Green Gardens and Black Thumbs

When I was in elementary school, I thought it would be fun to join the garden club. We had lilac bushes and peonies in the front yard, lily-of-the valley outside the front door, and a rose bush by the steps down to the sidewalk from the side yard. All I would need to do is plant a few flower seeds in this spot of open dirt between our house and the neighbor's.

The only problem was that I had no background in gardening, and neither did any of my family members. I came to realize that summer that my mother couldn't keep the lilacs from spreading and taking over, the peonies only needed a bit of fence surrounding them, the lily-of-the-valley were coincidentally in a spot where they naturally flouished, and the bush was a WILD rose bush that had survived repeated mowing by my mother and older brother and sisters! In other words, the flowering plants in our yard were low- and even NO-maintenance. I also found out that summer that planting seeds in the ground and watering them would not guarantee anything.

I planted a variety of seeds that came in one envelopes I had purchased at the Paradise grocery store down the street. (I had a crush on one of Mr Paradise's twin sons who were a year older than me and went to Catholic school.) All I can remember now is that carnations were in the mix because I did get a carnation bloom. I have to admit that I didn't do much more than pick out what I thought were weeds and continue to water the ground. That's all I knew to do at the time.

I knew better than to ask Mom for advice or help when not much happened. After all, she had killed almost all of the African violets Mrs Syrotski had given her over the years. And I was too embarrassed by my miserable failure to ask anyone else. There were a few scraggly plants, and then the one carnation bloom. Seems to me a couple of zinnias also came up and blossomed, but they didn't smell good.

Then later in the summer, to my HORROR, I got a phone call to schedule some of the women from the garden club to come and see my garden!!! I didn't want them to come, but how could I say that? So I scheduled, but I wasn't there when they came, big old chicken that I was. I never heard from them again, and I rarely tried in my adult life to nurture a garden. I knew both of my thumbs were black.

Well, this Mother's Day I got living, flowering plants. I can't begin to describe the stress I feel today as I look at the plants now on my deck. I practically break out in a rash every time I think about the Mother's Day plants! Me, with two black thumbs, trying to keep these alive in order to NOT be embarrassed when the kids come over and take a look at the flower pots on the deck. Ryan and Andrea gave me petunias in a hanging basket. I left it hanging and watered it, but wind storms caught the planter and bent the plants. I tried ignoring it, but finally today I cut it back (WAY back) and dug around to bury the roots deeper. If I don't have success reviving the petunias, I'll replant with the same variety so Ryan and Andrea won't notice.

The two pots of flowers Justin's family gave me are doing okay. Thanks goodness!! I kept them in the house until I was certain we were not having the temperature drop below freezing at night. (I forgot about the hanging basket swinging in the cold!) I need to fertilize them all, though. I've got the fertilizer in the garage! I'm amazed I haven't done it already, but I think part of having black thumbs is that the brain that operates them is also deficient in the flower department.

But I am making a commitment to these flowers starting today. I will continue to water, I will fertilize, I will read up on their proper care, and I will ask for advice. And I understand prayer helps too. Thank goodness I didn't totally neglect any of our kids. I figure if I did okay with them in the past, I could surely learn how to do okay with the plants in the present. In fact, I think I'll go buy some flowers to put in the large pots on the front sidewalk!!