A 2020 Garden
2020 has been a strange year in regards to gardening. I'm not even going to try to express my sadness about all of those people impacted by the pandemic. That goes without saying!
But, with the arrival of COVID- 19, I started thinking about the ramifications of no in-person plant shopping! My winter wish lists and customary plant purchases were in jeopardy! I had already ordered way too many lilium bulbs to add to the way too many that I had planted in the fall. Luckily, my friend has a wholesalers account at a nearby nursery that we visited on the first days of March- before the stay at home orders. I picked up some violas, a hellebore or two and a pot of primulas. Then everything closed down!
Well, I just couldn't face a summer without my favorite coleus cultivars. Then, there were those plants that Laura recommended on Facebook's “Garden Answer” page. What was a plantaholic to do? Shop online of course!
Sitting at home, I had plenty of time to scour the internet for the best sites to make my purchases. As I clicked away, my PayPal account was working overtime to keep up! In my little black book, I recorded page after page of new plant acquisitions. I even ordered seeds! I was desperate! A half a dozen clematis vines, a dozen coleus starts, shrubs, a whole bunch of hellebores, and assorted perennials for sun and shade made it into my online cart. Throw in some daylilies and hostas to boot. Yikes! What was I thinking!
But, I needed tomato plants and herbs. So, in mid-May I ventured out with a mask and gloves and plenty of hand sanitizer to a farm that had outdoor, physically distanced, sales. I hadn't been in a grocery store yet (my husband was doing the shopping). It was kind of scary, but I came home with three tomato plants (and some dahlias, too)!
Fortunately, in late spring, the wholesale nursery opened up again and I would meet my friend there for another plant fix. I am always on the hunt for the unusual and this place usually has a good selection of what I was searching for or something else that I just had to have.
My friends also fed my collector's habit by trading cuttings and rooted divisions with me. And, I realized that I could shop from my own garden by dividing plants that I already grew and loved! So, in the end, I had an abundance of plants to get in the ground, and it turned out to be one of the best gardening seasons- until the deer got used to every deer repellent spray in my arsenal. Oh well, on to next year! The spring bulb catalogs are calling me!
But, with the arrival of COVID- 19, I started thinking about the ramifications of no in-person plant shopping! My winter wish lists and customary plant purchases were in jeopardy! I had already ordered way too many lilium bulbs to add to the way too many that I had planted in the fall. Luckily, my friend has a wholesalers account at a nearby nursery that we visited on the first days of March- before the stay at home orders. I picked up some violas, a hellebore or two and a pot of primulas. Then everything closed down!
Well, I just couldn't face a summer without my favorite coleus cultivars. Then, there were those plants that Laura recommended on Facebook's “Garden Answer” page. What was a plantaholic to do? Shop online of course!
Sitting at home, I had plenty of time to scour the internet for the best sites to make my purchases. As I clicked away, my PayPal account was working overtime to keep up! In my little black book, I recorded page after page of new plant acquisitions. I even ordered seeds! I was desperate! A half a dozen clematis vines, a dozen coleus starts, shrubs, a whole bunch of hellebores, and assorted perennials for sun and shade made it into my online cart. Throw in some daylilies and hostas to boot. Yikes! What was I thinking!
But, I needed tomato plants and herbs. So, in mid-May I ventured out with a mask and gloves and plenty of hand sanitizer to a farm that had outdoor, physically distanced, sales. I hadn't been in a grocery store yet (my husband was doing the shopping). It was kind of scary, but I came home with three tomato plants (and some dahlias, too)!
Fortunately, in late spring, the wholesale nursery opened up again and I would meet my friend there for another plant fix. I am always on the hunt for the unusual and this place usually has a good selection of what I was searching for or something else that I just had to have.
My friends also fed my collector's habit by trading cuttings and rooted divisions with me. And, I realized that I could shop from my own garden by dividing plants that I already grew and loved! So, in the end, I had an abundance of plants to get in the ground, and it turned out to be one of the best gardening seasons- until the deer got used to every deer repellent spray in my arsenal. Oh well, on to next year! The spring bulb catalogs are calling me!
We might think that we are nurturing our garden, but of course, it's our garden that is really nurturing us.
~Jenny Uglow
~Jenny Uglow