The Stump Gets Company

After nine years I finally have the emerald arbovitae I have always wanted. As you know - oh, too well - I had to cut down a Green Giant arbovitae that I thought was an emerald, and lo and behold I found an emerald at a good price. Big Blue had a huge selection of seven-gallon plants at an excellent price, so I shopped around and bought the tallest of the lot. It actually has two main stems and a very nice growth habit. I put it - as promised - right behind the stump that we recently put in the back garden for the birds. In my shopping frenzy last weekend I bought two clematis and planted one on each side of the stump. The idea is that the clematis will grow together and mix it up over the top of the stump and then spread out almost like a ground cover around the stump. I used two shades. Since I bought four different clematis, I am not 100% sure what went where - except for the one that went in the front - so what I think will be growing over the stump are Clementis 'Kivihu' and Clematis 'Kongiskind'. The former is a bright magenta and the latter is a medium lavendar - both with yellow centers.

The arborvitae is Thuja occidentalis 'Smaragd' aka Emerald Beauty, which may be the only variety of emerald. It's already more than five feet tall and should grow to 12 - 15 feet in ten years. I love the way it looks behind the stump and I think the birds will love it. Come Christmas, tho, the solar lights will be on it. I have two strings and will need at least one more, but it will be perfect. In the photo you can just barely see Mitchell's Henry Lauter's walking stick at the right edge, with day lilies and fall anemones in front of it. On the left is actually the top of something that is growing in the foreground - perhaps monarda. At the extreme rear is a euonomous hedge that actually belongs to the backdoor neighbor, but which I try to keep trimmed as a background to my garden.

All in all, I am very pleased with these new additions to the back of the garden.

What's Blooming!

This is that part of the spring when something bursts open every day, and after three days of rain when the sun came out yesterday the yard filled with flowers. Two pretty additions are weigelas - one is 'Wine and Roses', but I don't recall the name of the other. While they are gorgeous from afar, pictures don't do that justice, so here's a close up of the flowers [not Wine and Roses] - just gorgeous!

Another new addition today is the miniature white rose that came from Aunt Agnes' garden. It's another plant that is gorgeous from afar, but the pictures don't do it justice.

The red yucca continues to grow. I have no idea what it will do next, but surely we will get some blooms in a few days - who knows. Will keep you posted.

A Little Project

One of the "problems" or perhaps it's just a reality of the garden is that you can make all the lists you want of the things that need to be done, but little projects jump into your path all the time. The front corner of the house is one of those little projects. Last week we unexpectedly took down two trees - the dying oak in the front yard and an arbovitae that was too big for its location. Unfortunately, both were in the same corner of the yard, and the result of taking them out was to leave a big hole in the landscaping.

It will take a couple of years to replace the oak, altho there is already a group of dogwoods taking on that project. Replacing the arborvitea will be easier - and I mostly did it yesterday. It's rained all week, so when the sun peeked out after lunch I dashed outside and started digging holes. The result is that by dark I had replaced the tree with two holly bushes [Ilex crenata 'Helleri'], two nandina and an assortment of perennials. The hollies are a dwarf variety that is reported to grow 3 x 4 at maturity, with a pretty open and branching growth habit. I used it to continue the line of the existing hawthorns on around the corner to meet the existing nandinas on the side. Then I put two volunteer nandinas behind them on either side of the corner. They will fill in the upper level with fluffy growth - and quickly. At the very corner I planted a clematis [Marie Louise Jensen] with a wire trellis to help if get started up the corner post of the porch. It is a deep purple, so should be very pretty in a couple of summers.

The perennials are a variety of bellis [perennis 'Habanera'], salvia [nemorosa "Marcus"] and Forget-me-Not [Myosotis sylvatica 'Bobo Blue'] all of which grow 6-8 inches tall and a Bugloss [Anchusa capensis 'Blue Angel'] which will grow about 10 inches tall and help hide the old stump. Altogether I put in about 10 small plants which should fill the space by fall - if I keep them watered!

So now the corner looks much better - still way more open than originally, but by this time next year it should be nicely filled in.

A Girls' Day Out

A couple of times a year Mother and I get the opportunity to spend the day together doing "girl stuff" - usually running errands and shopping for things she needs help getting, and eating a nice lunch somewhere. Last Saturday was our spring opportunity.

It was a pretty normal day - groceries, a few plants for the garden, a visit with my Aunt Margaret who is mother's only remaining sister, lunch overlooking the Chesapeake Bay, and shopping for bras. Yes, that.

Remember the first time your ma took you to purchase a bra? The embarrassment, the fumbling, the frustration of finding the right size? Well, it's no different when the roles are reversed and the purchaser is your 80-year old mother and you are the fitting expert. Like all of us, she had waited until it was way too late, and there was absolutely no elastic left in the old one. The tag was too worn to read the size and her figure has changed radically in the past few years, so basically we started at ground zero - fitting-wize. All I can say is that Otto Titzlinger earned his money on this one!

The actual finding of the right bra wasn't so hard, it was the change in roles that reminded me of the long term change that is happening. I know that mother needs my help more and more, but this was a rather intimate item and it was awkward to be helping her in ways that I think she probably helped me about 50 years ago.

Later, we visited with Aunt Margaret who is nearly 96, and practically bedridden. Her mind has been in good shape, but this visit she seemed confused and didn't make sense sometimes. For the first time I worried that she may be reaching the end of her run. So, twice in one day I was reminded of the fragility of old age, and of our changing roles as daughters, nieces and caretakers. It's a lot easier to rail against the decisions one's mother makes when she is in charge, than it is to begin to take charge oneself.

Where 10 years ago I would have called Mother to seek her opinion about a health issue, or a job change, or what to plant in my garden, she isn't mentally acute enough now to give those opinions, and it is more likely that she will be calling me to ask advice on medical decisions or financial ones. I'm happy to be available to her, but know what it costs her in independence to have to ask. She is a very independent lady, who wants "to do it ownself" and for whom the worst part of old age is needing to ask for assistance.

So we continue along the bell curve of life. As I approach the top of the curve, Mother is moving steadily down the far side - from weakness to strength to weakness again. So it is with life, and so we all play our parts in this great game of family.