Bright blossoms are greeting me these days.
There are still garden tasks that occupy a part of each day. I try to pull a few weeds on a regular basis. This time of year, it does seem that the need for dead-heading increases as well.
I look at these balloon flowers. I like their purple presence in my garden. But it does not take long for them to abandon the job I assign to them--beautifying there designated space. They quickly--and they are certainly not alone in this mid-summer season by any means--take up their selfish thrust to produce seed and ensure reproduction, taking on their own agenda entirely. When I pinch them back, they keep on blooming, but they do need reminding who is in charge with each pinch.
They kind of remind me of the politicians we elect, believing their promises of a brighter future for all. All too soon, they are off on propagating a political future and forgetting those who made it all possible in the first place. Ha! I could lop their heads off! Is there a lesson here?
Now these Johnny Jump-ups are volunteers. Someone planted them over twenty years ago along the front sidewalk. Here, they have migrated their way into the back yard. They wander where they may, but they are cheery and otherwise harmless. They have turned themselves into weeds, but I do not have the ruthless fervor to eradicate them that, say, dandelions engender. Still, some of them can stay and some of them just have to go. They will come back. Talk about politicians.
Then there is the crabgrass. Oh, it is late July and early August, the season of crabgrass. What an annoyingly opportunistic pest! I want to believe that there is some kind of intelligent design at work in nature, but then the crabgrass starts popping up and I am no longer so much a believer.
Sure, I could look at myself as a heartless colonial master banishing native plants I consider inferior in order to make room for the desirable plants of my own choosing. But I'm not going there right now.
Bee Balm
Liatrus and Phlox
Clematis
Day Lily
There are still garden tasks that occupy a part of each day. I try to pull a few weeds on a regular basis. This time of year, it does seem that the need for dead-heading increases as well.
They kind of remind me of the politicians we elect, believing their promises of a brighter future for all. All too soon, they are off on propagating a political future and forgetting those who made it all possible in the first place. Ha! I could lop their heads off! Is there a lesson here?
Now these Johnny Jump-ups are volunteers. Someone planted them over twenty years ago along the front sidewalk. Here, they have migrated their way into the back yard. They wander where they may, but they are cheery and otherwise harmless. They have turned themselves into weeds, but I do not have the ruthless fervor to eradicate them that, say, dandelions engender. Still, some of them can stay and some of them just have to go. They will come back. Talk about politicians.
Then there is the crabgrass. Oh, it is late July and early August, the season of crabgrass. What an annoyingly opportunistic pest! I want to believe that there is some kind of intelligent design at work in nature, but then the crabgrass starts popping up and I am no longer so much a believer.
Sure, I could look at myself as a heartless colonial master banishing native plants I consider inferior in order to make room for the desirable plants of my own choosing. But I'm not going there right now.
I am so impressed and envious of all your color. I had to chose between watering veggies or flowers and the veggies won.
ReplyDeleteDead heading in Congress might be fun.
Arkansas Patti
Our son has that beautiful purple clematis growing at the end of his porch. Daylilies are always a favorite of mine.
ReplyDeleteOlga, your analogy is brilliant. Comparing your balloon flowers to politicians is the best description I have heard of what is going on in Washington from anyone in days. I think we need to have a gardener go to Washington and take charge!
ReplyDeleteAnd, I also think you are right about the Johnny Jump-ups. I always wonder where mine will end up also. They too seem to be like politicians, just as you said. They move on to what ever territory suits them best even if it is not where you planted them and expected them to grow. Or, as you said, they were planted by someone else and now you deal with them.
Loved your post!
Absolutely beautiful, Olga!
ReplyDeleteLove love love your flowers! My all time favorites are the day lily (or tiger lily as I like to call them. the wild Queen Anne's lace. hibiscus. and black eyed susans! Thanks for sharing your flowers with us!
ReplyDeleteThese are lovely and it seems you are weeks behind our hot weather.
ReplyDeleteI have many of the same flowers blooming right now in CO. The Bee Balm (mine is purple) wants to take over the side garden. I've been pulling it out, but it just sneaks back in another place.
ReplyDelete