Jenny, Jenny, flowers not so many, your garden did not grow
August 10th, 2006
I slaved over a hot garden for the past four months. At one point, this patch of New England tropical rainforest was completely weed-free and mulched and planted. I watered, I fertilized, I sprinkled wildflower seeds, I added an angel statue.
ONE PURPLE FLOWER, PEOPLE. It’s August, and I HAVE ONE PURPLE FLOWER TO SHOW FOR THE PAST FOUR MONTHS. A COMPLETELY OVERGROWN GARDEN WITH A SINGLE PURPLE FLOWER.
Which is worse than having no flowers, because now apparently I have to decipher which weeds have potential to bloom, and avoid them. Now there is something at stake. The pressure is terrible. I can’t believe people find this soothing.
Obviously my green thumb thumbed a ride to greener pastures. It’s in Sonoma, indulging in wanton wine-tasting and sensuously tamping down rich, loamy soil and meeting other dirty, fickle fingers.
But do please note the amazed look on my daughter’s face. I think she is thrilled that I managed to coax one flower out of the ground. She had very low expectations about this venture. As she does about mealtimes when her father is not home.
Entry Filed under: Uncategorized, Pretty flowers. (Berkshires)
25 Comments
1. mom on a wire | August 10th, 2006 at 11:35 pm
Ooh, I think it looks beautiful even with only one flower! The colors in the picture are so rich, it looks like some magical fairy garden. The look on her face seals the deal. You have something special there, even if Martha Stewart wouldn’t spprove.
2. Mrs. Coulter | August 10th, 2006 at 11:57 pm
Wow, your attempt at a wild-flower garden turned out even worse than mine. Despite the many seedlings indistinguishable from weeds, I did even up with several actual flowers.
3. Raehan | August 11th, 2006 at 12:14 am
She’s a doll, and one flower is a huge deal.
From one green thumb wanna be to another.
4. margalit | August 11th, 2006 at 12:25 am
You have cosmos blooming, and from what I can decipher from the weeds and other plants, you’ve got plenty more coming. The cosmos plant is that very asparagus ferny, delicate plant that looks like dill. It’s just starting to bloom now, or at least mine just started last week, so you’re right on schedule, and you’ll get more. DON’T do anything with the plants, as they self sow and youll have more next year if you just leave them alone. As for the weeds, yeah, it’s been a bad year for them. My tomato plants are buried in weeds and I weed at least twice a week. I just can’t keep up this year.
5. Simon | August 11th, 2006 at 1:09 am
We have a small cactus in our kitchen that we’ve never watered and that still hasn’t died. The back yard gets mowed about once or twice a month and otherwise the vegetation reigns supreme.
Oh! My firstborn for a purple flower!
6. Deb | August 11th, 2006 at 2:10 am
Pshaw! It looks lovely, I happen to enjoy the overgrown look…..I especially love cosmos which the purple flower is! Breathe and enjoy!
7. Spot the Wonder Dog | August 11th, 2006 at 2:49 am
You fail at weeding.
8. Margaret | August 11th, 2006 at 7:55 am
The weeds are really bad this year. They must have loved that crazy heat wave. I was horrified when I saw that there were thistle growing behind my hedge that had, in fact, grown taller than said hedge. They were so big, boys named Jack could have climbed up them.
But… when I went to tackle them I realized they were on my neighbor’s side of the fence. Woohoo! I have no responsiblity over the giant weeds!
9. Samantha | August 11th, 2006 at 8:55 am
just put a decorative border around the garden and call it quits! It’s a nice green patch! It’s better than having a patch of dirt.
You might want to put a shephard’s hook out there too with a wind chime.
I think putting pretty things like boarders, wind chimes, and little stepping stones out there detract from an otherwise unexciting garden.
Think secret garden with more secrets than garden.
Cheers on the flower though!
10. mamatulip | August 11th, 2006 at 9:28 am
One is better than none, my friend. And it’s one more than I can keep alive — my “garden”, if you can call it that, is a sad, sad state of affairs.
11. Angie | August 11th, 2006 at 9:46 am
I distinctly saw three flowers. It is pretty. btw, I thought wildflowers were weeds, kinda.
12. hollygee | August 11th, 2006 at 10:10 am
Does that area get enough sun? Enough sun and water [not something New England has had to worry about this year] has a lot to do with the amount of bloomage vs. foliage.
13. Andrea S. | August 11th, 2006 at 10:13 am
‘Tis very green, though. Maybe you have several green thumbs, and they’re all having thumb wars to determine who wins. I think the Weed Green Thumb won, but they are pretty weeds. Green and leafy.
I have no green thumbs, so I can only lament over the lone flower. And four months? That just reinforces why I don’t garden. I’m an instant gratification kind of girl. Well, at least I have to see my progress anyway.
14. Lara | August 11th, 2006 at 10:54 am
I Love it.
That’s all.
15. Mrs. Q. | August 11th, 2006 at 11:23 am
Wildflowers are mean little muthas. You figure they should be easy to grow, seeing that they grow IN THE WILD, on their own, unassisted. I was mistaken. They are temperamental, needing all sorts of special soil, water, and attention. I made the same mistake four years ago, planting an entire patch of wildflowers in my arid, scary backyard. Just a few flowers poked their heads out, seemingly gasping for air and water. Save yourself the heartache. Buy a few perennials and plunk them in the ground. They are on sale now and you will be assured something green—*GASP* maybe even a flower!—next spring. But cheer up–the green stuff you have looks lush and beautiful… even if they are weeds.
16. J | August 11th, 2006 at 11:47 am
It’s pretty! Our new backyard is made of primarily of tan bark. Not that I’m complaining- I have been where you are right now and to my shame I threw up my hands and walked away…..
17. marian | August 11th, 2006 at 1:49 pm
I blame the packet of wildflower seeds. Those things never have worked for me. Next time plant seedlings from the nursery. Of course they’re more expensive. Nevermind.
18. sogalitno | August 11th, 2006 at 2:45 pm
oh its beautiful! and the smile on your daughter’s face is priceless (i hate those ads).
and its a start… i am lamenting the lack of flowers too at my garden (check my gardening blog) and doing WAR with several groundhogs which is why i have a lack of flowers -
but with perennials (maybe you planted some?) the old saying is …first (year) they sleep, then (second yr) they creep and then (third year) they leap.
and the other thing i am being taught by my garden, nature, the weather and the animals - is patience and tolerance.
neither of which i possess in great depths but i guess i will if i keep on gardening (which i cant stop - i am possessed)
hang in there…
19. Em | August 11th, 2006 at 3:30 pm
Hey - it looks a heck of a lot better than my sorry attempts at prettification!! It’s green and lush - verdant, even! Mine is….wilting and dying and screaming ‘water me, please!’
I shall give up on mine and just come and feast my eyes on your weeds instead. Vicarious gardening…..
20. jbeeky | August 11th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
A small sophisticated placard stating that this site was meticulously created to symbolize the prolific consumerism of america and the lone flower is the beginnings of a revolution to embrace the smaller, simpler things in life. I mean, you are from Western Mass, right? Then go to Walmart to buy “Bless this mess” and “Hang in there!” placards to place everywhere else. Yeah, that.
21. s@bd | August 11th, 2006 at 7:27 pm
OH! that’s your daughter? I thought it was the angel statue.
(lame, I know. I’m not kissing ass - it’s the best I could come up with.)
22. ChristyD | August 11th, 2006 at 9:35 pm
It’s so pretty and green! Everything here is dead. It’s 102 degrees out, and we haven’t had rain in weeks. We’re only allowed to water once a week. I can’t even keep weeds alive.
Cute photo!
23. Bethany | August 12th, 2006 at 9:35 am
My daughter would have had that purple flower plucked and in a plastic princess glass full of water in the kitchen so fast it would make your head spin.
That may be why after four YEARS of toiling in my flower beds I have no blooms. But my kitchen is pretty.
Sophie’s adorable, by the way. But then you already knew that, didn’t you?
24. Kristen | August 13th, 2006 at 4:27 pm
Hey, at least you have a flower. My husband is a LANDSCAPER and we have dirt and dying sod in our backyard. Plants do not survive the 4 boys and 2 dogs. Our front yard looks pretty good (it has to, would you want a landscaper who couldn’t keep his own front yard alive?) but our backyard is horrendous. What I wouldn’t give for a garden…even with only weeds.
25. Julie | August 22nd, 2006 at 11:16 am
OK, from one brown thumb to another, here’s my only successful stab at gardening. Last fall, I “composted” our halloween pumpkin by tossing it into some bushes. This summer, the darn thing grew and grew and grew, and now we have a number of fine orange pumpkin flowers sprouting up over the tops of the bushes! I’m considering trying the same method with some squashes this fall…
Trackback this post