Tag: gourds

Gardens

The Year of the Trellis

GeorgiaLeave a comment

I’ve never been much for themes, especially contrived ones. You won’t ever find me glued in front of the television during “Shark Week” or refusing to go out to dinner because episode fifteen of the “Twilight Zone Marathon” is about to start. For me, purposely themed events are either an act of desperation (Shark Week) or just too much of a good thing (Twilight Zone Marathon–classic!). Now, if a theme just spontaneously happens… for example, like in our garden this year… that’s another story.  And this year, we seem to have a theme. This year, for whatever reason, we’ve responded to just about every garden issue with “How about a trellis?”

It started with the gourds. We knew… well, hoped… that our seedlings would grow into huge vines producing lots of lovely gourds. We had the perfect spot for them–the west side of the house where there was currently nothing but rocks and wild violets. Here was a garden space crying out for something different, something dramatic. A gigantic vine with interesting fruit seemed just the thing. Even so, we couldn’t just let it wander its way out into the yard, grabbing at everything with its twisty tendrils. How could we keep the vines under control? A trellis!

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Actually, two trellises with connecting ropes. This support system worked wonderfully, even though the vines eventually outgrew it and began to wander out into the yard… and up the side of the house… but who’s complaining? Not me. I planted these guys from seeds and I’m cheering them on!  It’s certainly a dramatic plant–huge lush leaves and dainty tissue-paper flowers; the interesting fruit part is still to come, we hope.img_3393

Trellises also make great privacy screens. Now that we have a stone patio complete with chiminea (thank you, Joe!), we’re spending more evenings sitting outside basking in the glow of the fire and gazing at the stars. And although most of our backyard is pretty private, this part is somewhat exposed to the street, and we live at the “top” of a “T” intersection, as you may be able to see  in the picture below. So, how could we make this backyard space a bit more cozy and private? A trellis! Actually, two trellises tied to the existing chain link fence. You can see them below… to the right of the rain barrel…

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Here’s the view a bit later in the summer, looking in from the street side through the young cypress vines… It’s like peeking into another world, a world of peaceful greenery and soft warm breezes–my refuge!.img_3109

And here it is late in the season ⬇️

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Hard to believe that all that vine came from just a few seeds!

Some trellises are more for the good of plants NOT actually growing on the trellis itself. Joe built and installed this one so we could grow vegetables on two levels–pole beans on top and everything else underneath! 

The plan was not entirely successful; the pole beans loved it, but the “lower level” plants still struggled to find space and sun. We’ll need to rethink vertical gardening for next year.

Our fourth trellis scenario involves the stars–namely the attempt to see more of them. Living inside the city limits, the number of stars we can see on any given night is pretty limited. It doesn’t help things, however, when the house a few doors down has what amounts to a streetlight in the backyard. Even when we’re not out back actively observing the night sky, this light pollution is intrusive. What we need is something to block the light… hmm… a trellis! Well, actually two trellises side-by-side. And these need to be TALL! So, Joe got to work building…

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And I got to work painting…img_3399

And then Joe did the installation…

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So, as you can see below, the trellises are tall enough to block the worst of the light’s glare–at least from our usual viewing perspective–as soon as the wisteria vine grows up a bit. It won’t eliminate all the sky glow, but it will make a significant difference in what we can see. We’ll probably plant a trumpet vine on the left side by the butterfly bush, just to be sure.  And bonus–more privacy!

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I often think about the surprises that a garden offers… a new flower, a hidden fruit or vegetable, an invasion of aphids, a “volunteer,” the recovery of a plant that seemed almost dead and vice versa.  These (mostly) pleasant occurrences keep us on our toes and certainly add a bit of  spice to the gardening life without us (or despite us) doing anything.  But responsively working with a garden over the years is more satisfying to me. We work to create and prepare the space; the garden responds. We install a trellis; the plants oblige by covering it. We, in turn, respond to the garden… watering, weeding, mulching… et voila… a partnership is born.

Even though the partnership is hard work for us humans, I often think that we get the better end of the deal. A garden’s offering goes beyond the plants themselves. A garden is a generous entity… it gives so many things: beauty, fragrance, shape, texture, color, food, flavor, daily surprises…even–with its partners providing the trellises–privacy and a darker sky.

Gardens · Seasons

September Garden Surprises

GeorgiaLeave a comment

September comes with a to-do list and, fortunately, the energy to tackle it. After the long, hot days of August, we suddenly realize that there is a lot to be done inside and outside as the fall and winter approach. The shortening days, cooler temperatures, and subtle yet powerful change in the quality of the sunlight signal a time for action! However, before we get into all that, let us procrastinate a bit longer and look at the gardens….

Throughout the summer, Joe and I check the gardens each morning, looking for insects, weeds, rodent damage, and perhaps a vegetable or two. Things always seem to tootle along just fine until August. August is the month of decline; the plants decide that they’ve had it with the searing heat and are calling it a season, no matter how much watering we do. The tomatoes and tomatillos are long and scraggly with a few flowers but no fruit. The summer squash and zucchini have long since stopped production, and even though the cucumber vines continue to wind and wrap themselves around everything, nothing seems to come of it. “What’s the point?” they seem to say.

But not so fast… just when it feels like the best course of action is to write everything off and start planning for next spring, I notice that some parts of the garden are showing remarkable vigor for late summer. September is prime time for these late bloomers. They essentially take over, as if to say, “Tomatoes, Zucchini, you rest now… we’ve got this.” Good thing, too, because as much as I love fall, I’m not quite ready to turn away from the garden just yet. So, who are these amazing late-comers?

Well, gourds, for one. Joe has always wanted to grow gourds, and this year was the year. We started them from seeds and were rewarded with lovely seedlings and then fast growing vines. IMG_2845But no gourds. Later, we were further rewarded with beautiful delicate white night-blooming flowers. DSCN0001But no gourds. The flowers would die, and that seemed to be that. Maybe the local pollinators were just not doing their job? Then, just as I was ready to take my smaller watercolor brush out there for a little DIY pollination, THIS appeared:DSCN0980

And soon after, there were a few more. Now, we have at least five gourdlings happily growing among the vines. There may be more; they are darn good at hiding. September is their time.

Another happy late-season surprise came from our mystery plant. Here it is in June:
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We bought it last year at our local native plant nursery, but now can’t remember the name of it. We were just happy that it reappeared this spring. It grew and grew, over six feet tall, but no blossoms and no clue to its identity. It was pretty and all, but what was it? Then, finally, last week–surprise! Lots of yellow flowers!

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So, we *think* we have a swamp sunflower. Not 100% sure, but I’m going with that for now. Welcome, September sunflowers!

A few other plants are doing amazingly well during this late summer time. Our pole beans have more than covered their trellises with lovely dark green leaves and dainty flowers. The zinnias are flowering in deep pinks and corals, keeping their heads above the gourds and everything else. And finally, my favorite this year, the sweet cypress vine. This vine was started from seed and had a pretty shaky start but now is outgrowing everything in the yard. IMG_3312You can’t beat its feathery dark green leaves and deep pink (and a few white) flowers. The hummers love it, too.

All this late-season growth reminds me that I should be a little more productive myself and maybe get a jump on some of the fall chores. But, I think I’ll wait ’til next weekend; for now, I need to spend a little more time appreciating the many beautiful surprises of my September gardens.