November 13th, 2020

Quirks and Garden Gaffes
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I do not believe that there is a person alive who does not have some sort of quirk or odd behavior.  I have several and although I am not proud of them, I don't think they do any harm.
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First of all – (a real hindrance to living in the South) I do not like Mac and Cheese.  I mean that I really hate it.  If I so much as pass that blue Kraft box in the grocery aisle, I break out in a sweat.  I think it was because my mother liked cooking convenience foods—Minute Rice, potatoes out of a box, etc.  Maybe if I had the real deal, I would like Mac and Cheese, but I won’t even try it.  Bad me.

The Enemy

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​Secondly, I have to play golf with a white plastic tee.   If I do not, it is fate that the ball will not be hit well.  It is all about the tee and not my ability to hit the ball.  Yeah, right!
 
Thirdly, I have a black plastic bucket that has come with me through two moves.  It became my companion in Boston and moved to Ohio and now it is down here.  It has a broken handle and paint splatters, but my tools go into it and it comes with me when I garden either in my own yard or at the island pollinator garden.  I cannot imagine gardening without it.   Now, I won’t even mention my fixation with airline meals – all those neat little packets and compartments.

The Sacred Black Bucket

 ​Now that I sound like a complete eccentric, I will talk about how my quirks apply to gardening.  I am a plunker and plopper.  I know that things planted in groups look so much better, but being cheap, I tend to buy one plant to “try it out.”  God forbid that a $7.99 plant should die on me.  If it works and I go back to buy more, the nursery is usually out or the plant stock is picked over so there it sits, one lonely little plant without any friends to keep it company.

Poor Lonely Filipendula flora plena (Meadowsweet)

​I do follow the “Garden Guy,” Norman Winter, on facebook and in the newspaper and he recommended a new blue Salvia called “Rockin’ Playing the Blues.” He has never let me down so I actually bought three large plants and was rewarded by a nice swath of colour in my garden all summer long.  (They are still blooming in November)   So, there is hope.  My New Year’s resolution this year (besides the usual to lose ten pounds) will include buying plants in multiples.  Odd numbers look best - 3, 5, 7.   Hopefully I can follow this pledge, but do not expect any Mac and Cheese in my house any time soon.

Salvia longispicata x farinacea (Rockin Playing the Blues Salvia)

Next time, I will be looking at plants and shrubs for Winter colour. (okay, "color." I was brainwashed in the U.K.)