Wednesday, January 04, 2012

Garden Promises for 2011

Many bloggers have wrapped up the year by admitting mistakes or making new resolutions and I have learned alot.
My list of mistakes would be long, I assure you, but I am going to take a different approach.
I am going to make my garden some promises.

2012 Garden Promises:
I promise to learn more. I often pass up enrichment opportunities and I never have a good reason. I promise to take available classes, perhaps even go back to the Garden Club that meets in the next town over. (my schedule has suddenly cleared up, during the week!) I met the most wonderful people in that group. They meet in a beautiful retirement home about 25 miles from my home. The retirement home left such an impression on me that I begged my husband to relocate his mom there when she was ready to make that move. It is a small group of mostly older people, but I fit in well and made some friends there.
Continuing education was mandatory when I was in Master Gardener's program and I miss it. I read the periodicals of the nursery and horticulture industry, but, as they say, "when you stop learning, you stop living".
I promise to waste less. Less time and less food! Can I tell you a secret? All my efforts to SAVE MY BASIL?? Why did I even bother?? All that basil- 7 plants that came to my knees-went to the frost. I never made the ice cube trays of pesto. I didn't freeze any of it. I fussed to save it and didn't follow thru enough to harvest it. No more excuses, this year, I promise to be diligent in the follow thru and NOT allow my hard work to go to waste because I don't finish the job! More cherry tomatoes landed on the ground than on our plates. Zinnias and cosmos languished in September's dry heat because the dead heading stopped. Instead of investing a few hours in the spring pulling grass out of beds, I've turned my head and ignored the small task and soon, I've got a monster of a job on my hands. grrr....

I promise to add art to my garden. Even if I have to make it myself because I have kids in college, I am determined to add some art to my landscape! I can start small, within my limits. 
this interesting! 
a kinetic wind sculpture. Perfect for my yard as it sits on the deck railing. If I sat this in the middle of my yard, you wouldn't see it!
I have always wanted one of these:
you might recognize her from the book/movie Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The statuary, named "Bird Girl" sat in Bonaventure Cemetery in Savannah, Georgia, until the cemetery was overrun with fans of the movie trying to get a photo with her. She now sits in Telfair Museum in Savannah. I'd like to think she'd look just as good in my yard!
owls are all the rage, right now!
I will know the right piece when I see it!

I promise to visit more gardens! Starting with the Chicago Flower Show, I would also like to visit the Morton Arboretum and Cantigny Park. I haven't been in years! Visiting other gardens is so inspiring, isn't it? Getting out and seeing the plants that grow there, gives me an indication as to what would do well in my own yard. Even visiting friends' gardens is like a field trip for me. When Rose give me a tour of her landscape, it can take us hours to get thru it! Sharing ideas and marveling at the work they've put in is so motivating! The problem is, by the time we finish the huge Italian feast Rose is known for, by the time the wine is gone and the dishes are done, by the time the 2 hour drive home is done, by the time I'm back in my own garden, the motivation is gone! (See Promise #2!)
Extend the seasons and protect the plants with available tools. Like the cold frame and the garden netting. Using these resources can stretch the growing season. How can that be bad?
Finally, and this might be the biggest challenge of all, I promise to eat large red tomatoes that I've grown myself! Without the time restrictions of the Sales Rep job, I know my vegetable garden will be better than ever! For those that care to, I welcome you to come share the harvest with me! 

I could list many more promises, but one reason for listing promises instead of resolutions is that I surely don't want to break a promise! If I keep my promise list reasonable, I might just keep my promises! One good thing about putting these promises out there? Accountability! 

7 comments:

  1. I feel like I just read my own garden promises! You are not alone and I challenge you to keep me on track and I will you!!!

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  2. I like your promises, all except the one about being more diligent in the garden to deadhead and make pesto. Too much pressure! I'd substitute a promise to relax & enjoy all the plants even when they are dropping tomatoes and going to seed. No pressures to "use" them efficiently, just enjoy them doing what they do!

    All your other promises are spot on, and I know you will keep them. More art in the garden, yes please.

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  3. I have no doubt your garden is looking forward to you fulfilling all your promises to it:-) Between my huge veggie garden, my flowerbeds and my faerie garden, they keep me very busy during the growing season but I really enjoy it. The trick is to make it all enjoyable and not "work":-) xoxo

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  4. These are all great promises, Sissy, many of which I vow every year, too. #2 really hits home, especially when I see the rosemary in the pot on the patio that I never brought in this fall or the pots of coleus--now dead--that never made it further than the garage.

    I've stayed active in our MG program, so I do keep up with some continuing education. But for years I've wanted to visit MOBOT, which is only about 3 hrs. from us--maybe this year I'll stop making excuses and go!

    If you find a copy of "Bird Girl," let me know!

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  5. Sissy,
    Those are great promises. I like the one about continuing to learn. I have taken quite a number of community college courses just for the sake of learning new things (mostly computer related). It's been a quite a few years since my last class and I am feeling like I am stagnating........I have always thought education was best when used for personal fulfillment. Unfortunately the skyrocketing cost of (even community) college makes it almost impossible for people to spend so much money just to feel fulfilled.

    I smiled when you talked about how you fit in with the senior group. I think I would fit in, too...though in some groups, I may already be considered a senior!

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  6. About two years ago I started blogging and finding the perfect statue was on my list! It took me until this spring to get that accomplished but it really made the garden just like I thought it would!

    I love the bird girl, and I considered her too... I just live a little too close to the original. I think there is a company out there making ones that are extremely like the original.

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  7. Liked my visit to your blog today. We garden in much the same zone. Here on the shores of Lake Michigan it stays cooler in the Summer but no doubt we have many of the same plants. It will be nice to follow you and see what you are all doing. Enjoyed your garden promises. You will see I have incorporated some (especially the art) already! Jack

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I would love to hear from you and if you can leave a comment, I will visit your blog, too!