The Imperfect Gardener

by Adina Sara

The Shape of Things

In the past few months, I've probably moved several hundred bricks from one end of my garden to the other. An uneven ankle-twisting brick patio was about to be covered with decking, and I couldn't let all those wonderful old bricks get buried. So I started moving bricks here, there, and everywhere, making curved brick pathways, forming circles and squares out of broken bricks to make platforms for pottery, statuary, and places to step inside larger beds.

In bending and wending bricks anyplace that looked brick-worthy, I saw all kinds of new shapes open up. A sloped bed that never seemed to allow plants to live more than a season had been a constant challenge. I had tried the hardiest of perennials; I tried ferns; I tried sage, for heaven's sake. Nothing survived. After many frustrating years, the slanted disappointment of a flower bed has finally become what it was always meant to be a brick walkway. Amazing it took so many years to rethink the space. Bricks are wonderfully imperfect the spaces they create appear weathered, walked upon, and give gardens a sense of history, timelessness, and familiarity.

A garden is more than a place to plant in it's a place to walk through, sit down in the midst of, fall asleep in. Set a little bench inside a flower bed so you can smell the blooms, not just look at them. Instead of breaking your back trying to aerate a root-bound area, cover it with a stepping stone to accent surrounding plants. A garden that is landscaped to every inch of its earth, leaving no place to walk and wander, is missing an important piece.

Mystery Plants

I passed a neighbor's house recently and saw the most remarkable-looking melon, crawling gracefully up a three-legged trellis and looking like a Sunset magazine centerfold. I asked him what kind of melon it was, and he answered, "I have no idea. It was a volunteer."

It is fall planting time, and so easy to rush out to the nursery and fill up with anything and everything in the display aisles. Still, it's a good idea to look around and see what may have sprouted on its own bulbs washed up from another bed, an unidentified sprout that does not resemble crabgrass, or it could be a fabulous volunteer waiting to surprise you. This is the best time of year to exchange cuttings and bulbs with other gardeners. Before you plant, leave a little space for what may already be growing, without your knowing it.

Metro Garden Club

The next meeting of the Metro Garden Club will be held on October 23, to learn about transplanting. For more information, e-mail zorah\@comcast.net. To join, e-mail TheMetroGardenClub-subscribe\@yahoogroups.com, including your name, address, and specific gardening interest.