July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
The search is on to find the right plant
As I See It
By Special to The Commercial Review/Diana Dolecki-
By DIANA DOLECKI
Special to The Commercial Review
The twin aromas of lilacs and pizza greeted me when I visited one of my favorite places last week. I try not to stop at that nursery very often because there are too many plants that insist on hopping into the car and going home with me. I can’t afford to purchase them all and it breaks my heart to disappoint them and tell them they have to go home with someone else.
I was in search of something to replace the two red twig dogwoods that died over the winter. They had been sickly the last couple of years and whatever I did to help them survive backfired. So this spring I gave up and chopped the remains into little pieces to make it easier for them to return to the earth from whence they came.
One of the owners of the nursery saw me and recognized a plant addict in need of a fix. I explained my problem. The replacement plants have to do something other than sit there and say, “Hi, I’m green.” I want something that will bloom but not in spring. Spring is when the daffodils and tulips put on their annual show and I don’t want them overshadowed. The replacement also should look like nothing that is in any nearby garden. It absolutely should not have needles or stickers of any kind.
The perfect plant should be pretty, smell good, look weird and mature at no more than three feet high as I have no intention of pruning it. Oh, and it should also be cheap. Like many people these days, our disposable income isn’t quite as disposable as it once was.
After trying to talk me into hydrangeas and recommending a few other things we agreed that I would stop back in a week or so. I look forward to seeing what he comes up with. Whatever it is, I have no doubt that it will grow and thrive as this nursery only sells quality material.
I noticed that he had a lilac of the same variety as our dark purple one that people are always asking about. I told him he should mention on its tag that it’s the same one that I have in order to sell it faster.
I spent the rest of the week pulling wild garlic and creeping charlie out of the front flower bed. If left to bloom, the wild garlic has a delightful blossom. It looks something like a wild-haired pixie. It and the creeping charlie will also take over if allowed and must be controlled.
There is something therapeutic about yanking weeds. All the rain we have had lately made it easier than usual. I will have that bed finished by the time you read this and only have seven or eight beds to go. If any if you want to help, just stop by.
I haven’t even started the garden yet. We have discussed not putting out a garden this year but the memory of the taste of fresh tomatoes is too tempting to abandon the garden entirely.
As I was surrounded by a sea of lilies of the valley and wild garlic, I wondered how the garlic can be in the same family as regular lilies. I associate lilies with a sweet fragrance, not the smell of an Italian restaurant.
I like plants because they are all different. You often can’t tell by looking at them from afar what they are like up close. Some are aggressive like the sweetly scented lilies of the valley. Some are like the wild garlic, thugs disguised as pixies. Some appear innocent like creeping charlie and will smother anything it can.
All are pretty and contribute to our lives. In addition to converting carbon dioxide to oxygen and otherwise making our air healthier they give us beauty plus it feels satisfying to yank the unwanted ones out of the ground. And sometimes their aromas compete with the smell of pizza.
The twin aromas of lilacs and pizza greeted me when I visited one of my favorite places last week. I try not to stop at that nursery very often because there are too many plants that insist on hopping into the car and going home with me. I can’t afford to purchase them all and it breaks my heart to disappoint them and tell them they have to go home with someone else.
I was in search of something to replace the two red twig dogwoods that died over the winter. They had been sickly the last couple of years and whatever I did to help them survive backfired. So this spring I gave up and chopped the remains into little pieces to make it easier for them to return to the earth from whence they came.
One of the owners of the nursery saw me and recognized a plant addict in need of a fix. I explained my problem. The replacement plants have to do something other than sit there and say, “Hi, I’m green.” I want something that will bloom but not in spring. Spring is when the daffodils and tulips put on their annual show and I don’t want them overshadowed. The replacement also should look like nothing that is in any nearby garden. It absolutely should not have needles or stickers of any kind.
The perfect plant should be pretty, smell good, look weird and mature at no more than three feet high as I have no intention of pruning it. Oh, and it should also be cheap. Like many people these days, our disposable income isn’t quite as disposable as it once was.
After trying to talk me into hydrangeas and recommending a few other things we agreed that I would stop back in a week or so. I look forward to seeing what he comes up with. Whatever it is, I have no doubt that it will grow and thrive as this nursery only sells quality material.
I noticed that he had a lilac of the same variety as our dark purple one that people are always asking about. I told him he should mention on its tag that it’s the same one that I have in order to sell it faster.
I spent the rest of the week pulling wild garlic and creeping charlie out of the front flower bed. If left to bloom, the wild garlic has a delightful blossom. It looks something like a wild-haired pixie. It and the creeping charlie will also take over if allowed and must be controlled.
There is something therapeutic about yanking weeds. All the rain we have had lately made it easier than usual. I will have that bed finished by the time you read this and only have seven or eight beds to go. If any if you want to help, just stop by.
I haven’t even started the garden yet. We have discussed not putting out a garden this year but the memory of the taste of fresh tomatoes is too tempting to abandon the garden entirely.
As I was surrounded by a sea of lilies of the valley and wild garlic, I wondered how the garlic can be in the same family as regular lilies. I associate lilies with a sweet fragrance, not the smell of an Italian restaurant.
I like plants because they are all different. You often can’t tell by looking at them from afar what they are like up close. Some are aggressive like the sweetly scented lilies of the valley. Some are like the wild garlic, thugs disguised as pixies. Some appear innocent like creeping charlie and will smother anything it can.
All are pretty and contribute to our lives. In addition to converting carbon dioxide to oxygen and otherwise making our air healthier they give us beauty plus it feels satisfying to yank the unwanted ones out of the ground. And sometimes their aromas compete with the smell of pizza.
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