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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 Court

Gardencomm…Why Join??

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If you are a gardener, scouting for that near perfect spot to thrive  can be difficult. Having a passion for beautiful gardens, plants, garden books, and…well, all things garden or garden related can make finding your place in a community difficult. When you want to write, teach, or share your vision of gardening so it reaches the masses, finding a practical place is key. As I asked around, it was recommended that I join The Association of Garden Writers, currently known as GardenComm.

As my daughters attended elementary and middle school, I researched Virginia Master Gardener courses. A stay at home Mom, I made time to take the Master Gardener classes to learn all I could about gardening. When I became a parent liaison for the science club, we installed a butterfly garden at Grafton Village Elementary school. I was known as the worm lady of Fredericksburg, Virginia, according to the Freelance Star.  Proudly, as one of the founding farmers at the Eitt – CSA in Stafford County, I enjoyed gardening organically. From picking bugs off of the crops to laying news print from the Freelance Star between the rows as weed block, I devoured the knowledge of growing organically.

As a Master Gardner in training, I remember saving my money to buy Dr. Dirr’s Manual of Woody Ornamentals. At the time, as a part-time stay at home mom who just happened to also garden part-time, this book was a huge expense. The excitement of reading the words and identifying ornamental plant material was epic. I was so thrilled to acquire this book for my growing library. To this day, I am a true horticultural bookworm.

I am no longer the little girl whose dad did not allow her to play in the dirt. Learning Latin words was fun and I enjoyed it. Giving back to my community by volunteering as a Central Rappahannock Master Gardener was quite important.

Fast forward to a different life outside of Fredericksburg, Va.  I wanted to reach out to people who could only imagine gardening. It was a defining moment. I decided to blog. Writing/blogging is a way to share gardening, garden travels, and finding the beauty that surrounds us naturally. I reflect on how much I have practiced gardening, read about gardening, visited garden centers, attended talks, and given talks. The conclusion – I have realized my passion. My experiences, in my voice, just might be unique.

As I write, travel, speak and share in my own voice and it continues to be quite freeing. The opportunity to network with like-minded passionate plants people has opened up a whole new world for me. I look at the authors on my bookshelf and I realize that I am in GREAT company (including Dr.Dirr) as a garden communicator. I am even considering writing a book. Why? This community inspires me. Sharing my thoughts on all things beautiful is a wonderful way of having my say.

If you want to be YOU-nique in this wonderful word of horticulture, networking, and experience opportunities otherwise unheard of, GardenComm just might be what you are looking for. The sense of belonging, the camaraderie, the genuine support I find in this garden of communicators is amazing. As with any organization, what you put into it can make the organization what you want it to be. I can proudly say…I am GARDENCOMM!

Meet the Author

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A Native Washingtonian, garden communicator Teresa Speight has found a niche sharing the beauty of this earth via her blog http://cottageinthecourt.com, speaking engagements, Garden Experiences, and civic involvement. Former Sr. Gardener for the City of Fredericksburg, Virginia, Owner – Cottage In The Court Landscape Maintenance -specializing in Estate Gardens, Vice President/Communications Director of the Capitol Hill Garden Club as well as Region II Director for Gardencomm, finding and creating unique interpretations of all things beautiful is her passion.

Click to find out more about gardencomm

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 Court

Lee May – Gardener Gone Too Soon

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Lee May, Author, Storyteller, Journalist, an African-American Garden Writer to be proud of…and a gardener gone too soon.

Gardener gone too soon can be applied to many of our Elders who taught us the joy of gardening. Whether it was a parent, a grandparent, a neighbor or friend, the gift of gardening continues to bring us joy. A gift given to me by a gardener I never met was from Lee May.

Lee May is missed in my world of garden writers. This “evolved” man of the garden, Lee May wrote in a way that stirred my soul. I consider him to this day, an absentee mentor. You see, the time to meet him was suggested, but unfortunately, not part of our journey.  Lee and is wife were in the middle of moving back to Georgia from Connecticut. I was honored to have the opportunity to speak with him the season before he transitioned to a bigger and better garden.  At the time, I had just begun to find my voice to share my garden experiences. As I began to do research about African-American garden writers, his name kept popping up. Conjuring up the nerve to email him and ask to speak to him about garden writing as an African-American was difficult.

Relating to him via his first book, IN MY FATHERS GARDEN, I understood how he needed to curate a unique relationship with his Dad. Lee’s parents divorced and he had a great relationship with his step father. Not really knowing his birth father, a job transfer gave him the opportunity to reach out. Their connection evolved as they spent time with his father in his father’s garden.

Sharing his life experiences and how gardening helped him center himself was a position that many might find themselves in. Gardening tends to capture a middle age audience after life h as presented its many challenges. His walks and talks, as well as the life lessons his father imparted to him, stuck with him as wisdom from the elders.

Lee shared an experience at a well-known garden center here in the Washington, DC area.  Lee and Lyn discussed how seldom they encountered another African-American the garden centers. Upon noticing another African-American male shopping for plants, there was this unspoken nod as they chatted a conversation about Japanese maples. A common occurrence when African-Americans embrace the presence of each other, in a setting where we are not commonly found.

In 1992, Lee had the opportunity to become the Editor for the Atlanta-Journal Constitution. After taking the job, Lee figured out that editing  did not suit his need. As a journalist  who had covered politics, been in foreign countries and used to uncovering the story, he began to write about food and gardening. As his job entailed traveling, Lee carried a vase in his suitcase to always have flowers in his presence. Lee had houseplants galore and was honing his skills as an outdoor garden aficionado.

Developing his skill as a garden writer enhanced his relationship with his Dad. Over time spent with his Dad, Lee realized that gardening made him whole. While his father asked him “What are you growing to eat this year?” Lee was not thinking about growing food. Unlike most African-Americans who grew vegetables as a way of making ends meet and feeding their families, this was not Lee’s mindset. This was truly a moment where the defining factors of generational differences as well as economics were brought to light.

Lee May grew to have the beauty of the garden surrounding him. For an African-American to garden for pleasure was simply not the norm. Eventually adding vegetables to his repertoire, Lee valued the suggestions his Dad shared with him even as he no longer gardened. The lessons from his father stuck with him for the rest of his life.

In his second book, GARDENING LIFE, Lee really helped me realize it was okay to write like I think. In January , 1995, Lee wrote

“ But no matter how big it gets, my garden gets no work from me this time of the year. I will not even rake the leaves. The woods don’t get raked, do they?”

This was his thought process in the midst of winter when most people are not thinking about the garden. Yet he wrote about anticipating the next season. Lee May was not just a journalist and a gardener, but a storyteller. He shared stories of seasonal change, conversations with strangers on gardening as well as people who became friends – all from gardening.

One story that I found meaningful was the chapter on The Amazing Graces. Two aging women, one African-American and the other white, had developed a lifelong friendship via the garden. Their yards mimicked each other with similar plants shared from cuttings and divisions. Neither women could figure out why there was such divisiveness between the races. Their friendship was colorblind in spite of the times in 1995.

One bit of wisdom that Lee kept close to his heart were words shared by his father, Ples…“It’s a risky run any way you go. Always be prepared to go back over it again if you mess up; if you fail, just plant again.” – January 7, 1994

Lee May is a gardener gone too soon. An African-American man who had no hesitation answering my call and saying yes when asked to visit my little garden in District Heights, Maryland. A gardener who shared my love of Coppola Claret in the  garden at dusk. Although he never made it due to his health, this man has certainly played a role in my life as a gardener, a garden writer and a proud African-American woman who writes like I think about the garden.

In the garden,

Teri, Cottage In The Court

Flower Power…I am Distracted

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It is time to start thinking about Spring. The distraction of seed catalogs, garden design magazines and of course the Philadelphia Flower Show keeps me in another world.  Distracted…happily!

I knew my 2019 trip to the Philadelphia Flower Show was going to be a treat! Especially when I heard the theme was Flower Power.Where did the phrase “Flower Power come from? This term became a popular slogan used in 1960 – 70+/- by the American counterculture. Using this term represented an ideology of non-violence and peaceful resistance. Coined by Allen Ginsberg, protesting the Viet Nam war took on a new peaceful way of resisting. The freedom loving “Hippies” began using bright psychedelic colors, floral appliques on their clothing and flowers in their hair creating another new term “Flower Children”.  All with good intention, Flower Power was meant to be a positive form of peaceful resistance.

Flash forward to 2019. We NEED Flower Power more than ever. Just imagine flowers powerful enough to grow a peaceful coexistence in the world? Flowers already have that power. PHS demonstrates this in a notable way.

The center of this Zinnia looks like a crown of golden stars. Uplifted by the sea of red fingers after falling into a perfect pink pillow of petals. Oh, the beauty of the Zinnia. I am certain that I will find seeds at The Flower Show!

WHO IS PHS AND WHAT DO THEY DO?

As winter begins to rear its frigid head, gardeners are looking at seed catalogs, magazines and garden centers for inspiration. Seeking that one thing (or two, or three) that is a necessity for the garden.  Can you order the seeds you want before they sell out? What about acquiring that latest tool? Not a problem, PHS has you covered.

What is PHS – the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. What do they do? The outreach PHS has that connects the community with horticulture is amazing. Partnerships which include the business community and an army of volunteers, PHS is transforming neighborhoods throughout Philadelphia. In my opinion, PHS is a Horticultural Hero for the unique way they have been transforming Philadelphia. You could call them Horticultural Resistors or Flower Children!!

Did you know the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society was founded in 1827? It takes comprehensive educational programs to keep an entity like this growing strong. A mere two years after sprouting, PHS had its first Philadelphia Flower Show and the rest is history.

If you look at the center of this Zinnia bloom long enough, it glows…or is it just a psychedelic effect? Immerse yourself into its iridescent center and just imagine.

The virtual PHS “watering can” has sprinkled programs such as The City Harvest Program, Tree Tenders, Green City Teachers, Community Gardens, Landcare and more throughout the City.  PHS offers membership as well as volunteer opportunities. You can also share your opinion on their PHSVision2027 initiative. It is with the decade’s long experience, PHS continues to welcome Spring with the Philadelphia Flower Show. When you attend the Philadelphia Flower Show, your patronage supports these programs and more.

THE FLOWER SHOW

Unlike other flower shows or horticultural events, The Philadelphia Flower Show is THE event of the Spring. I consider this the Winter Horticultural Olympics. Each year there is a different theme. Paris, Water, and our National Parks are a few of the recent themes. Each Flower Show is different and offers an experience not to be missed. From the excitement of the diverse attendees to the beautiful exhibit at the entrance, the outside world no longer exists. The vendors, the Make and Take Room, High Tea, and the opportunity to see exceptionally creative displays indoors is amazing. I am getting excited just thinking about this year’s theme and what will I wear? This year I am considering sharing my inner Flower Power…after all, why not?

Last year there were exhibits featuring jewelry created from Flower parts. I have to say this was one of the most interesting exhibits. Imagine tiny flower parts creating the jewelry normally creating from metals, clay or other things. It was one of the most creative uses of horticulture I have ever seen. Who knows what is in store from a creative perspective this year??

THE APPROACH

Although very much distracted, as I am every year this close to Spring, I have a plan. I will approach my yearly trek with purpose. After ordering way too many seeds, tools, and garden supplies from the comfort of my home office, I know I need more. This year, I will be in search of all things Dahlia. I will try to not be distracted by other things offered at The Flower Show.

Why Dahlias? According to the National Garden Bureau, 2019 is the Year of the Dahlia. There are many cultivars of Dahlia’s. Of course, I am in need of as many as possible. I could and have ordered some online. You just never know what can be found at the Philadelphia Flower Show. Last year I really REALLY wanted a tuber called”Cafe Au Lait”. I attempted to order – SOLD OUT. Of course, I just knew it would be found at the Philadelphia Flower Show –  SOLD OUT. What a disappointment! This year I am looking for more Dahlia seeds.

As you can see from these Dahlia photo’s, I will be on the hunt for this year’s Dahlia of my dreams.

I am looking forward to the 2019 Philadelphia Flower Show. Anticipating the energy of the crowds, the City and the Market, the wait is almost unbearable.

Thank you, PHS for ushering in Spring with the Philadelphia Flower Show. Anticipating Spring is the reason I am distracted. I am officially counting the days until THE Flower Show!

Distracted with thoughts of Spring.

Teri, Cottage In The Court