The Scents of the Earth

On today’s wordless Wednesday, Mary Oliver (yes, a favorite poet of mine) reminds us how little we know about the earth. “A dog can never tell you what she knows from the smells of the world, but you know, watching her, that you know almost nothing. . .” During this wonderful time of the garden, make sure you don’t miss out on all the great sniffs!

Images of Cokie sniffing for Strawberry snacks by Ann Bilowz

If you like this blog, hope you check in daily. You can like our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/abilowz or follow on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz (where there are even more shared tidbits) or subscribe on the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com Happy Gardening. Annie P.S. You can now follow with visuals on Pinterest, too! http://pinterest.com/bilowzassoc/

Garden Pet Peeves

Cecil Roberts hit the nail on the head with one of my biggest garden pet peeves. “To a gardener there is nothing more exasperating than a hose that just isn't long enough.” Carrying around the pretty watering can works for those container plantings but when it comes to full-fledge watering, there is nothing worse than dragging around lines of tangled hoses. It’s enough to drive you batty when 200 + feet of hose lines kink and all watering operations cease until you find and unloosen the knots! But there’s more to this pet peeve than just pure exasperation.  The biggest frustration is when you cause damage to your plant materials growing within the line of fire. With lengths of hoses running throughout your garden beds, barreling over delicate perennials or vegetables is a big no-no. Oh, was that the resistance on the other end?

The best garden invention since sliced bread to add to an already installed irrigation system is quick couplers (or snap valves). You will still require one length of hose but if couplers are strategically positioned within your garden, a 50 to 70’ line will suffice. None of those triple and quadrupled hoses linked together in a mangled mess. Each hose line has its own separate home. Plus no drippy spigots to look at and once you’re done watering, everything is out of sight (a 10 to 12” diameter valve cover at ground level.) And no more futzing with trying to attach the hose threads to the spigot.

While quick couplers do add an initial expense to your irrigation needs, you shall never lug and tug hoses or damage delicate plant materials in your garden again. My only pet peeve with lifting up the valve cover – there’s always bugs living in those boxes! Just take a deep breath - nothing too frightening in there. For all other watering needs, there is drip irrigation.  But for now, with all this rain, we don’t have to worry about watering for a little bit!

Image of a container planting and watering can by Ann Bilowz

If you like this blog, hope you check in daily. You can like our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/abilowz or follow on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz (where there are even more shared tidbits) or subscribe on the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com Happy Gardening. Annie P.S. You can now follow with visuals on Pinterest, too! http://pinterest.com/bilowzassoc/

A Garden’s Destiny

The great 20^th century poet, Rainer Maria Rilke observed that “Destiny itself is like a wonderful wide tapestry in which every thread is guided by an unspeakable tender hand, placed beside another thread and held and carried by a hundred others.” The best plant combinations sometimes occur by accident, by chance or in a more poetic sense, by destiny.

So what is your garden’s destiny? Do you experiment and play with color palettes and plant materials that go beyond your usual realm of imagination? Great companions aren’t always planned or carefully crafted. This not-so-unusual Hosta with its variegated leaves compliment this delicate, pale orange Rose; woven together, one does not overpower the other. This plant encounter was purely by chance; definitely not planned but both enjoy each other’s company.

People often ask for dynamite plant combinations but are afraid to experiment. Gardening should be just that - a wonderful experiment, which means scrap any and all fears. Try bold; dabble with bright. Some people despise particular colors but when combined correctly in the garden, whether by accident or by choice, often it is this unspeakable tender hand that creates a ‘wonderful wide tapestry’. Experiment, imagine - your garden’s destiny awaits you.

P.S. Here’s a cut vase combination you may want to try.  Soft orange Roses in a vase with Baptista (False Indigo), Nepeta (Catmint) and Amsonia hubrichtii make a stunner combo. The lavender/purple colors combined with this pale orange Rose make a perfect table setting.  

Image of Roses and a Hosta weaving itself together in the garden by Ann Bilowz

If you like this blog, hope you check in daily. You can like our fan page at http://www.facebook.com/abilowz or follow on twitter http://twitter.com/annbilowz (where there are even more shared tidbits) or subscribe on the blog to receive posts daily via email or a feed. Either way, we hope you follow the postings somewhere in cyberspace and share it with your gardening friends. Contact me direct at annbilowz@gmail.com Happy Gardening. Annie P.S. You can now follow with visuals on Pinterest, too! http://pinterest.com/bilowzassoc/