I have to tell you, this time of year – early June – is maybe the most spectacular on the property. It’s not that the garden beds are full of flowers, they’re not. No, it’s because wild phlox and fleabane and yarrow and, most of all, the wild roses are blooming everywhere.
I had nothing to do with any of it. It’s all nature’s handiwork.
This year, especially, the wild roses are outdoing themselves. Lots of rain, though a pain in the tush, does have its plusses. The lushness of all the wildflowers is one of them. When I decided to do something with the area behind the kitchen, a little valley that had been ignored by us for years, it started to have a purpose.
First, I added some stepping stones up to the back forty – that was about 4 or 5 years ago. When Don was out in La Jolla a few years ago, I started hauling cinder blocks that had been stashed in the woods by a previous owner to the secret garden. One by one, because they’re heavy! I simply wanted to start to define what was an overgrown area, to separate and stop the wild growth from sneaking onto the grass. When I ran out of cinder blocks, I bought some pavers to bring control to another part of the garden. I cleared a path to the crabapple tree that had been previously been hidden from view. When Don came back home later in the summer, he added pavers to make a path from the opening just outside the kitchen door to the soon-to-be-installed propane tank, allowing easier access to our propane guys. And, they looked pretty, giving further definition to what was becoming a specific green space.
Then, last year, I found the four large, vintage pots – two from England, two from France. I planted them with coleus and vines and little white flowers, set them on the cinder blocks, and suddenly there was my low-cost version of a balustrade topped by decorative pots. They made a huge difference.
Then came the addition of some vintage garden furniture.
That’s it.
The rest I can’t take credit for. I’m always thankful for that little space, but never as much as I am right now, with wild roses blooming everywhere, little pops of Dame’s Rocket (wild phlox,) and fleabane scattered here and there.
Yesterday, I grabbed the weed whacker and cleaned up the path to the back lawn and nailed a lot of poison ivy and weeds. Don mowed.
It looks so darned pretty back there!
I’m hoping some of the other peonies start to open today. One of the buds is just about there. And then, we’ll look forward to thousands of fragrant white blooms on the catalpa. This progression is so familiar to us now, after having lived here for nearly 14 years.
Grateful.
Happy Saturday.
