Thursday, July 06, 2006

GARDENER'S LAMENT - I'M FEELING NEGLECTED!

Given the copious amount of rain we've had, add to that the hot summer temperatures and my garden is doing splendidly. Now I'm feeling neglected.

Every year at this time there are the usual gardening touch-ups to be made like removing the weeds, dead-heading the flowers, lots of watering...the usual stuff. However, I've barely touched the garden because - well - the garden is thriving on my neglect! All that thinning out done last fall has paid off and the perennials are growing exactly where they are supposed to grow.

Darn!

The rock garden has never looked so good and all the perennials planted over the years is paying off. In fact there is hardly any more room for new additions. Maybe one or two. Three at the most.

Meanwhile, in the flower bed the older perennials are a blooming success and then some, with the newer additions kicking in as soon as the older blooms die. The rose bush that was about to be dug up has obviously received my mental image of the composter loud and clear and this season produced five fist-sized blooms. There aren't even any signs of fungus or black spot on the leaves, which eliminates the necessity to spray.

How demoralizing.

Even the 7 foot-plus hollyhocks whose stems usually bend in half being top-heavy, are remaining upright. This means I don't even have to support them as in past years.

The best I can hope for, generally, is that the annuals in the flower boxes will soon become leggy and require some extensive cutting and trimming. So now it's just a question of time. They'll all need me, eventually. They always do.