Monday, January 6, 2014

A Fairy Tale Garden

When I was young, I never believed in fairy tales.  But now I do!  Take Sleeping Beauty, for instance.  You know the story.  She went to sleep, and as she slept, the castle was covered in roses so thorny no one could get through for 100 years.

Sounds plausible to me.


Many years ago, I planted a Climbing Peace rose close to my front door.  It was beautiful, but way too vigorous for next to my front door!  Unfortunately, it had to go.  So, an inexperienced gardener, or a gardener with low foresight, may have been hired by Sleeping Beauty's parents, since I'm certain they didn't do manual labor.  And he probably planted a thorny rose too close to their front door.  Makes sense.

But what about the 100 years?


Again, that's easy to explain.  There is an area in my garden that has flower carpet roses planted in it.  And, somehow, briars have sprung up in between the roses.  I have tried to pull out these briars diligently for a number of years.  But there are not any fewer briars this year than when I first started.  And as I was pulling briars from that same patch of flower carpet roses just this week, I realized it would probably take me 100 years to win the battle.  100 years.  And if it takes 100 years, I won't be the one pulling out the last briar.

This makes perfect sense in our fairy tale.  Prince Charming wasn't the first to try to get past those thorny briars and roses.  He was just the lucky one that came along at the right time after everyone had been pulling briars for 100 years.


Sleeping Beauty.  Fairy tales.  What does this have to do with my garden?  A lot, actually.

You see, I have recently been reading a book on housekeeping by Martha Stewart.  Don't see the connection with fairy tales?  Be patient.


As I read this book, my New Year's Resolution crystalized in my mind.  Yes, I have already said this year was going to be the Year of Maintenance.  Maintenance.  Work.  Getting things done.  Sounds good, right?

Not to me.


I wanted something more - positive.  Maintenance and work sound like - well, work!  But as I was reading my Martha Stewart book, I began to imagine how I would clean my home if it were Martha's home and I was just the hired help.  With her exacting standards, I would have to do a better job, or I would be fired!

Then it dawned on me just what I needed in my garden.  And in my home.  And in my appearance.  And, just about everything else in my life.


It's pride.

Now, pride is something I've always been taught one really shouldn't have.  When I hear people talking about pride, it's always in a negative connotation.  But I've now got a new perspective.  Maybe it's not good to have too much of it, but having a bit of pride can be quite useful.  This year, I want to feel proud when I show off my garden.  I don't want to keep mumbling excuses to my visitors.   So, my new New Year's Resolution is to do whatever it takes to have pride in my garden, my home, my appearance, and really, all the areas of my life.

Pride.  As Martha would say, "It's a good thing."


So, what does this have to do with Sleeping Beauty? Well, if they had had pride in their castle, and had hired people with Martha's standards, the spindle would never have been left forgotten in some unused room.  No, that room would have been dusted, moped, spick-and-span, and that spindle reported and removed tout de suite!  And as for the gardens, I bet that gardener wouldn't have gotten away with planting large climbing roses too close to the entrance.

And he would have been told to get rid of the briars.  (Although, if he actually accomplished this in under 100 years, I want to know his secret!)


I think Sleeping Beauty's parents were already (metaphorically) asleep before Sleeping Beauty pricked her finger on that spindle.  I don't think they took pride in their castle.  At least, they never looked around in all the rooms to make sure they were clean, and I bet they mumbled excuses when visitors walked around their garden.

I've been asleep, too.  But this year I'm waking up.  I'm seeing my garden through fresh eyes.  I want to be proud of my garden.



I certainly don't want my garden turning into a fairy tale garden!

~~~~~~~~

In other news, today marks this blog's 3rd blogaversary!  

In other, other news, all photos were taken before this morning's low of 15 degrees, which is quite warm compared to what others are experiencing right now.  Supposedly, it will not get above freezing today, but it's forecasted to be in the 60's on Thursday!






66 comments:

  1. That's a great resolution, as long as you don't equate pride with perfection. I think you have a lot of things to be proud of in your garden, and I am looking forward to seeing more pictures of it.

    I love your blog header. Is the rose Jude?

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  2. I don't think my garden will ever be perfect. I would, however, love to rid my flowerbeds of the Bermuda grass! And briars, of course! :) The rose in the header is Charles Darwin. He has captured my heart!

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  3. Happy Third! That is a great connection and taking pride in getting things done well will be a great way to focus. Your garden and photos always look good as they are though.

    I am so ready for our warm up this week, it should be in the low 70s by Thursday in San Antonio.

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    1. I think I've been a bit discouraged because my vegetable garden was overtaken by weeds, and there is a couple of areas in my garden where the Bermuda grass has invaded. Once I get those areas in shape, I will have a much better attitude toward my garden! 70's sound like bliss! I hope you get to go outside and play. It's calling for rain here Thursday (which is always welcome), but I am itching to get out there!

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  4. Hi Holley, congratulations to your 3rd blog anniversary! Blogging is certainly a way to proudly show of our gardens, so it is an alignment with your new resolution ;-)! I hope the frost is not damaging your plants long term. Happy New Year to you!
    Christina

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    1. Yes, hopefully I'll be able to proudly show off all I get done this year! Happy New Year to you, too, Christina! May this be the perfect year for our gardens!

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  5. Best wishes on your 3rd blog anniversary (as well as your fortitude in holding up under the cold weather conditions)! Pride in your garden is important (and already earned, in your case) - just try to avoid the curse of Martha Stewart style perfectionism as it could be self-defeating.

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    1. I never thought of the "curse" of being like Martha Stewart! I promise not to become a perfectionist - it's not in my personality to be one! :)

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    2. The pursuit of perfection and excellence is only self defeating when you give in to the fairy tale that godlike perfection is actually obtainable in this imperfect world. If you aim high on the target and miss, then you won't fall short of it, which is better than aiming low and getting it. You have determined to do a good thing, to be better than you were in years past, pursue that good thing in good conscience!

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  6. Profound resolution that was a pleasure to read, but most important of all...Happy 3rd year blog anniversary!

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    1. Thanks! It's hard to believe it's been 3 years already!

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  7. I think perfection in the garden is quite hard to achieve but perhaps we can all resolve to be proud of our gardens this year and never have to use those sorry gardener's words: "You should have seen it last week!"
    Happy third blog anniversary!

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    1. Thanks, Chloris! I'm not really looking for perfection. I'm just hoping to keep up with the weeding this year! I seem to lose a portion of my garden every year to overgrown weeds. This year, I'm determined to keep those areas for myself! If I can do that, I'll be very proud! :)

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  8. Wow, I am impressed with what you have blooming in your garden right now! The cold air skipped us this time around and it is a relief. If your garden was my garden, I'd be quite quite proud of it. And I think I am going to have a landscape crew come care for my yard this year. Hopefully, your garden will be what you want it to be this year.

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    1. Thankfully, we aren't getting too many cold days. I'm hoping that the cold will keep the bad bugs away. And that I'll be back in the garden soon! Unfortunately, I think I'm going to be the landscape crew this year. I was last year - and found out that it's a big job, and one a lot of us take for granted when someone else does it!

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  9. Happy 3rd blogaverary! That is quite an accomplishment! And from your photos, I would never think that you did not already have pride in your garden. I agree that most people think of pride in negative terms, but we do need to take pride in what we do. When I look at how careless our society has become, in appearance, in work ethic, in the way we treat each other, I think there needs to be a resurgence in pride!

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    1. I agree. Pride has a lot of negativity attached to it, but when we take pride in the things we do and have, it makes us cherish them more. Maybe we do need a pride resurgence!

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  10. Happy New Year! It's a great resolution to have pride in what you do. Happy blogaversary too. We are getting to cold tonight too.

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    1. I can not even imagine living where the cold is at its worst. I'm glad to only be getting a little bit of it. I hope you stay warm!

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  11. You seem to have found the motivational key to meeting your goals. I sometimes pretend I'm preparing the house and garden for an HGTV photo shoot.

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    1. That's a great idea, Susan! I may have to do some of that pretending this year!

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  12. Beautiful plants. I like the pink camelia.

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    1. I'm hoping the freeze doesn't ruin the rest of the camellia blooms. I just love seeing their blooms in the winter.

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  13. Happy Blogaversary! I always enjoy your posts and can identify with your gardening experiences. Actually, I have always thought your garden looks lovely. Heavy mulching has helped to control the weeds in my garden, but then there's always the pruning. Always something. But then again we wouldn't want sterile looking gardens, would we?

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    1. I have gotten behind on my mulching, but the "weed" I battle the most is Bermuda grass, and no amount of mulch will keep that monster at bay! I'm slowly going around, digging it out by hand. I'm hoping this solves my problem!

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  14. What a great post friend! Pride is such a fantastic word for the New Year! And how very true that it is sometimes viewed as a negative which seems so silly! Happy Anniversary lady! I do always look forward to reading your posts and I sure am jealous of those gorgeous blooms you have in your garden! I hope you enjoy that 60 degree day...sounds like heaven!! A very Happy New Year as well! Nicole xoxo

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    1. Happy New Year! I do plan to enjoy the 60 degree day - I've already announced to my husband that I will be out in the garden all day that day! Of course, he reminded me that they also forecasted rain that day, but I'm counting on them having an incorrect forecast! ;) But if we get rain, that will be o.k., too - we always need the rain!

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  15. Hi Holleygarden. Happy new year to you.
    I love it that New year = New start, and the enthusiasm that goes with it. Don't be too hard on yourself though ! Enjoy a little chaos, gardens are to love and they express who you are. Embrace those briars !! :-)

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    1. Oh, Jane! I'm not sure I can embrace those briars! And I'm afraid I will have to dig up the roses to ever get rid of them!

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  16. Happy anniversary and Happy New Year Holley! Three years has probably speeded by. I have a similar issue. My front garden in full sun is always colorful and the back garden in shade much less so. I always feel like I need to apologize for what I feel must be the disappointment of visitors who enter the back gate after seeing the front garden. I need to be more accepting of my back garden's limitations and be proud of what I have created. Good luck with the briars! They are certainly a thorny nuisance.

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    1. Shady gardens have their own kind of beauty, but it is hard not to compare them to the colorful blooms of a sunny garden. I'm certain your garden needs no apology, but I understand your feelings. I guess we gardeners are so hard on ourselves because we see every flaw - our gardens are like unfinished paintings!

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  17. Time flies that's for sure. It's been almost that length of time with mine also. Don't post as often now but still plugging away here and there. You sound enthused this year for your gardening. I go through spurts too and am anxious for this year.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. I really am looking forward to this gardening year. Although I don't have plans to add on any new areas, I am excited to get my garden in the type of shape I really want it to be. Bermuda beware! ;)

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  18. what a great post and a great word to include in one's vocabulary!

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    1. Pride is a good word - I'm beginning to learn that!

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  19. Holley, hi, I love your post and the thoughtfulness behind it. Yes, there is nothing of perfectionism in pride I don't think...it is rather the joy is having something you love and enjoy and want to share with others. We noticed a few years back that people seemed to want to "hang out" at our house, when I asked a few about it, they said, "It's just beautiful AND comfortable." I don't know if I could have received a more lovely compliment for what I want my home to be. So I get it. Good for you! Wish I could see your garden and enjoy it in person!

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    1. I never equated pride with perfection, either, just trying to do as well as one can. Your visitor's compliment really is the best one anyone could get. Beautiful and comfortable. Just what a home should be.

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  20. Happy Blogoversary! I think you can be proud of your garden already.

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    1. You might not say that if you saw all the weeds! ;) Actually if I can get the Bermuda grass out of a few areas this year, I think that will improve my attitude more than anything else!

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  21. A few weeds or briars here and there are perfectly acceptable in my book, and if I had your garden, I'd be bragging to everyone I met. But I applaud your resolve. Martha Stewart is quite a high bar to set, but from what I've seen of your garden you are up to the task.

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    1. So weeds and briars are o.k.? Well, you would love my garden! ;) I agree that Martha Stewart sets a high bar - but I've always been told to aim high, and even if I'm not completely successful, at least I will have done better than if I had initially aimed lower. Here's hoping I get partial success!

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  22. Congratulations on your three years blogging, it seems we started the same time :-)
    I think it is good to take pride in what we do, including our garden. Over here where I live, many people don’t seem to take pride in anything they do and it shows in so many ways.
    Hope the cold weather hasn’t made any damage to your garden, stay warm and safe!

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    1. Helene, I haven't ventured out to see if there was any damage to the garden yet. Before the front moved through, I moved *all* my containers into the garage - something I have rarely ever done before. I was actually a bit glad that I hadn't planted a winter vegetable garden. Everyone I know that did said all their vegetables froze, even with cover.

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  23. im glad that i found ur blog,i will go back and read every single entry that u had. i live in texas too,and im beginner. im looking for the easy flowers to grow, reseed and come back everyyear. what is ur recommend?

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    1. Texas is a large place, with a lot of different soil types and Ph. My advice would be to first figure out what type of soil you have, and the Ph. That information will help you a lot, especially if you want to grow from seed. I've had great luck with coreopsis and echinacea reseeding. I also love bulbs. Try daylilies, crinums, irises, and lilies. Good luck to you. Gardening is fun and challenging, and I hope you fall in love with this great hobby.

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  24. Wahaha.. well said and written. Hope your imperfections becomes perfect in this new year's resolution.
    And your Sleeping Beauty and soever with Bible connected stories as if...!

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    1. I am not sure my garden will ever be perfect, but it's nice to dream that one day it may be!

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  25. Holley, I love your sense of humor! You're right the Sleeping Beauty parents could not clean all rooms in such big palace themselves. And as Martha they hired helpers to do chores. I'm sure your garden will be beautiful in spring.
    Great resolutions!

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    1. I hope this year I will end up very proud of my garden. I'm working every day I can to get the briars and grass out, although garden chores seem to always take longer to do than I expect them to!

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  26. This post speaks to me! I know that "mumbling excuses" business just too well. Bravo to you, & best wishes for your new endeavors.

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    1. I have just felt so ashamed when someone would come to see my garden, and there was grass taking over portions of it. I am determined to get it in shape finally, and not have to be embarrassed or mumble any more excuses!

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  27. Congratulations on the anniversary! cute post. I think pride is a good thing, it's vanity that we should avoid.

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    1. You're right! You're exactly right! Thanks for noting the difference. Now I can feel proud without deep down thinking it's something wrong. It's vanity, not pride, that should be warned about.

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  28. Happy Anniversary!

    I think of my garden like I do my home. I will work to maintain them, but neither are perfect. I've stopped pointing out the negatives and prefer to focus on the parts that are done. We all have those places in our homes and our yards. That is, unless you're Martha Stewart. Or my mom. :)

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    1. hahaha I know a few people that have a mother like that! Thankfully, mine's not perfect, so I don't have that pressure.

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  29. I laughed out loud when you said "sounds plausible." Actually, I enjoyed every word of this post. The pious gave pride a really bad rap, I think. Being proud is okay in my mind. Prideful (arrogant) is not. I'm with you on getting some stuff done. The clutter in my house got away from me the last few years following an auto accident and I've been working on it since before the New Year. My briars are dollar weed and Florida betony and 100 years won't be enough time to eradicate the nasty stuff. I'll just have to weed.

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  30. I laughed out loud when you said "sounds plausible." Actually, I enjoyed every word of this post. The pious gave pride a really bad rap, I think. Being proud is okay in my mind. Prideful (arrogant) is not. I'm with you on getting some stuff done. The clutter in my house got away from me the last few years following an auto accident and I've been working on it since before the New Year. My briars are dollar weed and Florida betony and 100 years won't be enough time to eradicate the nasty stuff. I'll just have to weed.

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    1. Oh, don't get me started on dollar weed! I know it's a losing battle. And, actually, I'm thinking about letting the oxalis go, too. I figure it'll be a pretty, green groundcover, and I'll just pretend it's something desirable!

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  31. Olá amiga,vim retribuir sua carinhosa visita ao meu cantinho.
    Fiquei feliz por seguir-me!!!
    Obrigada,volte sempre e pegue o meu selinho de agradecimento!

    Beijos Marie.

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  32. Enjoyed this post! and I also enjoyed getting a surprise in the mail!! Thanks for the seeds and for thinking about sending them to me. Being the crazy seed lady that I am, you know they will be planted and enjoyed for years! If you want any seeds that I have, just let me know and I will send you a list. Thanks again, Brenda

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  33. Hi, Holley! Happy Blogaversary! I am in the middle of many things, including catching up on my reading! Reading your blog is certainly a pleasure. I cannot help but think you are being more than a little hard on yourself. I agree that it's likely fairytale castles and gardens leave much to be desired; but your rose garden shows a great deal of love and attention. All the same, I wish you the best wit your ambitions and I wish you a lot of fun while you're at it!

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  34. Happy Third, Holley! I loved your story and the photos. Hang in there during this cold snap. I'm sure your garden is quite used to the cold and can take the low temps. Keep on Bloggin' and telling us about gardening in East Texas my friend.
    David/:0) Tropical Texana

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  35. You have such lovely plants and flowers and whatever garden pictures you posted, they all looked/look fabulous. So, you should be proud and stop mumbling :-).

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  36. Sorry it has taken me so long to get to this post holley...amazing that you had so many plants and flowers growing....and Happy 3rd anniversary!! I am into maintenance as well this year but also into comfort...so I am simplifying so I can maintain easily and then enjoy!!

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