Friday, June 20, 2008

Old Friends Return (Or Ode to the Survivors)


I went out early this morning after the rain showers passed and took some pictures of my old friends in the gardens. These are the survivors of the construction that has been going on here for the past three years. They have survived being stomped on, run over by bulldozers, crushed by building supplies...you name it! I am thrilled that so many of my beloved plants have come back this year. It really is amazing....

This is a wild rose that i dug up at the cottage we used to stay at in Cape Cod. I have a few of these bushes here that started out as a little sprig that i carefully carried home and transplanted in the ground over 20 years ago, when my children were small.

I also brought home this wild honeysuckle from the Cape, and even tho it's supporting fence was torn out early this Spring, it too, came back...

The wild geranium came back against all odds

As did the sweet peas i planted many years ago...

This Queen Elizabeth rose took the most abuse, with a truck rolling over it with a full supply of house siding. The trunk of this bush was smashed flat to the ground, but sure enough, soft green canes came up around the old crushed center....
The area i worried about the most was the small shade garden in the back. When the masons did their job putting in the new garage floor, they just pushed tons of old broken concrete from the old floor back up under the soil there. I had spent years collecting different types of hosta, ferns, lily of the valley and bleeding heart, and in a few days they totalled that area. I had no hope that the hosta would come back...but they did! I did loose the lilies and ferns, but i am lucky to have any survivors at all. I had a landscaper come in to take out the concrete chunks and i lovingly transplanted the hosta back to their rightful place.

Last week i added a new bleeding heart. Also, the hybrid honeysuckle came back. The hummingbirds love that stuff...

So, in the end, we did loose some beloved plants, like my Grandmother's lilac bush, and my fairy roses....But the phlox are coming back, as are the purple coneflower, the trumpet vine, and the morning glories that were first planted by my Mother's Grandfather at her home. And of course, i have my tiger lilies back too! Gardens are amazing, living, breathing things to me. They can be so resilient, no matter what comes at them. I hope i can learn to be as resilient and face whatever comes at me, and at the same time add something beautiful and positive to the world. We all learn to bloom where we are planted!

4 comments:

Phill said...

Your property is doing beautifully this Summer! So beautiful. We have a good deal of foliage in common - hosta, morning glories - but that's the North, LOL. Really beautiful. We're a little behind you up in freezing-land, but things are starting to bloom.

Mare said...

Thanks City Mouse! I try to surround myself with native plants and things that thrive in my area/climate. I think that is the secret. When i first started out i bought everything i saw that i liked. In the end, only the things that felt at home here came back for me. Good luck with your space up North! I love to visit you up there! :)

Murray said...

So beautiful! I have a bit of wild geranium, but never knew what it was till now! I love that so many of your plants have a history, I can remember where each plant I've planted came from, but it's only been a few years. I hope one day when my garden is "finished" (HA, HA) I have just as many fond memories as you have.

I do have a bit of Lily of the Valley my grandmother gave from her house in Delaware (where we vacationed). Every year when it comes up I'm reminded of everything she means to me. It's a wonderful connection to have to her.

Thanks for sharing!

Mare said...

Hi Murray! I used to look forward to the day when my garden was "finished" too! hahaha Anyway, thank you for your kind words on my gardens. I am so grateful that they came back at all. It is so nice that your lily of the valley remind you of your Grandmother... So many things remind me of mine, including the flowers. I lost my lily of the valley during the construction, but i think i can go and get some from my Mom and Dad's land. The memories continue...