Thanks so much for all the kind comments on my last post. You may already have read on Instagramthat my root canal went well. I have one more scheduled for this Friday, and I’m feeling much less anxious about it, given how comfortable (and successful!) this last one was. In fact, those 90 minutes in that endodontist chair were surprisingly nourishing on several layers (watching Michelle Obama’s Becoming on Netflix on Juneteenth, in the midst of so much potential for positive change. . . meanwhile being cared for by a young female specialist (and her young female assistant), something that was unimaginable when I first learned my anxiety about dentists some 60+ years ago. . .
I’m thinking I will tell you more about this soon, but for now, I’m sticking with a short post. I haven’t shared pages from my Covid-times mini-sketchbook for a few weeks, and this one illustrates my current situation quite effectively. . . .
I’m also appreciating the healing qualities of my garden. . .
and I’m planning to show you a few of its happiest groupings. . . and chat about what has worked and what hasn’t. . . .
For now, I can say without reservations that being forced to stay home this spring and summer has benefited the garden enormously.
More later.
How are you this Monday morning? And how do your gardens grow?
Mine has been given so much rain recently that I am waiting for it to burst into flower any moment. And, if the weather forecast is to be believed, heat will be arriving tomorrow. Snails though. Been eating things just as they were coming into flower. Lupins a delicacy it would seem.
My native plant garden is settling down for its less-showy summer, after a spectacular spring. There are still hummingbirds, and butterflies, and big fat bumblebees enjoying themselves, and allowing me to enjoy their presence. I pulled the last of the golden poppies last week – it's always a wrench to do so while there are *any* remaining blooms, but the foliage was looking truly scraggly.
Glad Root Canal #1 went well – beaming you all good things for RC #2!
My garden is growing SO well!! My roses have buds that are about to bloom. 2 days ago: just tight green buds. Now: 10 red uncurling buds on each plant. The grasses in the L shaped planter box have gone to seed and they bend gracefully in the wind. The lavender is extremely happy, pointy and sturdy with the added delicacy of purple blooms. And they ivy's filling in and starting to attach to the wall. We've had absurdly good weather (ya know how it's feast or famine here). Oh, I could go on and on about all of the 16 types of plants in my little space. I'm going away in a couple of weeks and I've got my friend staying at my house while were gone, just to water the plants.
So glad it all went well. Looking forward to seeing more pics of the garden. I'm looking after my mum's plants while she's away. Usually it's just watering and weeding but with her visit extended and the monsoon arriving there's been pruning and planting. A learning curve for me but I'm enjoying it. Karen (Mrooverino 🙂
My garden has been doing very well. The roses are amazing! Dental anxiety is a very real thing. I can trace mine back. Now that school is finally over I'm looking forward to spending more time in the garden. The weeds like this cool damp weather, too.
Doesn't help anxiety that we use "I'd rather have a root canal than do x". A relief it's over. Like you, I remember a whole different kind of dentistry— I did not experience dental anaesthetic till I left my home town as a university student! And like you, I'm meeting more and more women DDSs. My former dentist's slogan was "We Cater to Cowards" so we are far from being alone.
Glad the root canal went so well, and hope the next one does as well. I think more women in the profession is a huge benefit.
My farm has never looked better, having 3 houses of our family all quarantined on it, with not much else to do. My own garden is on the threshold of its showy season, and I've got the stone terrace re-pointed and the party lights hung – outdoor dinner Saturday night!
Happy that your procedure went well, Frances. As for our garden (aka I do none of the work and reap half of the benefits) we are really dry here, a short spate of rain yesterday, and high winds, then back into the sauna today. And Stu is watering like mad. Still we are almost ready for the lettuce, have eaten most of the spinach because it all bolted with the hot temperatures. Stu has eaten a ton of radishes.. they are too hot for me. And the flowers are doing okay too. Except for the dryness. I do deign to water the plants in pots of the deck. Isn't that big of me? Ha. I love how you've layered the pots on your terrace.
Annie: You and Sue Burpee need to work out a deal. . . . see below. . . (does it help that snails are at least more attractive than slugs? 😉
Carol: I know what you mean about that clean-up — used to find that with the Cornflower in my old garden.
Kristin: I'm SO glad to hear this and can't wait for some photos on IG. Your hardscaping is so deserving of magnificent plant performance.
Karen: We joke sometimes about monsoons here, and our area is something of a temperate rain forest, but I can't quite imagine what they're really like or how they impact a garden. Enjoy your temporary gardener's tasks!
Lorrie: I'm surprised at the way weeds find their way even up here — easy enough to control, in containers, of course. . .
I'm so glad that the first root canal went so well, and that you have an endodontist who inspires trust! I have a fear of dentists as well, but have been fortunate enough to find a good practice.
Your garden is spectacular!
Thank you for answering my question about the yoga classes – but for some reason the actual information didn't come through. It looks like web addresses were missing? This studio might not work for me in any case, if they have only live classes, because I'm on the east coast and when I stop working remotely I won't have much flexibility. But I could try some classes now.
On root canals, the times have changed. I had one last t year and was so pleased at how non stressful it was for me. It seems that almost everyone I know is just loving how their gardens are looking this year. I guess for a lot of people, it was a make work project that turned out well. Today I refuse to even look at the garden, no matter how much it shrieks at me for more attention….
Ali
Such good news! As for the garden, the special tomato seeds I planted in May are now almost half an inch high – and if they continue at this breathtaking rate, may produce by early next year. Otherwise, everything else is going gangbusters, including several annuals that are convinced they are perennials (petunias and impatiens) and providing lush color. It's so nice to have a backyard (nearly) full of plants that seem to be thriving, especially in these times when we have limited contact with the rest of the outside world for now and the foreseeable future.
I am in love with your terrace garden. So lush, so beautiful, and what a luxury I think from here, to be able to simply pick up a plant and move it if it needs to be elsewhere! I know one gives up a lot, giving up soil in situ, but you are making think that it can be a rewarding deal.
And I also love the juxtaposition of your sketch and the flowers. Seems very practical but also hopeful:).
Having had a lot of dental work done over the years, I can sympathize. Glad it went well.
What a wonderful oasis you have In your garden! For the first time since we moved here the deer are beginning to ravage our garden. Only deer could reach the tips of the tall monbretia just as the buds were starting to flower. And in the back yard, a tall hydrangea has been neatly stripped of its buds. I’m trying to salvage what’s left with chicken wire. So far it’s working.
Frances in Sidney
Marie: I went back to that earlier post and added another comment with the URL address that you can cut and paste into your browser.
Ali: Dentistry in general has changed so drastically from our childhoods! Your garden must be magnificent right now — but yes, you probably need to set a few limites on what could be a never-ending labour. . . .
Marsha: Ha! Too funny about your not-exactly-jack-and-the-beanstalk tomato plants. . . .I so agree with you about the gardens stepping up to give us the stimuli we're missing elsewhere. There are worlds in our gardens. . .
Lisa: Thank you! I do miss the soil in situ, deeply (ha!) sometimes, but there are undoubted compensations in the container gardening.
Frances: I got such a clear image from your comment of a deer nibbling on that monbretia, the orange buds just beginning to show their colour. . . . Good luck with the chicken wire. . .
Duchesse: Luckily I've had great dentists since my early 20s, but those anxieties get laid down at the deepest level — no anaesthetic for a child's filling — ugh!
MK: Wow! Your family together in separate homes on a farm. . . that's the way to do Covid-19 (or not, I'm sure it's not entirely idyllic, but still . . .
Sue Burpee: Thanks — I'm really pleased with the layering this year, still tweaking, but I'm liking it. Re the radishes — I've recently heard that the greens are really good, cooked or raw, and actually more nutritious than the radishes themselves. So I got Paul to pick up seeds and we've got a whole little crop growing now (like you, I reap the benefits 😉