Sylvus' Garden

Sylvus' (1997) Garden

Front (Rose) Bed

Or, the Annuals that Took Over.

Welcome to the garden portion of my site. I love green things, but since my efforts to grow houseplants have uniformly resulted in scraggly, leggy efforts, I didn't think I could successfully grow plants outside, where there were so many additional variables. But when a friend gave me 4 rather sad looking pink impatiens as a bridal shower favor, I figured I had nothing to lose by putting them in the ground, thus commencing my first effort at gardening, more or less by accident. I have a shady site, impatiens are forgiving, and I counted the blossoms each day---they multiplied from 2 or 3, to 4, 5, 8. Maybe I could do this after all. At any rate, I've been fiddling with this enjoyable way to enjoy summer sun and warm temperatures outside ever since. Fiddling, because typically, I've spent my summers selling jewelry at art fairs, but in 1997 I juried into only into two shows. So I decided to pursue this interest in somewhat more earnest instead. These pictures are the result. front garden bed

These ``Cut and come again'' zinnias were one of my success stories. (The fuscias were one of my worst failures.) I raised them from seed, in a backyard area I once planted some forget me nots and has since become my defacto seedling area. They were supposed to grow two feet high, so I put them in the front rose bed to help fill it out. They sat for awhile, but eventually took off, growing at least three feet and nearly drowning out the poor rosebushes which were the reason for the bed.
 

zinnia closeup I especially liked the small petals and pom-pom shape of this specimen, and did try to save some of its seeds in a haphazard way, as well as rubbing them off the flowerheads onto the ground. It will be interesting to see if they return.

Though I had some problems with mildew towards the end of the season, I was delighted with my success. Zinnias have joined my repertoire. 

Links to other garden photographs.