Permission to Grow
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| Giant Pineapple Lily, Eucomis pole-evansii |
I love to play in my garden and grow new (to me)
plants. Whenever I used to talk about my
garden, my friends would roll their eyes and politely change the subject. So, I turned to garden blogs to get my
gardening chat fix. I followed their adventures at nurseries and plant
sales. I cheered when their plants thrived
and sighed when plants curled up and died.
These garden bloggers' stories reside in my interior world.
I started my blog in an attempt to live a bigger life and
share my journey. Never in my wildest
dreams did I think that I would ever get to meet these bloggers. But I did.
On April 20th, I attended a plant swap with the very garden
bloggers that fuel my plant lust. I did
my very best not to squeal like the fan girl that I am and act like a (somewhat) mature
adult. And while I explored Linda’s garden and chatted with fellow bloggers, I felt my brain implode with the
realization that I was now part of the conversation and no longer a silent observer.
Here is Rainy Day Gardener's post and The Outlaw Gardener's post on the plant swap.
Yesterday, I attended the Rare Plant Sale for the second
year in a row and bumped into Heather from Just A Girl With a Hammer and
introduced her to My Pirate. And then I
bumped into my favorite garden blogger, Loree. Here's her post on the sale from last year. Loree writes Danger Garden and she looked like she was completely in her
element. I imagined the plants reaching
out to her asking to be taken home to her dreamy garden.
I’ve read about the Rare Plant Sale since 2009 and finally
developed the courage to attend it last year.
As I walked through the greenhouses with a big smile plastered on my
face, I kept being asked, “First timer?”
And I would smile and nod a big lusty YES.
I only bought three plants at the sale last year, but I couldn’t stop
thinking about the orchids that I passed up.
So, I returned this year with a longer list and bigger budget.
This is what I purchased. I hope that I labelled them all properly.
- Pineapple Lilies
- Giant Pineapple lily, Eucomis pole-evansii
- 2 Yellow flowered orchid, Bletilla ochracea
- 2 Chinese windmill palm, Trachycarpus fortunii
- Tree Dahlia, Dahlia imperialis
- Black Taro, Colocasia ‘Pucker Up’
- Giant Colocasia, Colocasia gigantean also know as Giant Elephant Ear
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| Pineapple Lily |
I purchased several different pineapple lilies. I've never grown them before and I'm curious to see how they do. I was instructed to plant them in mounds like squash, to help with the drainage.
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| yellow flowered orchid, Bletilla ochracea |
These are the orchids that I regretted not purchasing at the sale last year because they like to grow in shade and acid soil. I bought two pots to plant in the backyard.
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| Tree Dahlia, Dahlia imperialis |
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| Black Taro, Colocasia 'Pucker Up' |
This black taro was an impulse buy. As was this giant elephant ear. I was curious to try them.
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| Giant Colocasia, Colocasia gigantean |
And My Pirate picked out two palms to plant beside the pergola to keep our other palm company.
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| Chinese Windmill Palm, Trachycarpus fortunii |
I am so deeply grateful to the garden bloggers that have helped fuel my passion for gardening. Your stories have given me permission to grow new plants and try new things. Danger Garden inspires me to be true to myself and grow what interests me. Rhone Street Gardens encourages me to look at the interaction of light and foliage through my camera lens. The Outlaw Gardener's ardent sense of humor guides me to approach my garden through a sense of play. When I feel uninspired I turn to Just a Girl with a Hammer to read her mighty life list and realize that we're all remodeling our life as we go along. And I could go on and on. Thank you.