This year, I let all of my subscriptions to gardening magazines elapse. I grew tired of opening them up to page upon page of perfectly manicured, professionally landscaped perennial borders and outdoor living spaces. I’d much rather browse the internet and look at gardening blogs to find my gardening inspiration. I like to look at real gardens, and real gardens have flaws.
Maybe “flaws” is the wrong word…I mean, can plants and growing things that exist in nature be flawed? I guess what I am trying to say is that I like to see what real gardeners are doing in their spaces, even if that means seeing the less-than-perfect plantings, messy spaces and projects gone wrong.
The problem is, there isn’t a lot of that out there! So I decided to go first. I present to you, True Garden Confessions. Instead of hiding my mistakes, my messes, my plans-gone-wrong, I’m going to show them to you here, in all their untidy glory.
This week? The Abandoned Autumn Planting Project.
Last autumn my mom came over to dig up her plants from the bed she’d planted in when she lived here. Her plan was to move her perennials across the country in a moving truck to her new home in Alberta. When this plan fell through, I endeavoured to put some of her plants back in the ground before the ground froze. It just didn’t happen. I got as far as to position the pots where I wanted to plant the perennials, and as you can see, they sat there until spring.
Happily, some of the plants seem to have made it through the winter and are now sporting new growth. Others…well, I’m not so sure, but I’ll wait it out another couple of weeks to see if any greenery appears. I’m telling myself it was all a hardiness experiment!
Got a True Garden Confession? Link to it here in the comments section and I will add your link to this post!
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
I know what you mean about gardening mags, too much to live up to. I like a garden with flaws, don't you?
Sometimes its flaws are the most charming part of a garden!
HA! Love this! I've got five pots of Magnus echinacea bought on sale last fall that sat out on my front walkway until mid-winter. They're now dead in a sad bucket in my garage.
Aw, poor Magnus echinacea. I hope they were a good deal!