give that one blood and bones.  ITS UTTERLY EXHAUSTING!  I'm exhausted just thinking about it.

Sadly, I have had so many compliments on my garden and I cannot take credit for any of it!  The foundation of my garden was created by a landscaper and my only contribution is that I water the crap out of the plants so they don't die!  Or maybe that is why some of them have died, too much water perhaps?  Who knows!

I have decided that my forte lies with evergreens.  Thankfully they are hardy, thankfully they do not require a lot of care and thankfully they tend to make your house look beautiful without a lot of work.  People ooohh and ahhhh and I think to myself, it isn't me people, these evergreens have done all the work themselves.

Still doesn't stop me from looking in garden nurseries.  In fact, I love fleurs.  I usually buy them in large abundance.  I plant them here, there and everywhere and I apply the same principles to them that I do with the evergreens, i.e. they will take care of themselves.  You have to ask yourself, based on this misguided philosophy, why is it every year I still go out and scratch my head when my fleurs start to take on that pitiful weedy appearance!  Thank goodness I didn't have any children, can you imagine.. "oh hey honey, let's get ready for work, the kid will take care of itself"!  Sheesh!  scary thought!

Anyway, on the weekend, I hit my favourite little garden nursery.  I am kind of opposed to those large uninviting ones.  Not because the plants aren't very good, but because I love the coziness of this little place in a converted home on a small town lot.  I can walk around it many times over and never get bored, that's for sure!

This year, I have kind of held off from buying a lot of posies.  I suppose to save them from my mediocre gardening skills.  In fact, I think that this may have been the most charitable thing I have done all year.  I am sure that when I walk past a potted posy, it cringes with "please don't buy me lady, please!"  Well I listened this year, and stuck to just my hanging baskets... They will survive as usual due to my better half taking care of them, and certainly not from anything I do!

And while I am slightly sad that my yard won't be filled to the brim with colour, it's okay, because I would be the first to admit that I was born with a slightly green thumb and an unfortunate definite distinctive brown toe!

Until Next Time

Smooches Pooches.