Monday, September 17, 2018

My garden flowers and gardens as autobiography

"A garden wall without a climbing rose, or a well-trained peach, is as meaningless to a gardener as a blank canvas is to an artist." Daniel Frogg, garden designer, 1955.
Or, I might add, a climbing flowering vine such as my purple clematis.
I planted this two inch tall Jackmani clematis in February 2018 and it is 5 feet tall now.
The same day I planted a periwinkle blue clematis, which remains 2 inches tall and has not had a flower yet. I have hopes for next season for it.
I have long thought that the books on our shelves and the plants we choose for our gardens have a touch of autobiography in them. For example, my gardens and stacks of books are not very neat, which expresses something about me. I prefer the creative and artistic aspects of gardening to house cleaning, which continually needs to be repeated. I have a book in my collection with a title I love, "A Gentle Plea for Chaos".
I have a statue of the Virgin Mary in my garden which I bought years ago with money I earned from my writing, a treat for me. My younger son gave me a Buddha statue so Buddha and Mary reside in my garden in peaceful harmony.

I like plants that birds, bees and butterflies like. Yes I do like all creatures great and small. Except for gophers and snails and slugs. Even garden snakes and bats are welcome in my garden.
Here is a quote to this point: "A garden that one makes oneself becomes associated with one's personal history and that of one's friends, interwoven with one's tastes, preferences and character, and constitutes a sort of unwritten, but withall manifest, autobiography. Show me your garden, provided it be your own, and I will tell you what you are like." From "The Gardens that I Love" by Alfred Austin, 1835-1913.

Above is my orange clock vine, a vigorous vine which quickly reached six feet tall on the fence and ten feet wide, and then spreads along the ground covering an additional five foot square area. I do love flowering shrubs and trees, including my lilac, 3 hydrangeas, 3 clematis, Strawberry tree and Red magnolia, soon to be joined by one or two camellias. I have a large old Cantua, the national flower of Chile, which my friend who moved here from Chile ordered for me. When she was a child in Chile a Cantua bloomed outside her second story bedroom.

I have small sculptures in my garden, yes, I like happy and pretty things. Smiling stylized suns hanging on the fence, including the one in the above photo, with jasmine growing up to it. Of course a bird bath and bird feeders. I could go on but don't want to bore you. Do you think your garden expresses a bit of who you are?


25 comments:

  1. Thank you for leaving a comment on my blog!

    I love your climbing vines! Just beautiful!

    Put in a little climbing 'something-or-other' this year, and it has been happy-happy-happy all summmer. It's something like a 'climbing daisy' or some such. Silly me, I didn't mark down the name. -sigh- But it loves the pool fence, by the patio door!!!!!

    I like chaos in gardening. Like the old fashioned look of a cottage garden. Don't care for flowers, which are too-too-too neat. ,-)

    But inside, I like neat!

    So I'm a little bit of both.

    ✨��✨

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  2. I really haven't been able to put much of a stamp on the city garden as there is barely a square inch to plant. I am relegated to seeds. I do plan on taking out hibiscus next spring which will give me a space for roses. Right now, I need to weed and cut out new saplings that grow so fast. It is much work, but I don't know what else I'd do.

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  3. Oh yes! I like a little bit of order, but welcome those rascally plants that self-seed or expand wherever they choose to be happy. I welcome all wildlife...within reason. My only rule is that no one being can harm another, or you have to be asked to leave. Most times, I just put up barriers to prevent temptation.

    I liken it to a little peaceful kingdom--tiny as it may be.

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  4. Your gardens sound (and look) wonderful, Terra. I can see all the love you put into them. I have two Clematis, but after ten years they hardly bloom. It is a disappointment as they are such beautiful plants (when they bloom).

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  5. Ha, ha, we have a Buddha and a St Francis statue in our gardens and we like to think they are special friends! I agree with you that our gardens express who we are. My gardens in Minnesota were totally "me" but when we moved here (SC) every inch was taken up with mature plantings. We've tried to squeeze in a few things to make it "us" but I don't have the energy to,pull it all out and start over.
    I really enjoyed your garden tour and getting to know you better via your garden.

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  6. Love your clematis and your orange clock vine.

    I also have statuary and whimsy bits in my gardens.

    Books on my shelves definitely tell a story of who I am.

    Have a great week ~ FlowerLady

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  7. I loved reading about your garden. My garden is very plain. A bed of marigolds some parts. I do like sculptures though and I have several. And Angel a little boy and girl with an umbrella a big angel by the front door. Of course in the back I have a birdbath and some hummingbird feeder‘s. At the lake I have pots of flowers and a hummingbird feeder and windchimes. I like easy care but pretty and happy.

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  8. Love this post! And your garden is beautiful. :)

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  9. Your clematis is so pretty and vibrant! I always liked them since my grandfather grew them. No my garden doesn’t show much of me since I am scared of spiders a little.... I have a rose Bush I take care of though 😆

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  10. I think our garden does say things about us too. We have smiling suns, turtles, frogs and other fun things. We planted a purple jackmani this year too, but it isn't as tall as yours!

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  11. This is such a wonderful post, Terra! I often think that the books I treasure say so much about my personality. And a love of gardening also tells a tale of those who love to feel that good earth, and creating the gifts of nature where we can enjoy it up close, anytime...

    Jane x

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  12. You have a beautiful garden with so many pretty flowers and decorative features. I like your statue of the Virgin Mary and am glad that she keeps company with Buddha. Harmony as you say. Thank you for visiting my blog Terra, always so nice to see you.

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  13. Thanks for stopping by my blog — you’re welcome to visit anytime. Interesting we two Californians should meet across the pond through John’s blog. Your garden is lovely and I do like the climbing vines — the blue and the red, rusts that remind me of the Midwest’s fall colors. My yard and gardening has been deprived since the drought. My patio half-whiskey barrels in which I had a variety of dwarf citrus succumbed the year my husband died as I had to leave them in the summer before I installed my drip system and had no one to care for them. Subsequently termites took up residence in one pot before could dispose of it. I have enjoyed rooting some today, tomorrow and forever shrubs and may do some more, but my gardening is pretty limited. May get back to planter rectangle boxes for staggered planting’s of lettuce and some cherry tomatoes. For now the new group of Thriving In Place, ongoing efforts to rightsize then redecorate house interior, long term goals, other tasks, are my focus.

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  14. My dear Terra, your garden is simply beautiful! We had 27-degrees this morning so I have a idea frost is coming soon...

    Happy weekend! Hugs!

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  15. I'm glad one of your clematis' is growing very well. I've only ever had one and it never grew much. I don't have it any more.

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  16. You have such beautiful flowers. I have never been able to grow a clematis and everyone says it should be easy. Thanks for stopping by my blog today with the sweet comments. I do think little doggy is feeling better.

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  17. Your garden looks beautiful! If Husband does the gardening I suppose it would be indicative of his personality rather than mine. The only gardening I am good at is clearing. If I have a patch of weeds to clear back to basic earth I am in my element. Which is very strange because I hate cleaning the house.

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  18. Your purple clematis is so pretty, Terra. What a lovely color. And I love the statue of Mary. How peaceful your garden must feel and comforting sitting next to her.

    Happy Autumn!

    love, ~Sheri

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  19. No garden here, but I like less cultivation and a more natural look. I try to get to our neighborhood garden every week and enjoy the flowers and plants my neighbors have worked to cultivate. It's one of my favorite places.

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  20. Thank you for visiting my blog, Terra! Your flowers and photos are beautiful. I do believe my garden express who I am. My garden is a bit wild, but full of gentle flowers: roses, buddleia, daisies, cranesbill, salvia, hummingbird mint and catmint. It is colorful, vibrant, and welcoming to bees, birds, and butterflies. It is also full of little surprises tucked here and there: an angel, fairy, gnome, a sleeping fawn, a frog. Watching over all of it with outstretched hands is the Holy Mother.♥

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  21. I so love the quote, Terra. And I do believe in organized chaos. How else can we find what we want on a whim? I know, books are different. Sometimes one search leads to something different!

    Wonderful post and photos!

    Janr

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  22. Hello, I went by to say hello, since I've been disconnected from everything for a long time. As always I love your work. That I still think that they are not chapucillas, but great works. A kiss.
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