The Mystery Garden

I have a black thumb. I killed an African Violet. I murdered an Aloe Vera plant. The plant world hates me. Maybe I hate gardening so much because I don't like pulling weeds and grass. Maybe it's because I don't enjoy kneeling on the ground and bending over the plants, hurting my knees and back at the same time. Maybe I just don't like sweating. Maybe I don't like having to compete with my perfect neighbor and her perfect garden. (Love you, Debbie!) Whatever the reason, I would rather be doing just about anything other than gardening.

What I do enjoy is shopping. I have discovered that I really like the gardening department at the home improvement stores. I like the idea of a beautiful garden. I am giddy with excitement when something I planted and nurtured takes root and grows.

My front garden last year gave me just a taste of achievement. Preexisting rose bushes produced beautiful, fragrant roses in two colors. Cannas were abundant. I planted chrysanthemums which came back after one season. And the 35-year-old Milk & Wine Lilies that my mom entrusted me with finally bloomed and were gorgeous! To top it off, I planted some petunias because I thought they were so pretty, even though I knew they would wither and die, never to return.

This year, I was determined to grow a better garden. I asked for soil to fill up the flower bed, careful not to damage the lilies or the roses.

This is how the lilies looked when the season began:

I bought lots of bulbs and seeds, watching for plants which are perennials and grow in full sun. (I learned my lesson last year when the hostas died.) Unfortunately, I have no idea where I planted anything or even what I planted. I think I have day lilies, dahlias, irises, and gerber daisies, along with a bunch of other nameless flowers. Tiny plants keep popping up, and I have no idea if they are friendly flowers or evil weeds. Three plants turned out to be ivy. (We think those were from the soil we spread.) And I keep pulling blades of grass. But my lily plants are healthy, my roses are huge, my chrysanthemums bushes are filling in, and my petunias keep blooming because I am methodically removing the dead flowers.

So my garden is a mystery. I don't what will grow, and I don't know why it's growing. But I am giddy with excitement! And anyone who knows me is in shock.