San Diego has had more than its share of rain this year and today only adds to the fact. It is Sunday morning and where normally Jim would be off to the Santee and Kobey swap meets to find his next treasure and I to the nursery for another plant fix, we are sequestered in our large family room at desks resting side by side to the other. It has been raining since early morning.
As I write this I can see elements of the first terrace of our garden from the family room windows which run the length of one wall. The slope leading to the terrace is covered in ice plant and various other sprawling plants with no real purpose. I think I will need help with any plans for improvement.
There is another visual that marks this view – my husband’s aluminum boat. It is right in front of me actually. It landed on the patio one day when my husband needed to make room for another car. At first I thought he was helping me clean the patio as he began to sweep and move some pots away from the area in question. I admit the area was a collection point for various garden paraphernalia and what have you. One day I thought I would line the small area with a sitting bench, hanging plants and a container garden. It appears the boat won out.
I am not necessarily complaining, but I forgot to mention that in addition to cars and clocks, my husband collects a whole host of items. And one thing Jim hates the most is empty space. Fill it he must. My fault for not packing that space with the bench – make that benches – and more plants. Jim informs me that this conflict could be easily resolved with the purchase of a larger house with a shop for his cars and boats and more land for me to garden. He is waiting for me to finish the yard.
So lest I risk divorce after my husband reads this, in some areas I can be just as obsessed as he. All things being equal, I confess to plant collection being one. There is simply not enough room for all the varieties of plants I would like to put in the garden. To me it is a wondrous phenomenon of nature to have so many choices. The problem is that too much variety in color and species runs counter to good garden design or so I read. Of course, this doesn’t necessarily stop me from acquiring a new plant.
Yesterday I purchased the Sweet Pea shrub (polygala dalmaisiana). Being predisposed to cottage gardens, it seemed perfectly suited to my yard with its year round purplish pink flowers. Of course, after I bring it home, I learn that it can grow five feet high and five feet wide. Not uncommon for me to consider the facts after a purchase as opposed to before. My impulsiveness now means I will have to think carefully as to its placement in a garden. Likely I will have to reposition another plant to make room, a reality that is becoming more common than not.
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