The Imperfect Gardener

by Adina Sara

I've been poring through garden catalogs. They are irresistible, especially when it's raining and dreary outside. Catalogs provide the perfect antidote to miserable weather curl up with a garden catalog and a warm cup of whatever it is you prefer to drink, and imagine all the possibilities.

Every year I promise myself to just look, not buy. My garden is already too full, and things need to be removed and tamed, not added. But with names like Coreopsis Tequila Sunrise, Sorbet Peony, and Spicy Cajun Louisiana Iris, how can you refuse?

I whittled my choices down to four, and don't ask me where I plan to put them. When the time comes, I'm sure I'll figure something out. The New Guinea impatiens bed took a beating during the frost, and I may decide to pull them out altogether and replace them with the Day Glow Lilies, mixed with Old-Fashioned Bleeding Heart and Patty's Plum Poppies. And you can never have too many freesias.

Truth is, nothing I ever purchased from a catalog ended up looking like the spectacular photographs. I think the catalog publishers trick us with lighting and magnified lenses so we will buy their promised plants. Over the years, my catalog purchases brought mixed success. Sometimes a shockingly spectacular flower or two, and sometimes nothing at all.

Gardening by catalog is hit and miss, but then again, so it is with plants purchased in a nursery (where, at least, you see what you're getting), or seeds exchanged with friends. Soil conditions, sunlight, and nutrition play the biggest part in what flourishes and what lies limp. But without the excitement of anticipation without the possibility that one's garden might actually look like the brilliant catalogue plants why would we even bother?

Experimenting with plants is how we learn to love them or reject them. I have learned that hollyhocks don't work in my garden. They grow huge and cumbersome and produce more mildew than blooms. But after moving the alstromeria around several times over the years, I have finally found the perfect spot in the bed behind the kitchen. Catalogs introduce us to all the spectacular possibilities, but it's up to us to experiment, move things around, give the plants and ourselves a second and third chance to succeed.

Looking for More Ideas?

The Fourth Annual Bay-Friendly Garden Tour will be held on Sunday, April 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. It's a great opportunity to view and celebrate the diverse styles of Bay-friendly gardens. Get ideas for replacing front lawns with vibrant perennials or creating backyard orchards, and meet your gardening neighbors. Register online by April 19 at http://www.stopwaste.org/home/index.asp?page=617 to receive a guidebook with directions and garden descriptions, or call 444-SOIL for more information.

If that's not enough, the following weekend you can learn about California native plants at the Bringing Back The Natives Tour, Sunday, May 6. Register at http://www.bringingbackthenatives.net.

And don't forget to e-mail zorah\@comcast.net to join our local garden community, TheMetroGardenClub\@yahoogroups.com.