Gardening is a love story

This morning I was talking to a friend about flowers, and we agreed gardening is a love story.

Jennifer Hussman from Ladybug Lane Flower Farm and I were discussing marigolds and zinnias. She is very fond of ‘Coco™ Gold’ marigolds, and I’m digging ‘Benary’s Giant Deep Red’ zinnias now.

‘Benary’s Giant Deep Red’ zinnias pick up the red of the fountain at the center of the potager.

How is gardening a love story?

Gardening has all of the elements of a love story. It involves passion, loss and joy. You could tell that story, month-by-month or, in my case, flower-by-flower.

Part of the gardening love story is a love of specific plants or maybe one genus or species in particular, and that can change over time. That’s why Carol Michel and I have our favorite plant of the week on the Gardenangelists’ podcast.

The love of flowers

I have fallen deeply in love with different flowers at different times in my life. I fell for roses when I was only nineteen years old, and I still appreciate their appearance each May and September with intermittent flowering in summer too. I’ve started growing them in containers so I can enjoy them up close and move them where I want.

Gardening is a love story, and I love roses. — Here, my Dee-Lish® rose is happy and getting ready to flower even in August in a container. This container is plastic, but well made. It holds water better than terracotta and doesn’t need to be brought inside in winter.

Daylilies are a yearly mid-summer affair, but to be honest, I’m relieved when the daylily magic ends. Why? Because I have over 200 plants to deadhead, it takes two five-gallon buckets every morning to hold all the spent blooms. See what happens when I indulge my passion?

This is my vegetable harvest from last week or a couple of weeks ago. I don't remember. We've had the most wonderful weather for growing vegetables this year. — Vegetable harvest from my raised beds.

I also love vegetables. I started with houseplants and vegetable gardens, and while they aren’t my favorite expression of garden love now, that could change in winter when I’m bored. I’ve already ordered my amaryllis bulbs. I need something to do when the wind is cold, and skies are gray.

Watering 'Oklahoma Salmon' and 'Oklahoma Carmine' zinnias in the potager. I put seedlings in here to thwart whatever what eating the small ones in my cut flower beds. — Watering ‘Oklahoma Salmon’ and ‘Oklahoma Carmine’ zinnias in the potager. I put seedlings in here to thwart whatever what eating the small ones in my cut flower beds.

The garden love story requires time and attention.

In spite of my zinnia plan earlier this year, the cutworms or some other creatures were merciless., but through love, time, and perseverance, I prevailed.

I now have loads of zinnias all over my garden, and I couldn’t be happier. While I enjoy the tall African marigolds like ‘Kee’s Orange’ and I want to grow ‘Coco™ Gold’ next year, zinnias will probably always have my heart.

Gardening love story — ‘Oklahoma Carmine’ zinnias look great, and I love their ombre color.

I help garden coaching clients write their own gardening love stories.

As a garden coach, I go beyond our initial meeting to help my clients write their own gardening love stories.

I listen to their hopes and dreams.
I draw a quick plan of their landscape.
I followup with the best of my hard-won garden knowledge along with a sprinkling of garden realism.

For example, you will kill your beloved plants. Everyone does. The weather doesn’t always cooperate, or you may forget to water. Whatever the reason, we can figure it out together. Over time, you will kill fewer plants. I call that success!

Another example: you might even think using rocks and landscape fabric will make for easier care and fewer weeds, but I’ll gently lead you away from that mistaken assumption.

As your garden love matures…

Asclepias incarnata, swamp milkweed, is a great nectar plant too, and it smells like bubblegum. See the assassin bug on the bloom? He will eat anything including your Monarch caterpillars. — Asclepias incarnata, swamp milkweed, is a great nectar plant too, and it smells like bubblegum. See the assassin bug on the bloom? He will eat anything in the bug world. In other words, he is non-selective.

You may develop a love for all of God’s creatures, except for mosquitoes and ticks. I cannot in any way love them. Over the years, however, I’ve developed tremendous affection for lizards, snakes, spiders (other than ticks), birds, and most insects. The jury is still out on assassin bugs, and yes, I know they are predators of other insects. They also bite, and it hurts.

Red fountain, potager, Everleaf Emerald Thai Towers basil — Everleaf Emerald Thai Towers basil has been a fun addition this year. It is left of the red fountain in the potager.

Your garden love story requires time and attention.

There are so many memes out right now showing the progression of the gardening love story month-by-month.

We’re now in the month of August heat. The sun feels like it’s trying to kill us so we’re joking about it.

Most of these memes begin with the heady month of April where everything is soft and sweet. But, let’s think back to April in prairie land? Was it sweet? Not really. It was cold and wet and windy, but nostalgia makes us forget.