Saturday, July 5, 2008

For Sandy, Wherever I May Find Her

And Sebastian and Leila...

Thought you might like to see some pictures of your plants, none of which are dead (phew, says Sheila, wiping her brow nervously). First, the clematis, reposing comfortably against the pine and the mason bee house in the front yard. It has at least 30 little buds on it. I was a little concerned at first because nothing seemed to want to live in that bed, so I dug out the soil and replaced it. The clematis seemed gratified (just call me Sheila the Plant Whisperer).Next, one of the Monkey Trees. The very happy one. Its a very luminous shade of green. It's protecting the blackberries from those marauding children of mine. Here is the other Monkey Puzzle. It isn't quite so happy, and has told me some very distressing stories (Sebastian? anything you'd like to tell us?) but it has a nice view and hopes to return to its former glory soon.









How can it not, with this to look at every day? Apparently the artichokes and the Monkey Puzzle share a common ancestor (I know, I know, sounds bizarrely far-fetched, but that's what it told me - and I know better than to express skepticism in front of a Monkey Puzzle tree, however small and spindly)





I've told it that when it grows up a bit more it'll be able to lord it over the perennial border. This cheered it up immensely - I can tell it has bossy impulses.

2 comments:

Sandylein said...

I set up my computer today, and the first thing I did was check your blog! Your garden looks amazing. Thanks so much for writing about the plants we gave you. And thanks for being such a great Plant Whisperer. That clematis certainly needed to be out of that pot on our shady balcony.

I truly need you out here in Ontario to help with the Jungle in our back yard. The grape arbour is luxurious but completely out of control and you can hardly walk in the yard for flowers. We have groundhogs living under the deck, racoons with the most arrogant manners, cheeky little chipmunks and handsome hummingbirds. I'm told there's rabbits and skunks as well, but so far none have been sighted.

We're still unpacking, so it's like a very long camping trip here. Will write more later when I can get just one single room squared away. Just one without boxes, that's my goal.

sheila said...

Sandylein! I'm SO glad to hear from you! I was keeping track of you via Leila's blog (tell me she secretly enjoyed camping!). I'm glad she told me about it before you left. And I am SO glad everything is working out, even if you do have TOO MANY ROOMS. Send me your email address and we can deal with the garden. Groundhogs are a bugger, lemme tell you. But all the wildlife sounds enchanting. Sounds like Vancouver, doesn't it? (squirrels, skunks, raccoons) And starting a new garden from scratch is the best.

Did Sebastian end up staying in V? Or is he there now? Say hi to them both for me. I tried to link the Simon and Garfunkle song for this post but couldn't get it to stand alone. S. can sing it for you!

Take care and email me!