Be Bold - Add Color

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A few years ago, I saw a custom built arbor that ran across the entire front of a house on one of 'those' shows.
I was immediately attached to the idea of having one like it.
The hubs wasn't so happy. Well, what did I expect, he'd be the one building it.

I must mention here that the hubs is a genius with his hands.
If I show him something in a book, mag or on tv, and the materials are cheap, he'll engineer it.
Or, at least a reasonable facsimile.

After the groaning about what a pain-in-the derriere this thing was going to be, he started drawing.
It was up in two days!

The problem was - it sat unpainted for two weeks because we couldn't decide on a color.
But, who wants a regular old white arbor? White is nice. Cottagey. Presents the vines and flowers well. Also, boring. Very, very boring.

We hemmed and hawed. Made suggestions to each other. Nahh-ed and maybe-ed each one.
Some we threw out immediately, some we mulled over for the entire two weeks. (dark evergreen green, anyone?)

We figured a trip to the little village hardware store was in order for a few more choices.
My youngest tagged along - I think she was 13 at the time.
She wandered down the paint aisle, pointed to a color chip and said, "That's the color you should paint it."

I was horrified. Florida Bay blue.
Bright, gaudy, in-your-face blue.

The hubs blinked at me and simply said, "Why not?"
I wanted to stamp my foot on the ancient wood floor and scream, "Because it's bright blue! We can't have that color screaming at people from the front of our house. What are you two thinking?"
The only thing I could think of was this house in my old neighborhood that had every strip of siding painted a different pastel color. We called it the 'rainbow house' and thought it was just the craziest, gaudiest thing ever. I didn't want my house being thought of like that!
It might look . . . trashy. (which is the thought I think most people's brains automatically jump to with color)

But, I'm not one to make a scene, you know. Not in public, anyway.
I stared at the chip, trying to envision what it might really look like against the white background of the house. Blue is my favorite color, after all. Maybe it wouldn't be too bad? It's not like it would be on the whole house or something. And we could always paint over it.

So, we painted it that shocking blue.
And we liked it!
Yes, we liked it a lot.
So did the neighbors.



All these years I've never been bold enough to paint my outdoor accessories the colors that I wanted. It was a real eye opener. Why is everyone so afraid of bold colors in the garden? They'll use shocking red, yellow, purple flowers, but everything else must blend into the background. Why? Why can't a pot or other garden accessory compliment other colors? Can you imagine a nice small splash of purple hidden among some hostas? Or a bit of sunny yellow nestled among some purple amaranth? A garden chair painted a soothing mint green situated in the shade garden inviting visitors to have a seat, relax and enjoy the scenery?

What's better than a beautiful splash of color, that isn't a flower, somewhere in the garden?
Start small, maybe a pot. (somewhere I saw a set of small buckets that someone had added feet to, painted pastel colors and used for flower pots. They were gorgeous!!)
Even a few small rocks placed here and there.
Be bold. Grab that paintbrush and try it. See how you feel about it.
Besides, you can always repaint.
:)

I'm now mulling over painting our pond bench lavender. Adding a little color was one of the best decisions we ever made, so why not?

Happy (adding that splash of color) Growing!
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I Don't Do Rooms

No, I'm not talking about cleaning.
;)
I mean those so-called garden rooms.

I'm not claustrophobic, I don't think.
But, I am use to wide open spaces. Great big ones. I like the idea of being able to see as far as the eye can see. I'm a fan of 'distance vision'. I'm not talking about defining areas with plants. I think that's cool. I'm talking walled-in, view-destroying, cut-off-from-outside-life rooms.

I don't want to feel walled in, whether it's within a 80' x 80' square or a 10' x 10' circle.
I like the feeling of being able to stand in one spot and survey my entire yard - as far as the eye can see.

I want to be able to take a quick glance at my vegetable garden from my front mailbox, gaze at my 'color points' from my driveway, watch butterflies and hummingbirds dance from flower to flower while sitting at my ponds and see them planting corn across the street while puttering on my patio.

Obviously, I'm in the minority when it comes to this 'room' thing.

If it's taller than my eye line, I don't like it. Don't block my view, man!

I don't care about those 'surprises' around the next corner, or whether I should sit behind this wall of trees with a glass of wine and finger the grape leaves or the one eight feet away with tea and honeysuckle and splashing my fingers in a big assed fountain while the sound of the water echos in the tight space. Why, in God's name, would I want to be in my yard and not be able to see and talk with someone sitting in a separate 'room' ten feet away? I can do that inside my house, thank you very much. And no - those winding paths meandering around fifty feet of evergreens don't 'entice' me to keep going - unless it's to some high point where I can see everything at once.

My yard is outside, just where it's suppose to be. I don't want to go outside into some 'intimate' space. I get intimate with my plants and nature all the time without being walled in. Walls are for houses - trees standing like soldiers and made into walls is just dumb - in my own uneducated opinion.

Change Shmange

I'm one of those people who dislikes change. Very much.

I've gotten used to getting up, grabbing a cup of coffee and wandering around outside with that steaming cup while, with the other hand, fingering flowers and leaves and jabbering to the koi (yes, they can distinguish between people) as the sun peeks over the edge of the horizon, throwing gorgeous rays of color over everything and the birds peep from the feeder while a warm breeze blows softly across the dew and tree leaves rustle. Ahhhhh.

Now...well, it's damn cold out there!

I have this awful twinge of regret and anxiety now that summer is heading off to ... somewhere.

Lordy, I need to move.

Everything in my house has a place, and it has all been it that same place for 25 years. (yeah, and probably some of that dust has had its 25th birthday as well). I still have the same dishes and silverware I had when we got married. New furniture is only aquired as a 'have to' because someone has fallen on the floor for the fifth time. Bills are always paid by check, none of this new-fangled online pay for me, by goobers! Cash at the register. Ancient, cracked and crumbling Christmas decorations hang on the same old, 'see the wire branches' tree, some held together with taped strings of lights. Hey, it is electrical tape! Maybe the cheap stuff, but still. And it comes in colors! Charlie Brown would be so proud.

Have I mentioned I don't like change?

Yet, I find it strange that the one thing I'm overly motivated to constantly change is my garden. I've just finished one corner and wham! I'll be darned, but the next bed has a few plants that aren't happy with their location. So, get out their little suitcases and move them and their dirt 3 feet to the left. Ahem.

Oooo, see, now there's a hole and a big empty spot there. Well, something else will just have to pack up their roots and move in.

Geeps...they're like bad, bad rental tenants with wanderlust. Heh, I wonder if I can start charging them rental space.

Nah, not worth it. Although, with all those wild parties they throw with the Japanese beetles and aphids, I bet I get to keep the security deposits.

Fall seems to be persistantly knocking at the front door with his suitcases piled on the steps behind. If he isn't careful he's going to bust out my glass with all that bangin' ... and then there'll be some-kinda-trouble.

I'm So......Untrendy

Carol asked about the next big idea, so I blame her for getting me thinking.

According to Gardening Media Group:

Garden Trends For 2007

1. Outdoor Living is In ------ Indoor Living is Out

2. Escape Gardens Are In -------- Everyday Gardens Are Out

3.Streamlined Gardens Are In ------- Shabby Chic Gardens Are Out

4. Eco-Chic Gardens Are In ------- Chemical Needy Gardens Are Out

5. Small Space Gardens Are In ------- Colossal Gardens Are Out

6. Larger than Life Accents Are In --- Peak-a-Boo Accessories Are Out

7. Foliage in Focus Is In ------- Flowers Only Are Out

8. Multi-tasking Gardens Are In --- Time Consuming Gardens Are Out

9. Fancy Plants Are In ----------- Basic Plants Are Out

10. Designer Veggies Are In ---------- Store Bought Veggies Are Out

11. Masses of Any Color Are In -------- Colorless Masses Are Out

12. 24-Hour Gardens Are In ---------- Daytime Only Gardens Are Out

1. This one strikes me as a bit ridiculous. As a gardener, I've been living outdoors all my life, starting with a few lounge chairs, a small table and a picnic table in the middle of my grandmothers garden. I always considered it 'the other room'. And she had this flowering bush (Of course, now I have no idea what it was) that you could tunnel under and became my 'playhouse' every summer - tea sets and all. Unless you're somewhere where the weather is nice all year, a silk chaise lounge and tv just aren't practical. (Ever get the impression these trends are always geared towards California livin'?)

2. Uh, every garden should be considered an 'escape'. I think we all de-stress working with plants, even if they're the basics or in containers.

3. Shabby Chic is out? Bummer, because that's what my style will always be! Streamlined is, well, usually boring. Tidy I like, but streamlined, not so much.

4. Ok, this is something I've always practiced, so one point for me.

5. And where, oh where would I put all those winter sown plants in a tiny space? No way. Small space gardening is just gardeners under duress - not enough space to garden, so they improvise, not downsize. If they have any space, by golly, they'll fill it!

6. "designers are creating the same amount of impact with larger plants and garden accessories". Funny, I thought you just told me they were using "dwarf-sized annuals, perennials and shrubs are now specifically bred for small spaces"? I thought fairy gardens were the new thing? Those fairies are gonna look pretty silly staring up at some monster plant!

7. Guys, catch up - gardeners have grown and admired plants for 'foliage only' for years!

8. Umm, Ornamental Kale or Rhubarb Chard ring any bells? Also been done for years. Anyway, most gardeners don't consider their gardens as 'time consuming' as much as they enjoy the time they spend gardening. If they considered it nothing more than a time consuming chore, they wouldn't do it year after year. Wow, how many of these 'trend-setting designers' are actual gardeners?

9. Well, gee...is that why all those catalog descriptions always add "Amaze you're gardening friends with this unusual plant?" And, hate to burst your bubble, but I'll bet many more gardeners are returning to the heirloom varieties or native plants than you might think! We all like to experiment with something new and exotic, but the basics ain't goin' anywhere.

10. Hmmm, I get to give the same answer to this one as I did to 8 and 9.

11. Huh? Isn't this what every flower gardener strives for? Gardeners have loved 'drifts' of color for ever. Most are beautiful enough to take your breath away. Wow, kinda like mother nature does things, eh? So not a new trend.

12. ~sigh~ So not new.

Wow, 1 for me, 11 for the trend-setters. I'm so happy to have lost this one!

Hedging Edging

Noncommittal. That perfectly describes me when it comes to edging.

The last time I scoured the internet and B&M stores (who doesn't love Lowe's?) for ideas for edging my flowerbeds, by brain went numb. I don't think I said a word all the way home. Well, it's kind of hard to talk around burned-in visions of brick on your eyeball.

It must have been an interesting thing watching me feel row after row of fencing, brick and paver as my brain function slowly shut down while foamy drool accumulated on my chin. Did you know that if you stare at something long enough it will change color or disappear? I swear, it does!

OMG, soooo many choices! There has got to be some dude sitting in a little dark cubby somewhere, hunched over a blank sheet of paper with only a lead pencil for a friend, and hand shaking as he tries to give his boss the next 'big' thing to edge your flowerbed with. Poor guy, I hope they give hime some crayons this year, cause I am sick to death of white, various shades of gray and brick.

I am so over it! I concede, you win!
Actually, for one bed, I win. I used field stone. Yup, the kind right out of the local farmer's field. Take that, cubby dude!

I like it. It's natural, looks fabuluous, and didn't cost me a dime.

Now, about the other ones...

Ut-oh!

So, whatcha got in yours? Yeah, maybe I want to steal your idea! Ok, ok, I'll settle for copying it. What's your absolute favorite?

You Stole My Garden Design!

'The Irish High Court will be asked to settle a dispute between Andy Sturgeon and Diarmuid Gavin and to decide whether a gold medal-winning garden design at last year’s Chelsea Flower Show was an original or a copy. '

Though I was a bit astonished by this news on GardenMags, I couldn't help but chuckle.
Sorry guys, but it seems (quite clearly) to me that either one or the other of you is a total wanker.

I've decided.

I want chaos! Why should I succumb to the organized, color themed, uppity, perfectly structured ways of fellow gardeners? I won't. I won't I say!

I WILL have an unorganized, colorwheel-be-damned garden! I want the plants I want, where I want them, flowering at the time they see fit and where they suit themselves most.

It so aggravates me when someone points out that my purple salvia most definitely should NOT be planted with my blazing red bee balm. Says who? Maybe I like clashing colors. Maybe just to tick these people off a bit more I'll plant orange calendula right smack-dab in the center of that bed next year and call it the 'tie-dye' garden! Take that Miss Nose In The Air Upper-Crusty Garden Maidens!

I sigh heavily and know that come spring I'll still worry about what my fellow hands-in-the-dirt peers will say. There's just no getting around it. It's a hopeless, yearly, spring garden dilemma.

This year I will simply do as I please. I will not give in to the norm. It's boring. Who likes boring? The butterflies, hummingbirds and hummingbird moths who visit daily could care what colors I put together, and neither does mother nature. Thus - neither do I!

My purple will stay snuggled next to the red, and maybe, just maybe...I will add some orange to my chaotic cottage gardens.