Dreams of Perfection

Earlier this month these three plant catalogs arrived at our mail box on the same day.  Each is from a favored supplier and each will receive an order from us this year.  Richters is located in Canada and has the most extensive herb seed and plant list ever seen here.  They supply us with three new lemon verbena plants each year.  Additional plants will fill out the order.  McClure and Zimmerman are an excellent source for native rootstocks.  Roots and Rhizomes have an extensive list of day lilies and Siberian iris.  Rough draft orders have been made and revised.  Why we do this is a puzzle of sorts.

Our garden already exceeds our ability to properly care for it.  Despite our full understanding of this reality, we continue to open new planting beds.  Illustrations in the plant catalogs may influence this madness.  Pictures of perfect plants fill the pages of these catalogs.  Those perfect plants represent the goal of every gardener.  In reality what we grow seldom lives in a perfect world.  Late frost, insufficient or excessive rain, pest explosions or disease, intrusions by wild animals or the neighbor's damn cat in some combination challenge our plants' mission to grow and flower.  Persistence drives us to try again.  This year is less than one full month old and our plants are already stressed by unfavorable weather.  Yesterday the temperature climbed above 50 F degrees.  Excessive rains filled the streams with raging muddy water as more topsoil moves toward the ocean.  Perennial plant crowns have been exposed to repeated freeze thaw cycles devoid of any protective snow cover.

Plant catalogs really sell hope for the future.  Hope that this may be the year when the weather is stable and we manage to stay just slightly ahead of the weeds.  For me, time spent with my hands in the soil is curative both spiritually and physically.  Perfect flowers and sweet scents are just a bonus.  Once again we will trade money for plants and start the cycle once more.

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Plants In A Box

Yesterday was cold and blustery. The freeze warnings were out. Ed headed out to cover the plants that we felt might suffer some damage like the lilies and my Angelicia gigas. As fortune would have it, he accidentally locked the basement door on one of his trips. Muttering to himself he walked around to come in the other door. There on the porch sat our box of plants from Richters. How lucky we were that he found them. Last night was not nice for tender, new plants to be caught outside. Perhaps the UPS man has a new muffler on his truck, or maybe the wind was noisy enough for him to be able to drop off my box of plants without my noticing. The important thing is Ed found the box in time.

The three blood root plants that we ordered were out of stock, disappointing, but in the box was a balloon flower, a finger bowl lemon scented Geranium, 3 Patchouli plants, a Rosemary officinalis, an Arp Rosemary, a golden rain rosemary, 3 alpine strawberries and 3 lemon verbenas.




I'm pretty pleased with my new arrivals. Even as stressed and chilled as these plants were, their fragrances are terrific! The lemon verbenas are small, but healthy looking. This patchouli is another matter. Although listed as easy to grow, I know from past experience that patchouli plants like it hot. With the cool reception on arrival here, I guess it has a right to look stressed out. If I am concerned about the plants recovery, I am told to contact customer service within 48 hours. Let's hope the sultry 65 that I keep my house will suffice to perk up this plant. I really hate to make that kind of call!