I design garden beds and put a lot of thought into how the plants will interact with each other. I think about color, texture, size, blooming time and seasonal variation. But the older I get, the more I see that I have only a small amount of control when it comes to the garden. In fact, I'm not sure I have any control at all! As a gardener, I am only one influence on the garden and sometimes not even the strongest influence. The weather, the seasons, and the insects, birds and animals all seem to have just as much influence, if not more, than I. The garden has a life of its own, and though I interject my ideas and work into the garden, it has a life without me for sure.
As much fun as it is to plan a garden, and think about how the plants will combine with each other, I know that some things will not turn out as expected. But that reality is balanced by the surprises. The plants frequently arrange themselves into better combinations than I could think of! So I love to put things together and then sit back and see what happens.
I was struck this past week with a really pretty plant combination that I didn't anticipate. I have a good sized boxleaf honeysuckle 'Baggesen's Gold' (Lonicera nitida) that has a really pretty bright yellow color. I also have some campanula that I planted years ago that has spread itself around the garden. These two decided to come together this spring and the result is really striking. A nice garden surprise!
No comments:
Post a Comment