I’ve Got a Split Personality!

Well, that is, when it comes to my indoor garden vs. my outdoor garden. Take, for example, my African violets. I know that many folks feel that African violets are difficult to grow, however, I have no problem whatsoever with them. In fact, as you can see, some of my African violets are currently experiencing a flush of bloom and some, even though they are in desperate need of division, still bloom though somewhat less profusely. However, when it comes to my outdoor garden, success is mixed with a few more failures.

My Deck Garden

It does seem that if I can “pot” my plants as though they were houseplants and keep them on my deck, then I have a reasonable amount of success. For example, I’ve planted geraniums and marigolds for the second season in a row in long pots that fit snugly over my deck rail. This combination has worked well in attracting hummingbirds and butterflies. I’ve also got a large pot of yellow colored pansies that are doing quite well. But here, I must admit, is a case where I’ve not been completely successful. You see, I had also planted blue colored pansies in the same pot yet they all died! Go figure, I guess. Finally, I keep a couple of patio tomato plants on my deck too. If I try to keep them anywhere in my garden other than on my deck, crows will puncture each and every tomato just as they are ready to be picked.

Beyond My Deck

It’s beyond my deck that real trouble sets in! Take, for example, plants such as my wisteria. I know that they can take many years before they begin to bloom, BUT COME ON! It seems like it has been at least a decade now! Well, probably not. I’ve really lost track of how many years it has been. Still, I have a ton of green growth but not a single blossom in sight even though I stir in superphosphate just as I’ve been advised to do. And then there are my poppies. Oh! Let me tell you about my poppies.

Some time ago, I planted a few poppies near the “front” section of my flowerbed. Now, not everyone likes poppies because, supposedly, they spread like weeds and take over your flowerbeds. Well, I can only wish! They bloomed for a couple of years but then I just got the green, hairy leaves and even those were few and far between. But then this year, as I searched in vain for some wisteria blossoms, just below the wisteria plant, were a small bunch of poppies with flower buds ready to burst open! I could hardly believe my eyes; I never expected to see poppies in this part of my garden. Now, whether it was wind or birds or even one of my many resident chipmunks that had done the “planting,” it really did not matter to me, I was just thrilled!

Of course, poppies need sun and sitting under the wisteria was not exactly the perfect place for them. I had to wait and wait then wait a little longer for them to bloom. I watched poppies in other people’s gardens and was envious that theirs were in bloom but mine seemed to stay in the bud stage for eons. Finally, the first poppy opened up, its head so heavy that I had to ask my mother to hold it up so that I could photograph it. Like a proud parent, naturally, I had to record the first poppy blossom in my garden in years! Still, no doubt, it wouldn’t be long now before the other blossoms would follow.

The next morning, taking my cup of coffee with me while “inspecting” my garden, that first poppy blossom was minus one petal. I said to myself “but I thought they hung on to their petals longer than one night!” I was disappointed but just as I had expected, the other blossoms appeared to be ready to open up soon enough and one “flawed” flower was hardly a major catastrophe! By the next morning, however, that first blossom was petal-less and even the other blossoms now making their appearance were somewhat tattered. What’s going on here? I can’t believe I’ve waited all this time for the poppies to open up only to lose them one at a time each night!

Okay! I Know It’s My Own Fault

Well, as it turns out, I know I’ve got myself to blame. Not that I don’t have a green thumb, it’s just that it’s more than just hummingbirds and butterflies that I love to attract to my yard. Yup! I’m a bird lover and some of my feeders are within “perching” distance to the wisteria, ergo, now the poppies too. Apparently, as much as the goldfinches appreciate my thistle seed offerings, they’d much prefer to “harvest” their own fresh plantings of poppy seeds!

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Well, as much as I wish my outdoor garden could be as successful as my indoor garden, I love the birds too! They just add so much life with their songs and their antics. So, I guess I’ll just have to grin and bear it, which, in my humble opinion, is really not all that hard to do.