Disorderly Conduct...

 Well I have been informed it's time for another blog entry. Like most of you, there hasn't been a lot going on for me to blog about. Most of my spare time has been spent out in the yard and gardens trying to get caught up with never ending work.

Gardening is work, and at times I wonder why I don't have an easier or more simpler hobby. I get hot, I get dirty, I get exhausted with gardening. I should have chosen something less taxing like stamp collecting, knitting, or building model airplanes. I think with every hobby there must be a downfall and I know that most likely with the stamp collecting I will acquire a papercut on my tongue from licking,...poke myself in the eye with the knitting needle, or both eyes since there are two needles used... or glue my fingers together with the model building. I chose gardening, or rather gardening chose me.

Gardening can be seductive with it's glossy colorful catalogs, and promises of beauty surrounding you at every turn. What those catalogs don't mention are the weeds, the weather, and the disorderly conduct of a lot of plants.

I have been gardening for a long time, and like all gardeners, we tend to learn things the hard way about plants and planting. I think perhaps the biggest mistake I ever did was in my choice of planting material for a long steep bank that flanked the driveway. I needed a plant that would help with erosion control, be maintenance free, and look pretty. A pretty tall order when I think back on it. So I skimmed the catalogs till I found something that I thought would look nice..... I ordered......crownvetch.

I can hear the gasps from those seasoned gardeners at the mere mention of the plant. Yes, I, Vic, did plant crownvetch.....and not just one plant. I ordered fifty plants for my long stretch of bank. They grew...they thrived...they took over anything in it's path. I've sprayed ever since to kill the stuff that runs by underground runners and it still runs everywhere it shouldn't.

I take the blame for those plants that I plant, but there are also those plants that plant themselves...those reseeding wonders. Now being a bit on the frugal side of gardening, I tend to like plants that give back by reseeding or spreading and increasing their beauty. You know those kind of plants that neighbors share with neighbors till everyone is growing Mrs. Edwards iris, or some other vigorous plant material...And if I am truthful with myself, I will admit to being a plant hoarder. I hate to not plant or replant those offshoots and plant babies. Flower beds and gardens are extended just to make room for those new additions.

The other day while out in the backyard I looked over one of my shady borders and noticed how well some of the plants were growing and how some were still just emerging, when I happened upon my woodland phlox. For those of you that don't grow the stuff, think a taller version of creeping phlox, more open, delicate and in the lovely shade of light periwinkle blue. I had planted a few plants several years ago in my border and they were up and growing about 6 inches......but... If one were to look a few feet over by a tree where the picnic table was, there was some rogue phlox... Tall, blooming, wild, renegade phlox that completely covered the area under the picnic table. I know if I were to dig up the plants or move the picnic table they wouldn't be happy. They were plants with a mind of their own. So for now I won't be using the picnic table much and will let the neighbors wonder why I have the loveliest flower bed under my picnic table.

It wasn't just the phlox either. I spied some Japanese painted ferns, and a tiny bleeding heart that jumped ship and were huddling quietly, but happy in their chosen spots. I couldn't help but think, as I glanced up and down my flower borders for a sparser area, shovel in hand...."don't worry little guys I will save you".

Somehow at times I think it is me that needs saving.

Mother's day is coming up this week-end and a lot of people will be buying their mom a card and a gift, and being a gardener I will be getting my mom the gift of flowers...The kind she can plant. Hopefully she will have better luck in keeping her plants in line. Having raised four kids I think she already has a distinct advantage.

Happy Mother's Day Mom....