Garden Report

Last year, I posted about my attempts to start a garden, and I've already mentioned it once this year. I think I'll give you an update every now and then.

The daffodils are all done: deadheaded the last of them on Sunday. But just as appreciated by me are the purple ground phlox that I've placed at the front of the border. Experience tells me that these are very hardy plants that will grow and expand as much as you will let them. On top of that, they're evergreen, so when the flowers fade, as they soon will, the plant will remain. Dig through the snow in winter, and the plant will look back at you and wonder why you're disturbing its rest.



Do you remember the mystery plants at the back, behind the tree, from an earlier post? I am worried because the leaf tips have yellowed, but at least we know what they are now — allium. Looking at the picture below, the plant will soon be in bloom. I saw them at a local nursery last year, and when I came across some bulbs last fall, I had to try a few. I just forgot what they were for awhile. I could find pictures of them in bloom on the net, but I'll wait and post my own at a later date.



There is a dead plant in the middle of the garden that I won't go into detail about now, but I suspect a cat has done a naughty on it and killed it. We do have cats that are allowed to roam in this neighbourhood, and they do leave diggings in my garden at times. This time, I think one got the plant. I like cats, but ... I guess I don't always appreciate their humans.



What I'm really pleased about are the forget-me-nots this year. We have some in the front and many out back. I've posted about them the past two summers and how Dad transplanted some from his place in Sarnia to ours in the same city decades ago. Five years ago, we brought some seeds with us when we moved across the province. For the past two summers, we've had a few plants, but I have been worried that we'd lose Dad's legacy. This years we have plenty as shown in the picture above and also the one below.



They are doing so well that I didn't try to stop Cuppa from cutting a few. But that will be enough cutting for this year as I'd like an even bigger and better showing next year. I'd like to have Dad's flowers pop up every spring for as long as possible. He's gone, but the forget-me-nots do as their name suggests.



Before I present the final photo, let me say in a totally off-topic sort of way but it must be mentioned, that Cuppa and I began our forty-second year together yesterday. Although it was our anniversary we didn't exactly reprise our wedding night because we both have miserable colds. There was a lot of hanky but not much panky.

Dad's Forget-Me-Nots

It was a long time ago now that Dad came over to our previous house with some Forget-Me-Not seeds from his own garden. I'd say that it was at least twenty years ago that he planted a few seeds from his garden into ours. Over the years, they reseeded themselves prolifically wherever they happened to land and take hold in the previous year. It was quite a display that they produced each and every spring. Although they aren't the main flower in bloom in the top photo of that former garden of ours, you can see some to the bottom left of the photo as well as toward the swing near the back right. (Note: the main flowers in the top picture are ground phlox, and all of what you see came from three little plants. Unlike forget-me-nots, they are perennials and spread through root growth rather than re-seeding. I wish I had brought some of those with me as well.) These flowers became more special in the years after Dad departed. Although he was gone, every year, Dad's gift would re-spring anew wherever it willed, and I felt connected and blessed.

I don't garden very much here, but we have managed to bring a few seeds with us. In this locale, the plants no longer seem to grow aplenty, but two came up in the backyard again this spring, and Thesha has had one come up in her garden too. Once again, I'll try to make sure the seeds have a chance to find fertile ground for next year, but gardening here is more problematic, so I don't know how much longer we'll have Dad's forget-me-nots.

Meanwhile, they very well do the job that their name implies, for they cause me to fondly remember old Dad. Although it might be said that one shouldn't require a physical keepsake to remind us of past events or former loved ones, it helps to have such souvenirs to jog our consciousness periodically. We are, after all, both physical and spiritual beings, and experiencing something with one of our physical senses can cause our spirits to feel re-connected with the past.

While I am all for living in the present and don't want to dwell in the past, I do appreciate the poignancy of certain memories, and that's how Dad's forget-me-nots make me feel — poignant, connected. Thanks Dad.

Below: this years forget-me-nots.