At a time when I greatly enjoy working in the garden -- the evening
are cool, the dahlias are delicious and the light is magnificent, I find myself
in the rather unfortunate experience of being confined to my bed for three
weeks. Unable to climb up and down stairs I am greatly saddened by the dahlias
gathering unloved and uncut by the side of the garage that I can see from my
upstair rear windows. They are a reproach, and I am guilty, if of nothing else
but poor timing, of at least that.
Luckily, just before my jailbed term began, a few wondrous gifts
appeared. Two of my favorite catalogues appeared together one day in the mail;
the first focused on new shrubs for 2015, the other a collector’s list of
deliciousness and “have-to-haves.” The next day’s post carried with it, along
with the inevitable bills and flyers, the encyclopedic ‘Weeds of North America’
by Richard Dickinson and France Royer and six, count them out loud, six bulb
catalogues.
The universe was feeling sorry for me.
Now I know there are many people out there, myself included who love
to explore and ferret out plant information on the internet -- I impressed
myself just the other day by identifying buckwheat in just a few moments of
mousework when handed a limp, partially desiccated strand, but there is
something wonderful with being able to curl up with the printed page. Now
I know that there are something I can never trust a book to get right, like
when it comes to deer resistant lists. By the time the thing is published, it’s
already out of date, just last winter we had deer eat daffodils, ostrich ferns,
peonies and butterfly bush. How could any book hope to keep up?
But when I want to ferret out all the brassicacea formerly
cruciferae or members of the mustard family that are labels as weed, I have 800
pages of lusciousness to help me do so. I forget that garlic mustard and my
beloved dame’s rocket are related. And when I get to the section of
caryophyllaceae or the carnation family I want to slide down my forbidden
stairs and slide out into the garden to check the extent of inflation of the
calyx of the silene that’s shot up in the bed next to the driveway. But I
know I will have to wait. What’s got me all hot and bothered is that common
jewelweed, Impatiens capensis, is not even included as a weed. The introduction
declares, “Species selection for this guide was determined by federal,
provincial, and state weed legislation … and should only be used as an
indication of legislation at time of printing.” This doesn’t make me feel
better but could lead me down a rabbit’s warren of “what is a weed” questioning
that is sure to take up weeks of my time lounging among pillows. And for that I
am grateful.
I have already filled my entire property twice over with my fantasy
bulb orders. I cannot located my favorite tulip from last year, Tulipa 'Green
Artichoke' anywhere and am quite despondent. I am looking for volunteers who
will get it for me from Europe and smuggle it into the country. So far, quite
surprisingly, I have no takers. I confess that I am ridiculous when it comes to
tulips. I know they don’t come back but the joy they give me each spring, now
that I am no longer am plagued by deer, is visceral. I have a new lust, Tulipa
Renown’s Unique which I have already ordered far too many of, and I am awaiting
with baited breath the arrival of Tulipa 'Synaeda Blue' at Marders which our
organic tulip vendor EcoTulips has snatched up for us, knowing how much I love
unusuals.
This does not mean I can not dream and there is a list from two
vendors in specific that is being revised and whittled down and then added too
and negotiated upon as if it were the list for Noah’s Arc or the Capote Black
and White Ball.
And of course, just because I am ill, there are a slew of new
hydrangeas to obsess over. There’s a blush colored hydrangea arborescens
‘Incrediball’ that looks like it’s a beautiful soft pink in the photographs.
Anyone who was within distant earshot when hydrangea arborescens ‘Invincibelle
Spirit’ finally showed up heard how passionately upset I was by that plant’s
true appearance. Not that anyone would have confused that hideous ground-up
brick colored flower with pink in my garden if they had but asked. However this
new one does look lovely. Sigh. See I am an eternal optimist.
And I don’t know what rock I’ve been living under to not know about
the ‘Gatsby’ line of hydrangea querifolia but it takes a few moments in bed
with a good catalogue to realize just what I’ve been missing. I adore the
oakleaf hydrangeas, and if anyone every wondered what to get me as a present,
and oakleaf hydrangea would never be remiss as a gift, but right this moment I
happen to need ‘Gatsby Star’ and ‘Gatsby Moon’ the way other people need
chocolate and cheese and scotch.
And although I am a huge fan of the dwarf Citiline hydrangeas, my
focus is being pulled back to the ‘Let’s Dance’ the Let’s Dance reblooming
line. Although they lost the large war for rebloomers to the ‘Endless Summer' behemoths, they are now giving us some lovely options that are both dwarf and
reblooming. So long 'Mini Penny', you will flop in a container for us no longer.
I’m torn between asking our shrub buyer to get just, ‘Let’s Dance Blue Jangles’
or to purchase all three dwarfs, ‘Rave’, ‘Blue Jangles’ and ‘Rhythmic Blue.’ I
believe it’s only right that Marders should have all three so that I can
self-sacrifice and grow all three and really provide you with the knowledge
that owning and growing all three will bring me. Wahahahahaha! These are the
kinds of self-justifications one makes on one’s sickbed when the cat is the
only creature you speak to for most of the day and you are told you must take
your pain pills.
There’s actually so much reading, researching and ordering to be
done I’m almost pleased to be under the covers. Well, almost.
Luckily, Paige Patterson has her American Express card right next to
her bed in case of an emergency like Tulipa Mistress for sale at Colorblends
for half the normal price.
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