The mint’s taken over
and we just watched it,
eating sandwiches, piled
with fresh tomatoes picked
from the garden.
Love is letting a plant take
over a meticulously tended
bed for a child’s whim.
The tomatoes are gone,
and the mint reminds me
that things used to be
full of everything good.
Written 15 February 2020
Brian Fuchs, “Cakewalk” from Scissor-tailed Flycatcher (Scissortail Press, 2020)
My week was pretty much defined by allergies, which is a little frustrating. The pollen levels were very high, so I was trying to get through with puffy eyes and a scratchy throat all week. I used to take a ton of allergy medicine to get through a day, and I guess it is a positive thing that I actually take none now. This was probably the worst allergy week of the year, and honestly it wasn’t as bad as I’ve experienced in the past. I’ve had allergies for a long time, but they seemed particularly pronounced when I moved to Oklahoma from Alaska. I was spending my spring and summer months feeling just terrible, and taking a daily regimen of allergy pills, as I said. The pills would make me very sleepy, as most medications do. My allergies really changed for the better when I became vegan, which was curious to me at the time. Apparently, the science looks like it backs that up. Several studies suggest that those who eat a vegan diet are less likely to report having environmental allergies (as well as chemical, food, drug, and bee-sting). I’ve heard anecdotally from other vegans that their allergy symptoms were also improved when they switch to a vegan diet. It’s so interesting to explore the links between food and health. Don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that a vegan diet cured me of allergies — clearly not. This has been a bit of a rough week; however, since they aren’t so bad I don’t have to deal with the side effects of allergy meds.
I’m pretty happy with my yard this week. Unfortunately, due to the unusually wet August we had, I have black spot on many of the trees, and on one of my roses. The problem is too widespread to completely correct, and I hope that everything is able to put on some stronger growth next year, as there are so many trees losing leaves. The rose just needs to dry out, which will help. Right now, about 20% of it is infected, but it’s a very tall climber and it isn’t possible for me to remove all of the infected canes. I’m just going to treat it and hope for the best. I’ll treat it next spring as well, and hopefully the problem will correct. My Fourth of July rose had black spot earlier this year, and will some TLC it is now disease-free. I think the Golden Shower rose is healthy enough that it will be okay, but it’ll be a bit ugly for the rest of this year.
The upcoming week looks like it’s going to be a wet one again!! I’m amazed at the number of rainy days we’ve had. I love those days, but it is so unusual and not great for my plants apparently. It also really can help with my pollen allergies, but of course then the mold allergies increase with the moisture, so you never really totally win that fight.
I’ve been editing and rewriting, trying to put together collections of poetry for the books I have planned. I’m really happy with the direction I’m going with them at the moment, and some of my rewrites make me very happy. I think I am much more honest with myself now than I was in my twenties. Maybe that is just an obvious statement. I have such a lot of poetry from that decade of my life that is really great and requires no work to be exactly what I wanted it to be, and then there are others that almost certainly didn’t work at the time. If I could have seen that then, or if I had been willing to say that to myself at the time, those poems could have been greatly improved and would not need my rewrites so many years later. It’s been interesting to see my style over periods of time. I tend to write in two or three different styles, and I can go months or years focused on just one of them. At the moment, the poems seem to be naturally dividing themselves into four themes, which will be the books. The fourth category is one that isn’t fully realized, so that one will need more time to fully develop, but the other three I do really understand well.
I need a schedule! I am so bad about following a set schedule, but when I don’t have one I tend to forget certain tasks, or get into situations where I am spending far too much time on one thing and not enough on another thing. So, for the millionth time, I am working on making myself a schedule. I have too many different things to accomplish to just play it by ear at this point, and I need to make sure nobody feels like things are being neglected. Some things are, but more importantly there are times when it probably feels like I am not focused on tasks around the property that need to be done, when in reality I am aware of them and not making any show of it. Sometimes people need to see your work to believe you are doing it. I hope that goes well. I really want to get these books done and I think this helps with that goal, while ensuring that everything is still running smoothly.
The “update” category blog posts seem to be posting a day later than they should. I’m trying to resolve this, but I’m not entirely sure what the problem is. It’s almost certainly something I am doing wrong. Bleh.
This has been a wonderful week. Once again, Justin and Conner were impressive workers and we made some excellent progress with the yard. We did get a little rain this week, but nothing like we had been getting. This next week looks warm and dry, which is both good and bad. I also won’t be at all surprised if there is unexpected rain. Why not!?
I’ve started to assemble things with the goal of creating a book of my poetry. It’s really crazy that I have never done that, but it’s going to happen this year. I’m trying to decide if I want to do short books focused on a theme, or if I should just chuck everything in together and have a slightly longer book. I can see the value in both.
Senator John McCain died. Whatever one thinks of his politics, I think we can agree that he deserves our respect as a veteran and POW. I also really do believe he always fought for what he thought was right. I didn’t always agree with what he thought was right, but what I’ve seen in the past decade has been the rise of Republican obstructionism, senators and congressmen who are no longer striving to move us forward as a country. Instead, they try to gum up the machine, fight to keep people down, and cheat to retain power. They are unAmerican. I’m reminded of McCain’s town hall during which a woman asked about Obama, disparaging him. McCain, being a fundamentally good person, defended his colleague. It was about advancing their ideas, not about tearing one another down. That election would include some less honorable moments, and arguably was the unintentionally handing of the Republican party that John McCain was a member of to the Tea Party obstructionists like his running mate. He had a long career and was a well-loved patriot; my thoughts and prayers are with his family at this time.
This has been the third week in a row when I lacked focus on the blog, but I’ve got plenty to write about. I just need to get with it!
Happy Birthday To Me! Today is my 39th birthday, and while it has been a mostly peaceful day, I have found myself avoiding a lot of memories and feelings that are just under the surface. I just wasn’t in a place to deal.
I spent the first half of the day listening to episodes of the podcast Frangela: The Final Word. TOO FUNNY! I love these two, and have for a long time on The Stephanie Miller Show. I don’t know why it took me so long to get into their podcast. I’m glad I did though. After a bit of that, I took a nice nap on the front porch, where I discovered one of the kittens had returned. I don’t have faith in the survival of the others, but his return offered at least a glimmer of hope. My nap was followed by going up to spend time with my dad, brother, nephew, and roommate. Justin made vegan chicken burgers and fries and the rest of us gave Conner a hard time. I know he was getting frustrated, but it was kinda fun anyway.
The gathering was fairly brief, a little chaotic, but okay. I do find myself needing to manage my expectations of others in these situations. I have a tendency to want people to put their own issues away for a few hours, and at least give the appearance that they care to spend time with me. But they don’t. I should know better. I don’t mean to sound accusatory at all; they are just living their lives as normal. It’s me who is expecting too much.
I’ve had a wonderfully productive week. I got the shelving assembled and put in that goes along the east wall of my bedroom. I’m putting things together slowly with it in; I don’t want it to just feel like a pile of stuff, so I’m going through things and purging a little as I go… very little. I did identify some books on ikebana that I intend to find a new home for… if I don’t change my mind. Those books are so thin that it will hardly make a difference in the end! I finally put some books on the shelves in the living room as well; I’ve had three shelves empty for the past year or so, which is silly really since I had books in boxes waiting to be put out.
Justin helped me put in a row of junipers that will hopefully mature into a nice hedge to break up the front yard, and we also put in another chaste tree up at the house. Things seem to be coming together slowly in the yards. I need to spend some time cleaning up the flowerbeds at the house; they are covered in weeds, need mulch, and the plants could be pruned.
Plants showed up! I’m not sure why they were sent so early, but part of the order that was supposed to arrive in November showed up in the mail. It isn’t a good time for planting. I might look at how to hold them until fall; they are bare root plants. If I can’t easily wait, I’ll need to get those in the ground or at least in planters in the next couple of days. I’m not sure how well things will do if they are planted in August, but it does look like we will have a rather mild week and that will help.
The orange rose, which had put on very pink blooms before, has changed and the newer blooms are much more orange. Maybe it needs to mature before the roses will be their true color, and maybe they will be pale. Either way, I’m really liking the look of these and I’m glad I put them near the porch. In time they will be tall enough to tie to the side of the porch and they can be enjoyed like the ‘Fourth of July’ or ‘Golden Showers’ roses are.
So this next week’s plans are all about figuring out those plants that arrived early. I do need to mow and get started on the flowerbeds as well, but I will also spend some time uploading more blog posts. It’s nice to be ahead of the game. I usually stay three or four weeks ahead, but I’m only a few days ahead at the moment and need to manage things better to make sure the blog is always active. On that note, I’m looking for feedback on what is working and what isn’t. Leave me comments on this post or on any post you want so I know what people are thinking.
Artists Featured This Week
Crepemyrtle (Lagerstroemia)
When I moved to Alaska in 2005 I was struck by those things that were different from my life in Oklahoma. After getting through that first winter, it became apparent that it wasn’t just the conifer trees that provided a striking contrast to the landscapes of the places I consider home. The perennials that popped up in the gardens of the area were exotic to me. They were plants I had known about, but had no experience with. Columbine, dahlia, lobelia, rhubarb, bleeding hearts, raspberries, wild roses, poppies. It was a fascinating experience to be surrounded by these new plants, as well as by the old familiar dandelions and lilacs.
I was in Alaska for a number of years and loved those summer months and the beautiful flowers of the area. What I didn’t expect was how much I would fall in love with the plants of Oklahoma when I returned for vacation.
I was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma on 5 August 1979 and I lived in the state until 2005 when I left for Alaska. My uncle is a landscape architect, my grandpa was a professor of agronomy and a consultant on soils. He spent hours daily working on his flowerbeds and vegetable garden on his one acre lot, an oasis of green in the middle of ordinary yards. Plants were a part of our DNA. All parts of my family had been farmers, growing broom corn and cotton. It had never been my world and I barely paid attention to the things growing around me. I was aware of the various plants in the landscape, but I didn’t know much about those plants.
What I was most struck with on coming back to Oklahoma on a vacation in 2007 was how amazing crepemyrtles are. They’ve long been a favorite, especially of my grandpa who had them planted heavily around his house and as a backdrop/transition between the trees and flowers in the flowerbeds. It felt like I was discovering these plants for the first time.
In 2013, I loved back to Oklahoma and these crepemyrtles felt like a focus of my thoughts when I was
at my parents house or at a business. They are one of the most commonly used plants in Oklahoma, and it’s pretty easy to see why.
Crepemyrtles are native to southeast Asia, with some hybrids being crossed with a taller species from Japan. They have been a common ornamental plant in America since before the revolution, with both George Washington and Thomas Jefferson’s gardens having at least one specimen plant. They quickly became a staple in the South, but as they are not generally cold hardy past zone 6 or 7, they were not a part of the gardens of the North and as a result they do not feature in very many of the early seed or nursery catalogs. When they do start popping up, it is clear that several cultivars have been established from the original pink flowering tree. You see white, pink, purple, and red listed in those early catalogs. The purples were what we now refer to as lavender and the red were dark pink. It took a long time to achieve a true red crepemyrtle.
The cultivars did not change significantly for a long time, with sporadic new plants being introduced a couple each decade until the 1950s. It was then that hybridization started in more earnest, and the numbers of plants available really exploded. By the 1970s, new plants were being released at a rate of six to twelve per year, a speed that has only been matched in recent years. These plants had all started off as trees that grow 20-25 feet, filled from June to September with large panicles of pink flowers. Now there were bright reds, fuchsias, deep purples, blush pinks, and picotees of white and pink. Some of them still reached 20 feet or more, while other varieties had been selected to weep only 1-2 feet off the ground.
Crepemyrtles have a couple of drawbacks. The most obvious is that they don’t put on new leaves until late May or June. It’s glaring when the rest of the trees have woken up, many of which have gone through their flowering and are now greening out for the summer and the crepemyrtles still are just a cluster of sticks. It almost feels like nothing will ever happen with them, and then over the course of a few days leaves start popping up from branches that seemed dead for sure. They grow fast and in less than a month, the plant has put on so much growth that it’s easy to forget that it had waited for so long. And then it flowers and that wait was worth it, most of them covering themselves in blooms. Many will stay in bloom until frost, so it’s a showy plant.
They other problem is not so much with crepemyrtles themselves as it is with people who don’t know how to take care of them. It is very common for crepemyrtles to be cut back heavily by landscapers, often dramatically. The result is thickly trunked trees with thin branches, often referred to as a witch’s broom effect. There are two goals these people are trying to accomplish. One, it keeps the plant small and contained. Many varieties can grow to 15-25 feet. Business don’t always want that. The other thing this does is increase the new growth branches, which is where the flowering occurs on crepemyrtles. The do not bloom on last years growth. First, the size of a crepemyrtle can be maintained by planting the correct variety. Choose the one that fits your space. Secondly, new growth and blooming can be encouraged by pruning a crepemyrtle by removing old branches that aren’t growing, dead heading panicles, and cutting back weak growth. Nobody needs to engage in “crapemurders”.
Crepemyrtles may not be native to Oklahoma, or indeed anywhere in zones 7, 8, or 9, but they might as well be. These flowering trees and shrubs are a part of us now, and I am so glad to have rediscovered them and appreciate them immensely.
Please note also that there are different spellings. The plant is botanically known as Lagerstroemia, but is commonly known as crepemyrtle, crepe myrtle, crapemyrtle, or crape myrtle. I used the one I prefer above.
Southern Living: Grumpy Gardener’s Crepe Murders 2018
The week started out very hot. I actually lost a rose bush to the heat; it had been struggling to grow anyway, so I’m not terribly surprised. I was still not feeling great part of the week, so it felt a little like I was getting back to life in slow motion. I did manage to get the lawn mowed, which was more exciting than it should have been, and cut down one small tree. Other than that, my only real efforts in my garden were pruning and deadheading. Oh, and lamenting the loss of that rose. I was looking forward to that one, but the heat was even stressing some of the crapemyrtles, and they can handle heat pretty well. We had a storm come through last night and that pretty much took the worst of the heat with it. We can enjoy a couple of cooler days now. I have not seen most of the youngest kittens for a couple of days, which is a worry. Sometimes they do disappear for a few, but I’m worried that they didn’t make it. The property is so large and wooded, and the cats all spend time exploring, that I might never really know what happened unless they show back up on the porch.
Dad’s birthday was Friday and we all had dinner made by Conner, which was nice. We also had a variety of cakes, including one failure by me and Justin. I don’t know why it just wasn’t working, but my third attempt was good. It actually stayed at home because it was too hot to take. At least I know I can make a cake, even if it took me three tries!
Featured Artists this week:
Well folks, I had high hopes for FLAMINGO WEEK. Sadly, I was sick for much of it, and the beginning of the week involved an unexpected trip to Edmond and then a day of getting a new tire. So, I just got a little behind what I had meant to accomplish, including blog posts I had wanted to do… this is why I try to get them done in advance. That is fine though. It was more a day of flamingo art than anything, and my Tumblr enjoyed a strong infusion of flamingo images for the week.
Since I’ve been under the weather, I have intentionally done nothing all week. I have a habit of doing too much and prolonging my illnesses, and I didn’t want to do that this time. So, I slept and drank fluids. And sulked a little. But the worst of it came and went quickly, and I’m really excited to get moving on a few projects I’ve been working toward.
I have some collages I have been working on, which I hope I can make more progress on soon. I also have been working on a new series for this blog, and I certainly hope people like it. I should have that going in the next day or two.
Dad’s birthday is Friday, and I’m not sure what exactly to do for him. I had intended to order a gift, but failed to do that! I’ll figure it out. Maybe he’d like to go out to eat someplace. I just don’t know.
I have several things to work on this week. It was over 100º this week, so the 90º feel like a break. I need to finish up planning for my Sunshine Garden (which I will do a post on with details soon), and continue picking up debris in the driveway. I’m not up to the collapsed burn barrel, which is just a mess to try and clean up. Once I get past that mess, then I am into large items to deal with. Most of those things are now trash, but some of the things are worth saving and I need to figure out where to put those things.
Here are a few things that ended up on my Tumblr this week
I do not know where this week has gone! I got more cleanup of my yard done, but this is a lot of land here and I really need everyone pitching in to make sure things can get done. I probably should’ve taken pictures to show my progress, but I’m feeling really positive about it.
I feel like my “Sunshine Garden,” as I’ve taken to calling it, is coming together nicely. It’s going to be a little bit conceptual, but the plants I’ve picked out are nice. I need to plant the junipers this week & then probably mark out the areas for trees arriving this fall. Smaller plants will be in next Spring, but I am working toward getting that area the way I have it in my head.
Saturday was Justin’s birthday. It was a quiet and uneventful day at his request, although he did end up mowing in the evening. Justin is a good friend and I know everyone takes him for granted. I’m blessed to have such a nice person in my life. (These photos are from 2 years ago)
Avery spent part of the week out here, which was nice. She’s so easy-natured and doesn’t get bent out of shape about things.
I’ve got so many things to get done; the yardwork seems endless, but this upcoming week is going to be pretty hot, so I’ll be only working outside until about 10 everyday. That should give me time to work on some of the other things I’ve got going on — art and whatnot.
Art featured this week
I’ve continued being obsessed with gardening. I’ve been watching a lot of several YouTube channels on gardening. While I never see anything exactly like what I would like to do, it is so nice to see so many ideas and tips from people who have been doing this for a long time.
We had a hot week, which is pretty typical. I wish I’d gotten more accomplished, but everything was feeling difficult. So many of my days anymore are like that.
It seems like gardening is the way I’m dealing with things. I’ve mentioned it, but it just keeps coming up. I’m surprised, but maybe shouldn’t be really. It was my grandpa’s death that first got me interested in growing plants. I became briefly obsessed with houseplants. I was living in an apartment at the time, so I couldn’t go crazy with plants of my own, but that turned into an attempt at a vegetable garden the following Spring and planting some roses for Mom in the summer. But that was a terrible summer for growing anything and it was really discouraging. I decided not to try again. When Dale Combs, the man who I was named after, passed away, I was drawn to go sit and think beneath some beautiful big trees and to spend time in a wooded park. It felt natural to be surrounded by nature. Mary Combs passed in 2017, and once again I felt drawn to nature and natural things. It was Winter, but I wanted to be outside.
If spent my Summer so far wanting to be outside as much as possible. I have been incredibly worried about what I should be doing, about my health, and about my future. Some days I feel like I’m going to explode, but being in my yard seems to be helping. I’ve babied my roses, planned for new beds, created a new bed, and generally enjoyed being in my garden. I even enjoy it when it’s too hot. It just feels right, and I guess that’s okay. I don’t want to spin out of control too much, but I do want to just keep getting things done. It just feels right.
I’m sadder now than I ever have been, but I’m feeling tired of being tired. I’m tired of crying and tired of sleeping. I feel sadder than I ever imagined a person could feel, and I also feel calmer than I would have expected. I just want to sit quietly in a beautiful garden and not stress out about things. Of course, I have to create the garden I want, but it just feels right, and I’m going to try to let myself be.
One of the things I’m doing later this year is to get a bunch of people a flowering tree to plant in Mom’s memory. I got my trees ordered this week, and they will arrive around Thanksgiving. It’ll be a nice time to plant. I hope that goes down well for everyone.
I don’t know what will happen next week. I feel lost today, but I hope each day surprises me by being better than I expected.
Planting season is pretty much over for most of us, and now we enjoy the gardens we put together for the summer. I have been giving some thought to which steps to take next on my landscape plan. I’ll definitely want to plant trees and bulbs in the fall, and I want to start thinking about specific varieties of anything I might want for Spring 2019. I like having a plan. While I’ve been looking this year, I’ve kept thinking about how fun it would be to have a themed flowerbed or garden.
I worry about America’s future at the moment. I love this country, and it seems like those who do not are successfully usurping authority and trying to reshape this into an authoritarian country. So, I feel compelled to wax nostalgic about my love of this country in various ways. So, in that spirit, here are some suggestions for a patriotic flowerbed.
Go easy on the decor and ornaments. A few things are good, but you don’t need flags & pinwheels & bows covering everything. Just try some accents. What I love about the wood flag is that it allows the flowers to do the work, while still giving that Americana vibe. One garden gnome, a bird house, a few stepping stones, or even an eagle for your porch is enough to convey the idea without beating the theme to death.
Here are some plant suggestions. I’ve tried to include things that allow for color throughout the year, and obviously not all plants work in all places. These are just my own suggestions.
Not into the red, white, & blue color scheme? Try creating a First Lady Rose garden. Here are some of my favorites:
Adding a military gnome or classic monument can help personalize the garden. A Statue of Liberty or Mt Rushmore souvenir added to the right spot in a garden would be fun.
Here are some more America themed flowers that I love
Ambitious indoor gardeners might even want to try a First Lady Orchid or two. Here are two I really like
Want to do something fun, but you already have a garden, why not paint some stars on the lawn for the summer. Use building site spray paints. As the grass grows and is mowed, they will disappear, but they will be fun for the 4th of July, Memorial Day, or for an event.
This is been an interesting week. I’ve been able to think about what it means to be proud, as LGBT Pride Month draws to a close. What is it about being a gay person that is worthy of pride. So many non-LGBT folks misunderstand the whole issue. Pride is not just about loving who you are. That is certainly important, and factors greatly into the concept of gay pride. The other element is loving who you are in spite of the oppression of society at large. It’s about saying that being authentic is more important than letting society’s negative messages dictate the aspects of one’s life. Straight people don’t have to think about it in the same terms. And now I’ve opened up a can or worms.
Oppression. It’s hard to explain this concept to those who don’t have to deal with it. I did not choose to be gay. It hardly bothers me, but it wasn’t like I was offered options when I was born. I am what I have always been. That said, the fact that I am gay factors into so many of the decisions I’ve had to make in my life. Things have changed in recent years, but I still couldn’t just plan a vacation to anywhere on earth I wanted to go. I’d need to research and find out how hostile a country is to the LGBT community before doing so, otherwise I could find myself in a situation. I have to consider carefully which jobs to apply for, as it is still legal in most places (Oklahoma included) to fire a person for being gay. I have kept my distance from the church I grew up in, and where I would still attend. I don’t want to make other people uncomfortable, and they would. When I read a magazine or watch TV commercials, the message is always that straight people can show their affection in public and gay people cannot. Well, 99.9% of the time, and even then only in places that are safe for the message. If it ever came up, I currently have the right to marry the person I love, but that is a very new thing. And it’s another place where people misunderstand how rights work. I don’t understand what people mean when they say that gay people being given the same right to marry as straight people is giving us “more rights.” It’s really just the same, and the idea that I always had the right to marry as long as I married a woman is dismissive and ridiculous. I would love to raise children, but it can be hard to find a place to adopt children as a gay person. Some ignorant people think it matters, or that gay people cannot have the values necessary to raise children. That’s just misinformation used to prevent children in need from receiving the homes they need. And now we are starting to see government-sanctioned discrimination, specifically those who offer goods or services to the public being allowed to exclude gay people for simply being gay. There are multiple issues I have with this whole thing. First, if you offer things to the public, you don’t get the right to pick and choose your customer. These people denying cakes to gay couples aren’t likely asking their other customers questions to determine if their beliefs line up. And that makes the whole thing arbitrary. If a company want to only bake cakes for Baptist weddings, or for Catholic weddings, that would be a business model that allowed for an exclusive clientele and would not be discriminatory. My other big issue with these “religious freedom” people is that refusing to do business with gay people actually negates their argument. Jesus did not say to love your neighbor, except that one over there. He did not say be in the world, not of the world, unless you see a gay guy and then don’t even be in the world. If you are saying that serving those you don’t understand goes against your beliefs, then I don’t understand what beliefs you are even trying to defend. It’s not Christianity. It seems that there is a new ‘Murica religion, based on the idea that if you are not white, straight, and wrapped in an American flag, you are the enemy. It’s a cult, not a religion. Straight people don’t have to deal with things like this, specifically straight white people. And when I hear people talk about “Straight Pride Month” or things of that nature I get frustrated. Every month is “Straight Pride Month,” and y’all don’t have to fight for dignity.
And so it is sometimes hard to keep my head up as a gay person. The world sometimes comes for us, and being proud is 
about saying “not today Satan.” It’s about showing that what other people think of us is not our problem, and it is about expressing our true selves. Because if we stop fighting and stop showing that we exist, we will be slowly asked to get back into the box and hidden away again. Things have been getting better for a while now, and I hope that these recent slips backward are just a blip, but we have a long way to go.
In other news, I got the new part of the flowerbed mulched. It’s looking good. I will eventually need to add edging of some sort. I don’t really know what I want there. The crapemyrltes I planted have started showing new growth, and the roses are continuing to do well.. mostly. The JFK & Copper roses did not make it this year, and I’ll just take that as an opportunity for new roses next Spring. I’d love to find a Herbert Hoover or a Mark Twain, or maybe even a Mme. Alfred Carrière climbing rose. I did get a couple of arborvitae, which I had intend to not plant until fall, but they were a good price and I don’t mind keeping a close eye on a couple for the summer.
I’ve started feeling more like getting back to the business of living my life. It’s remained a challenge for me, but I’m trying. Just staring off into the distance doesn’t solve anything.
Artists I Featured This Week: Konstantin Somov, Sergey Sovkov, & Ismael Álvarez
Other People I Featured This Week:
Tumblr Posts This Week:
It’s been another week when I’ve felt like I am moving slowly and the rest of the world is rushing around me. I find myself increasingly thinking to myself that I want to show Mom a video or picture or craft project. It’s frustrating.
I planted 3 crapemyrtles. I’m really working toward my gardening plan that I’ve been working on since last year. Tomorrow is two weeks since I planted all the roses out here. 9 of 11 have growth on them already and the two that don’t look alive still, one more than the other. I did also plant 6 rosa rugosas, but those don’t have growth on them. I’m keeping my fingers crossed and not putting too much pressure on it all. I also found some Virginia Creeper growing up the back of the house, which is great. I want it there so I hope it makes it. Oh, the lawn mower finally was returned after being repaired. So, I mowed. It had been so long that the lawn is having a hard time recovering, but it will in time. Hopefully we can get some rain soon. That will help.
I’ve been much more interested in being alone this week. I think everyone has really. That said, things seem less… desperate? I don’t know how to articulate, but I know there are many people who instantly know what I’m talking about.
Art Featured This Week:
I have never been very much into gardening. I love having things growing around me, but the process of actually putting those things in the ground and taking care of them… no. But I’ve found myself with a lot of need for distraction lately. So, I have turned to gardening. In the heat. It;s keeping my brain occupied, but I also keep remembering something my brother talks about all the time: managing one’s expectations.
For years, I’ve watched my parents return from nurseries and garden centers with car loads of beautiful plants for the flowerbeds, but with no idea where they will go or who will plant them. Inevitably, most of the plants would end up underwatered, unplanted, neglected, or planted in the wrong spots. The whole ordeal that had started off as fun would end up a disappointment, and a source of frustration. The expectations did not meet the reality. The way they managed that was to try to change the reality around them, but that never worked. Brent’s point was always that it was the expectations that were the problem.
I lived for many years in Alaska. I love the climate that promotes lots of beautiful growth, but with lots of shade and very little heat. I would love to have a garden full of cypress trees draped above head, ferns popping out along the bases of the trees, and fuchsias in hanging pots lining the porch. Moss would grown on the roof of the shed and everyday a light rain would keep the soils moist and the plants would grow up around me and there would be flowers in bloom all summer. I want a beautiful deck to enjoy the cool evenings and have people over. Unfortunately, that is not the situation I find myself in. If I was constantly trying to make that happen, I would spend a lot of my time disappointed and convinced that gardening doesn’t work. What I have to do is work within the framework available to me.
I want tall shade plants: Junipers and crapemyrtles are excellent plants that grown to 10-14 feet and provide a great amount of shade. They have the added benefit of attracting birds and butterflies. So, I am planning a landscape that depends on these two plants primarily as shade plants.
I want lots of flowers: Roses. Roses in Oklahoma, well in my part of Oklahoma, require little care and bloom almost all year. Climbing roses tied against the house give a nice shade to the inside and allow for the appreciation of blooms. I also cannot think of a flower that comes in a greater variety of shapes and sizes. I’ve had a lot of luck with roses, so I’ve popped them in strategically around the house.
I want plants growing on the ground that aren’t grasses: Grasses are a pretty common xeriscape option, especially as I live on the border of two grass prairies. I don’t care for them though. What I do love is vinca, or periwinkle. Vinca keeps my flowerbeds full of green leaves without having them be full of weeds and grasses. It also helps keep my soils moist, which the other plants appreciate.
Moss growing on the roof??? Okay, I admit this one is harder to substitute. So, I’ve decided to try Virginia Creeper. It does grow wild here, but usually deep in the wooded areas. If I can provide the right amount of moisture, I’m hoping I can get this creeping vine to grow up the side of the metal shed or vinyl siding on the house. This one is going to require more effort, and I plan to start it next Spring.
Daily rain? Now I’ve gone too far! Brent and I have talked a lot about irrigation systems. I’m going to invest in the right things so that next year I can have both irrigation and misting available around the house.
I want a new deck: My back porch is rotting. It’s time for it to go, and with Brent’s help I’d like to add on a ground level deck with steps down from the house. It’d be a nice place to spend evenings, as the back yard gets all the evening shade. That project is happening this fall.
When I look at my plans, they seems overly ambitious. I worry I’ve gone too far with what I want to do. Maybe I have. I’m trying to keep it simple, space out my work, and achieve something more than I have now. And I have probably set my expectations too high.
So, I’m not going to be creating a replica of the gardens of Versailles, and I won’t be building a living sculpture. There won’t be any sidewalks with flowers arched above to take a stroll through or fountains with flamingos. That’s okay. It doesn’t need to be outlandish to be beautiful. My plan will probably get pared down over time, or I will wait another year to complete parts of it. It will be mine, and that is what I’m excited about. I never really cared about gardening until I started getting my hands dirty. It’s fun to transform a landscape and to see the plants take shape over time.
Here are the plants I’m interested in ADDING to my landscape:
Here are some of the plants I already have that I wouldn’t mind having more of:
I still feel like I’m in slow motion; the world is rushing around me. I’m feeling more at peace, but I’m definitely still frustrated and confused. I suspect I will feel like this for a long time.
Mom and I had ordered a whole bunch of roses to plant around her house and mine. With the help of Conner and Justin, I got all of those planted. We planted 17 total new roses. I’m also attempting to propagate from one of my existing climbing roses, which is going well so far. The roses were planted on Monday, and one has new leaves already. I’ve also got honeysuckle started, but only one of six plants is showing new growth so far. I’ll keep being patient with them. Here are some of the roses I planted. I also planted 6 Rosa Rugosas & 1 Lady Banks Climbing Rose, not pictured. (Rose Bushes Pictured: Copper, JFK, Pink Fairy Cushion, Oranges N Lemons; Climbing Roses Pictured: Lemon Butter, Zephirine Drouhin, White Dawn, Orange Velvet)
I’ve also got things around the house planned for times when it is too hot. I’m trying to fill my time up with projects, and that seems to be helping a little bit at least.
The porch cats now have 5 kittens. Last year only 1 kitten survived (of 2), so they are already having a more successful year. Most of the time I wish they’d all just disappear, but I do like when their are kittens to play with. That almost makes all these cats worth having!
I got started on thank you cards. It’s a job; a much bigger job than I expected. I’m not falling apart writing them, and that makes me feel a little better about things.
Next week I’m hoping to finish up the thank you cards and get a few more things planted. I’m also hoping the lawn mower returns home; it’s been in the shop for 3 weeks now. I have grass turning into a forest out there!
Artists featured on the site this week:
The Oklahoma Family Tumblr is going well. People, mostly family, seem to be enjoying the photos!
Life Has Been Boring!!!
I haven’t really done much lately, with the exception of sleeping! Justin has been coming over more often, which has been nice. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to spend any time alone. It hasn’t been that bad though. But I have had a lot going on. Nothing exciting, but a lot. I would love to hear from Travis, but I haven’t in quite some time.
How Does My Garden Grow?
It doesn’t. At all. I miss that about having a house. Mowing is the part I don’t miss, but I can only get them together. Oh well. I would love to grow some veggies. I don’t really care about flower gardening, but growing food would be pretty cool.
Christmas:
Even though I don’t care much for Christmas this year, I have decided to go ahead and decorate. I don’t know what, but something fun and exciting! I want it to be uber-kitschy, but I am not sure what I want. Any ideas would be appreciated.
Featured Image Art: photo of Justin