Re : Hot Weather/Gardening style

Hi, everyone,
I wanted to write to the list the day I read this message but I'm so busy
with the 'spring fever'.
What a good idea to talk about the philosophy of gardening!
I garden since 1982 and it is as if I got a virus. It is an addiction and
try not to bother my husband with it. When I began, I didnot know anything
and learn in the books and I can remember that I was so school-minded that I
was ^planting with a slide rule to measure the space between the tulips
bulbs. You can imagine the tulips rows as soldiers ! It was awful.
And I learned more and more,I have a good friend running a nursery in my
village and she taught me a lot And I visited many gardens in all over the
world as I was a stewardess. I think you can learn many things by visiting
other people's gardens. Now I'm retired and can enjoy gardening and visiting
gardens . I run many plants exchanges at some shows and also seeds
exchanges.
Sometimes I write articles in our local garden society journal and like to
teach people with organic gardening because, here, this is a brand new
topic.
I rarely make a plan when I plant and I know it's not good.At the beginning,
I wanted too many plants ,so I bought one of each. Now, all my plants come
from friends' gifts, exchanges and so on , so I built a nursery bed to put
the new arrivals while waiting where to plant them, but it was not enough
big. My garden is at the edge of a forest, so we cut many trees to thin the
wood and we had many trees thrown down by the storms too. So, I tried to
choose shade plants and to adapt myself to the natural environment. We have
a small stream running through the garden with an old washing-basin where we
try to keep fishes(sometimes the blue heron is coming for breakfast).
I built a rock garden all around the washing-basin. It was my first job, and
now, years later I have several mixed-borders, even under oaks, beeches and
limes trees, horsechestnut, etc...I do like letting Mother nature gardening
with me. So I get some nice associations. Speaking about verbena
bonariensis, I do let it selfseeding, because for me it's not invasive and
when people visit the garden in summer they all want this plant so I dig up
at once and give them.
My favorite task is propagating and sowing seeds from all over the world
(NARGS, HPS, RHS) and this is very enjoyable. As, of course, I don't have
any more space available in the garden, I give all my babies to friends and
to the exchanges parties.
We are planning to move in the south of France next year, and of course
people ask me why I keep on gardening here ? It is a silly question because
gardening is my life and I could not stop like that. I try to maintain the
garden and 1.5 acres is a big task, I swear to my husband  not buying or
trading anymore plants each time I visit a plantshow or a shop but cant'
help myself coming back home with new pots. One thing I'm afraid of is
moving my plants, the big challenge now will be maintain and water the
potted plants till the moving (perhaps summer 2001)
Hope not beeing too long and my english understandable.
happy gardening
Chantal GUIRAUD
Ermenonville, FRANCE, Zone 7
where the weather is warm and nice, some storms (20/25°C)
Viburnum plicatum 'Mariesii', Choisya 'Aztec Pearl', azaleas in flowers
Peonies, meconopsis cambrica, erodiums, perrenials geraniums beginning
flowering.
----------
>De : Lowery@teamzeon.com
>À : perennials@mallorn.com
>Objet : Hot Weather/Gardening style
>Date : Mar 9 mai 2000 14:34
>

>
>I've been reading the same sort of lament from a few people on this list.
>Summer has already arrived!  Here in Kentucky, we will have temps in the
>high 80's all week.  Humidity has been over 70% every day.  My roses are in
>full flush, the peonies have all opened, and the dahlias I left in the
>ground over the winter are about a foot high (I was too lazy to dig them up
>this past fall).  While the yard is just bursting with bloom -- I'm not
>really complaining -- I am wondering about what it's going to look like in
>July.  Perhaps the mums will bloom...
>
>In the past few years I have noticed that things that are frost sensitive,
>like dahlias, cannas, and such are surviving our winters.  I actually have
>foxglove returning the second year.  I have more annuals reseeding that
>never have before (begonias, vinca, impatiens, zinnia).  I cannot take the
>credit as I am pretty much a hands-off sort of gardener, preferring to grow
>plants that can fend for themselves with little help from me.  It must work
>because I only lost a few plants to the drought last year (first year
>plants).  I love the bold colors and will buy almost anything red or
>purple.  One border is pastel due to the roses, but even it turns
>technicolor later in the season when the roses have finished blooming.   I
>prefer the cottage garden look -- borders filled to overflowing with color.
>I also choose plants and garden ornaments that will attract birds and
>insects.  I love flowers that I can cut for bouquets, so I also use lots of
>bulbs and annuals to complement the perennials.  My selection criteria, in
>order, is this:  hardiness, color, form, scent.
>
>Which brings me to a few questions:  what is everyone else's philosophy on
>gardening?  How do you choose what you grow?  Is it based on color,
>hardiness, form?  Do you find joy in the unusual that you must nurse along
>for your growing zone for the challenge?  Do you just enhance nature or cut
>out formal patches of garden in your yard?  Are you an
>impulse buyer or carefully choose your plants according to some scheme you
>have?
>
>Val in KY
>zone 6a
>
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