More Gardening

[botias]

It was a beautiful day today, sunny and warm. I spent most of it gardening. I planted dahlias. This could be glorious in a few months time. Or maybe not. Dahlias are a departure for me. They have no purpose but to be beguiling to the eye, huge and extravagant and lushly colored. They do not have scented foliage; their names are not bandied about in Shakespeare or the Bible; they are not edible; they do not attract beneficial insects, repel pests, or even form interesting seed pods for dried arrangements. Also, they are grown from tubers. I have been gardening for a few years now. Since... 1996 if you don't count my childhood efforts. I have yet to successfully grow something from a bulb. This is a bit embarrassing since daffodils run feral on nearly every roadside; the 'Star Gazer' lily was born and bred here. So, I planted dahlias, and glads, and tiger lilies.

I'm getting back into the groove. For a while yesterday I puttered about, but then I began to get down to business: tearing things out that never really worked, or were past their prime, or the magic was gone, or that I liked very much, but there just wasn't room for three.

Gardening is... very, very bad for the soul. Its lessons:

1. Take chances
2. If it's too much work, it wasn't meant to be
3. Don't settle, there's always a more exciting plant at the nursery
4. Be ruthless
1. Eradicate undesired species
2. Cull the runts and excess
3. Cut them back hard, lest they get unruly
4. Kill all your enemies; destroy them where they hide, great and small: mercy is never rewarded
5. That monarda you grew last year is an annual, and that's why it's not coming back, silly.

Comments

[riccadonna.livejournal.com]

Now I only have potted plants, but back when I had a little garden, I had the best dahlias when I gave them some natural manure.
A very satisfying, old fashioned and happy flower.

[botias.livejournal.com]

I've always used those sacks of steer manure compost combined with leaf mulch for other garden stuff. :) Since I've had such poor luck with bulbs in the past, I actually broke down and bought a box of 'organic' bulb food.

I keep hearing that Dahlias are easy to grow. It's reassuring to hear that from someone who isn't trying to sell me a few.