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Gifts – When The Garden Says Thank You

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Gifts…we Love them…but do we say Thank You?

Gifts are to be received with joy. Usually gifts are given out of love and appreciation. Given with minimal expectations, except for one or two. The giver would like for the recipient to use the gift. The other expectation should go unsaid, if you have manners, a Thank You is in order and appropriate. What does this have to do with the garden?

OUR WORDS AS GIFTS

As a Garden Communicator, we are often asked to review various items. It can be a plant, a book or other just about anything pertaining to the garden. Last year, I was asked to sample a Vinca called Plug and Play Combo Seaside Delight. These sample gifts came from PanAmerican Seed. First of all – Thank you Pan American Seed!! The name was certainly appropriate. I planted it in my front garden and YES IT SHOWED OFF! Seriously- I plugged it in and it played well with my other plants. Of course, I neglected to take photos. 

Gifts can sometimes be more than anticipated- in a good way. Wandering through my garden, I noticed a distinctive leaf. Much to my surprise, I found Plug and Play babies. This annual Vinca seems to have forgotten that this is Zone 6B.

Plug and Play Vinca self seeding in Zone 6B

These are the special gifts from last years garden – Plug and Play Vinca seedlings. Who would have guessed this?

I couldn’t wait to see these babies grow and bloom. I am heeding the advice of one of my trusted GardenComm mentors and sharing. As Garden Communicators, it is our unique and trusted voice that connects vendors with the consumer. Vendors share an ask or a gift of something to be trialed. When we share our thoughts, our audiences listen. 

Seaside Plug and Play finally is in bloom in the midst of the dry weather.. Thank You!!

This past weekend Plug and Play bloomed. In spite of the dryness we are experiencing, without fertilizer, and unanticipated neglect. Joy and hope, special gifts from a few trial plants, courtesy of Pan American Seed. Did I say THANK YOU ??

CONFERENCE ETIQUETTE

If you go to a conference or trade show and you are given a sample, asked to trial an item or to give a review,  remember an honest response is worth a thousand words. Are you practicing good manners and sharing? Are you saying Thank you after being given a gift? 

When you plant your garden in the Spring, what if the results were not fruitful after toiling all season?? Share the love and respond accordingly. 

Mixing up some fish emulsion to keep this growing and blooming til the weather changes…

Teri, Cottage In The Court

To find out more about Gardencomm, click here

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Adore My Garden

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I adore fresh peony buds signaling Spring

Mulched beds are a sign of this Gardeners autumnal toil,

Protecting plants that are dormant beneath the soil.

A familiar glimpse of foliage pokes through here and there,

New growth, a glistening red stretching up, reaching for air.

Peonies stretching for the warmth of the Spring sun after a long winter’s rest

Hydrangea, peonies, daffodils and crocus,

Spring bulbs awaken and this Gardener cannot focus.

Oh how I adore my garden…

Overwintered plants in pots not yet planted,

Foliage bronzed by wind and branches not broken, just slanted.

Carefully I remove lingering leaves that have drifted,

Savoring the beauty of the winter garden, so generously gifted.

A Snowdrop pausing, while waiting to burst into bloom..

Oh how I adore my garden…

A white Hellebore that has bloomed prolifically since January has been my winter’s treat this year.

Some fragrant, all beautiful with an abundance of bloom,

Eager to grow more plants, filling each garden room.

Oh how I adore my garden…

A fragrant Hyacinth to cut for indoor bloom…

Discovering new plants needing shade to sun,

Off to the garden center I run.

Oh how I adore my garden…

Sedum in autumn, a golden glow, will green up this Spring for a seasonal show.

By autumn most sensible gardeners are tired and done,

Not me ! A new season of beauty has just begun.

Gathering and creating compost from freshly fallen leaves,

Laying a light covering while on my hands and knees.

Oh how I adore my garden…

My perfectly imperfect garden matures along with me,

As we dance the gardeners dance, kneeling and stooping happily.

Oh how I adore my garden, as my garden represents me!

From the Garden In My Mind,

Teri, Cottage In The CourtFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather

Tree Peonies – Hope of My Garden

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Tree peonies buds are great examples of survival in the garden.

Tree peonies are the blessing of my garden and perhaps yours as well. When the weather is finicky, I spend the winter checking to see if they do not bud out too early. While other gardening friends worried about too much rain, I thought, it’s ok my tree peonies need a drink to get through the winter. Winds, a little snow, and a ring of mulch to protect anything that might unfurl before it’s time.

Surviving in less than perfect regions of China, Paeonia suffruticosa is the botanical name for the tree peony. The difference in tree peonies and herbaceous peonies are significant. The herbaceous peony will die back to the ground. Paeonia suffruticosa does not have this trait. In fact, the winter appearance looks like sticks standing 3 – 5 feet in the garden. The longevity of the tree peony is simply amazing. I remember visiting the boyhood home of Woodrow Wilson in Staunton, Virginia. There I found a beautiful stand of tree peonies on the property that are over 100 years old. This truly speaks to their strength. The woody stems help the tree peony survive through the winter madness to show off her frilly blooms in early spring.

Waiting for the unfurling of the buds is a favorite activity in early Spring.

Last fall, I had contractors doing work on the exterior of my house. The tree peonies were in their natural autumnal state of sticks in the garden. If you do not know what they are, one might not know how cherished the blooms are in the Spring landscape. My tree peonies came from my Fredericksburg garden 15 years ago. Every Spring they dance in the border like no one is watching. As the buds swell, I patiently await their unfurling. Little by little, it is like a daily striptease in my front border. Every year the bloom count increases.

SURVIVAL OR DEATH BY CONTRACTOR?

I was worried that my tree peonies were doomed when I noticed that the contractors were not aware that they are my joy in the Spring border. My contractor did not know plants and was not aware of my passion for my garden. Today, the first day of daylight savings time, I could see that my tree peonies are just like me – stronger than I ever imagined. After being trampled on, laid on with a ladder, and who knows what else, I came home to see my prayers answered.

Tree peonies survive abuse in my Spring border.

As I looked closely at each of them, I mentally reflected on their journey from the loving border in my Virginia garden.

Even after being broken from above, the tree peonies basal growth shows signs of hope and life.

In my Maryland cottage garden, the tree peonies are holding on to help usher in a new year in the next garden season.

After quite the irregular winter, my tree peonies gave me quite the Monday surprise!

As we celebrate Women’s History Month, I celebrate my tree peonies because they are like strong women who have endured much and still survived. Here’s to Harriett Tubman, Sojourner Truth, and Fannie Lou Hamer. Each of these women prevailed, survived and left an example that no matter how beaten down you are, no matter how dim hope might appear to be…only the strong get up, bounce back, and continue to survive.

Tree peonies in bloom are terrific examples of hope in spite of the struggles we go through in life.

I am a tree peony. Are you one as well?

Planting seeds of hope,

Teri, From the Cottage in the CourtFacebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather

Hope Reflected In The Garden

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The Oakleaf Hydrangea offers the gardener hope whether we get bloom or simple autumnal leaf color.

Hope. These days it is always on my mind. The anticipation of positive outcomes has kept me silent for most of the year, as I hoped for the best. Hope for things like making sure my parents house sold. Making sure I found help in resurrecting my garden – Thank you Freddy. Finding and keeping a good home improvement resource – Thank you Candy. Hoping that my garden travels were affordable, educational and fun – Thank you GWA. Keeping an eye on my unreachable garden as the seasons changed and beauty was captured briefly as I rushed off to work, traveled and connected with the public to grow my business.

Pink Camellia’s embrace the corners of the Cottage…

In the midst of this…I kept hope on my mind. Things will calm down, come together and a certain level of peace will return. The beauty of this word sometimes catches me off guard. I woke up this morning, threw back my curtains and could not believe my eyes.

The Exbury Azalea is one of the Spring blooms I look forward to. However it is November…

The Exbury Azalea “Northern Lights” was the beacon of hope I needed today. This is a spring blooming species that blooms prior to the leaves showing up. It is November and the blooms are nestled amidst the leaves. When things like this happen I know that anything is possible. and this makes me smile.

I am embracing a mindful existence while gardening, as well as in the words I share. To slow down and be “present” in my joy of gardening is a gift. I reflect on my journey, lessons learned and the anticipation of future experiences. A little something I figured out – to have hope is to…

Have Optomistic Perspectives Eternally

Is there hope in your garden? Is there an unexpected pleasure in your garden? Are you present in your garden? Make time to embrace the beauty that surrounds you.Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather

Leaves Have A Seasonal Message

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Leaves have a hidden meaning. It requires us to pause and receive the messaging.

Leaves speak to us in a quiet manner. Coming in many different shapes and sizes, leaves are one of nature’s gifts to the garden. Observing leaves can enlighten us on ways to reflect upon our life’s journey.  In one of my horticultural communities, Plantrama.com, C.L. Fornari and Ellen Zachos are sharing the leaf stack challenge.  Gathering leaves of interest and stacking them in a way that speaks to us and then posting the photo of the leaf stack online. While adding fun during this transitional season, participating also makes us pause.

OBSERVE

While gathering leaves at the break of dawn, I realized that leaves mimic our life experiences.  I gathered my findings while a gentle rain fell, in the dark of the early morning. I am familiar with the terrain of my garden even with my eyes closed. A lesson in having faith in my footsteps, courtesy of my Dad’s Life lessons. I realized that leaves are very similar to the moments that create our lives.

REFLECT

While arranging my leaf stack, a few still glistened from the gentle rain, like a refreshing memory. Some of them had begun the metamorphosis into dormancy (Hosta, Hydrangea, Maple), like nesting during the winter. One leaf I turned over ( begonia) to show its beautiful red veins – turning over a new leaf can of times show our true beauty – in the midst of a struggle.

There are also a few leaves that look fresh. Not bothered by the unpleasantness or incidences incurred in life (Hellebore, Impomea or Sweet Potato Vine). The Sweet Potato vine had been lunch for a hungry groundhog just as it became a lush ground cover, spilling over the sides in my planter.  You would never know that its growth had been nipped at the stems at the beginning of summer. Now, as the season draws to a close, the lush foliage is on the rebound. How many times have we been at the top of our games and we suffer a set-back?

The Hellebore leaf is a gentle symbol of hope.  With its solid green jagged edged leaf, the Hellebore will share unanticipated beauty mid winter. The Hellebore will bloom mid winter. In the midst of a bleak, usually less colorful time of the year, fresh, vibrant blooms will evolve. Shades of burgundy, black, pink,  and ivory elegant blossoms show up in spite of the weather. These leaves reflect moments in our lives where we need to have hope. Hope that the bright spot will arrive at just the proper time during difficult moments.

GATHER

Look, reflect and consider gathering a bit of nature. Take a walk, forest bathe, or go into your garden to gather a few leaves that speak to you. Stack them or put them in a vase and reflect upon them. Have a mindful moment reflecting upon your journey and joyfully anticipate what lies ahead.Facebooktwitterredditpinterestlinkedintumblrmailby feather