The Fall Garden
I do not believe there is a person alive who does not have some sort of quirk or odd behavior. I have several and although I am not proud of them, they do not seem to impact the quality of my life or the lives of others.
First of all – a real hindrance to living in the South: I do not like Mac and Cheese. I mean that I really hate it. If I so much as pass that blue Kraft box in the grocery aisle, I break out in a sweat. I think it was because my mother liked cooking convenience foods—Minute Rice, potatoes out of a box, etc. Maybe if I had the real deal, I would like Mac and Cheese, but I won’t even try it. Bad me.
Secondly, I have to play golf with a white plastic tee. If I do not, it is fate that the ball will not be hit well. It is all about the tee and not my ability to hit the ball. Yeah, right!
Thirdly, I have a black plastic bucket that has come with me through two moves. It became my companion in Boston and moved to Ohio and now it is down here. It has a broken handle and paint splatters, but my tools go into it and it comes with me when I garden either in my own yard or at the island pollinator garden. I cannot imagine gardening without it. Now, I won’t even mention my fixation with airline meals – all those neat little packets and compartments.
Now that I sound like a complete eccentric, I will talk about how my quirks apply to gardening. I can be a plunker and plopper. I know that things planted in groups look so much better, but being cheap, I tend to buy one plant to “try it out.” God forbid that a $7.99 plant die on me. If it works and I go back to buy more, the nursery may be out or the plant stock is picked over so there it sits, one lonely little plant without any friends to keep it company.
I have been working on remedying this behavior by buying plants in multiples, usually threes. Odd numbers look better in a garden than total symmetry, unless you are framing a pathway or doorway and want that look on both sides. Sweeps of color always look good in a garden rather than one forlorn plant by itself. I am working on this. You can learn from my failure. Buy at least three of every plant you purchase. You will not be sorry.
I also ignore color schemes in my garden. There are entire books written about color in gardens and using a color wheel to find complementary colors. I have read many of those books, but I choose whatever colors I like. For example, the color yellow is the most disliked garden color according to garden designers. I love yellow! Many people do not like hot colors like red and orange. I like just about every color in my garden from cool pastels to hot reds. I have found that butterflies seem to like orange flowers. I have no idea why. Do not be swayed by garden design articles that state the importance of having a color scheme in your garden. You are not planting for landscape designers. Plant what you like. If you like blues, pinks, and pastels, plant that. If you want a riot of hot colors like reds and oranges -go for it.
My absolute macaroni and cheese of the plant world is the Sago palm. They are one of the oldest plants on earth and are not palms at all since they belong to a totally different Genus. I just don’t like them. They are difficult to work around due to their sharp spine like fronds and they are extremely toxic to pets. I will admit that they give a tropical feel to many gardens, just do not put them in mine. We had two dogs die in our community from ingesting parts of a Sago so if you have a pet, I advise you to get rid of the danger.
One quirk of mine that has had benefits is the way I prune shrubs. I have always liked to keep shrubs trimmed about 12 inches up from the ground so that there are no lower branches touching the soil. When I took the Master Gardener class I learned that this is a good thing because it promotes air flow and diminishes fungal diseases as well as pests. It is also a good way to see if there are any slithery surprises hiding at the base of your shrubs. We all know to never reach into plant matter where we cannot see what is there.
So perhaps quirks can be a good thing. Above all, plant what you want to plant and do not be swayed by what others have in their gardens if it does not appeal to you. If you do not like a particular shrub, plant, or tree there are no rules that you are forced to have them on your property.
