Saturday, September 17, 2011

On Gardening

I recently visited a whole lot of gardening blogs, and was reminded of my love of gardening. When I lived in California, it was one of my favorite pastimes. I'd get home from work and go straight into my garden in the back (if it was still light out) and I'd pull weeds, make discoveries, trim and deadhead. It was my calm space. I always had so much to look forward to every season back in my secret garden. 


I want to share some photos with you of my garden, though it's no longer mine.



I brought lots of potted plants with me from the rental house I lived in before, so the back deck immediately had some color and life. 
This hundred-year-old wisteria was one of the reasons I wanted to buy this house. It's just one of the reasons that I was drawn to this house. I loved the large backyard, all the light the house got inside, and the fact that I was about five miles from work! (Though it could take me up to 20 minutes to get there... drawbacks of living in a Bay Area city!)


 Yes, I was able to keep a plumeria plant, too. I had to winter it inside, but that wasn't a big deal. I loved that plant! I tried to take some with me, but it didn't survive the super-heated summer driving. I had to get it from California to Pennsylvania in my Mini. It wasn't happy, and did NOT survive.
Fence art hiding behind the foliage
I had a lot of help with my garden... when I first moved in, my good friend, Lenore, took me plant shopping at a huge Japanese plant nursery nearby. She purchased many of my trees & shrubs that I have in the garden! So generous, and she helped me figure out the placement for everything, too.
Quince blossoms
Every season in my backyard had something blooming... that was part of her suggestion, too. We went to the nurseries at the different times of year to see what was blooming and thriving. That helped to get me a year-round garden I could always enjoy.
Flowering maple, I think
The yard came with a plum tree, an avocado tree, an orange tree and the wisteria. Everything else was planted afterwards. There were some volunteers, as well, including several fig trees, a wild rose, and the neighbor's trumpet vine.
I had my friend, Jed, build the pergola... love it!
I planted a wisteria at one corner of the pergola, a Carolina Jessamine at another corner, and the bittersweet vine kind of overtook it from a pot I had it planted in. That was a crazy vine that I should've kept in check! 
Love the dark flowers on this shrub. Forget the name... silver (something)
I loved to wander around in my own garden... it was a real sensory experience. Both visually and olfactorily! You'd smell the wisteria at the back door, walk towards the back and smell the sweet tea rose, then the orange blossoms on the orange tree, then the honeysuckle along the garage, and then back to the wisteria, where there were also some freesias in pots along the deck. I planted to attract butterflies, hummingbirds and people! I even had dragonflies back there, probably due to the lady bugs... Poor ladies!
A copper wind chime I made
I enjoyed adorning my garden with lights and wind chimes. You can tell it's summer from this photo above... not as much in bloom. The shoe-button spirea at the bottom middle/right has lost it's little white flowers. 
Another volunteer: chamomile
I encourage rampant misbehavior of my plants. I loved when the plants would grow out of bounds and encroach on other areas... the way they shared space was often inspiring to me. I loved when the spring would bring surprise bulbs, too, that I had forgotten that I'd planted. Someday I'll have another garden, I know. It will take time, as they must to be truly inspiring. I have patience. I can wait. Meanwhile, I will continue with my little terrariums and potted gardens. And I'm happy to enjoy the gardens that all of you share with me in the Blogosphere. Thank you!

7 comments:

Terriaw said...

We tend to race home and head straight for the garden in spring and early summer. By this time of year, we're ready for the next season. In between, it feels great to be out working in the dirt, spending time in our own little eco system. We've got a few pieces of yard art scattered around, so it's fun to see yours. I always wanted to have a pergola with just the right vines growing up and providing some shade. Fun to have a wild sanctuary to lose yourself in!

-E- said...

i'm currently having to dig up my parents' flower garden, they have the same philosophy as you, and i'm furious!

shari said...

I'm with you, Terri. I miss spending time putzing in the garden.

E, the difference being that I didn't ask anyone else to work in my garden! If I'd had to have help, I probably would've planned things differently, though not much!

jacqueline said...

Dearest sweet Shari, your garden is sooo beautiful! I love all the gorgeous blooms in your garden! I love gardening too but i don't have one coz i stay in an apartment. But i do love visiting my papa's vegie garden when i visit them. It's always such fun! Have a lovely merry happy week and love to you!

Brandi Hussey said...

You definitely have the magic touch, Shari! Look how lovely!

Jennifer@threedogsinagarden said...

Hi Shari, You definitely have a passion for gardening that comes through in your reminiscences on your first garden. That old wisteria is quite something! I have never seen such a thick trunk on a wisteria vine!
In the meantime until you have another small plot of land, you can at least have fun planing your garden and learning more about plants. I had a whole binder of clippings collected by the time we bought our present place. Happy daydreams to you!

Fenny Setiawan said...

Love having lots of plants and flower too, unfortunately I only have small balcony in the sky haha. I am working on it with some plants. And I LOVE your chamomile though...

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...