Saturday, March 15, 2014

Influences

I was at Tractor Supply yesterday.  They had a beautiful display of spring plants, seeds and bulbs.  Their garden gear was beautifully and prominently set alongside the display.  It was enough for anyone to imagine that if you picked up a pair of gloves and a few plants, you, too, could have a lovely garden.

I picked up a couple of forsythia.

No, no, I wasn't influenced by the display.  Although, I have to admit, I did linger in the gardening section for far too long.  I was influenced into buying forsythia by my daughter.  I have been looking for forsythia, and Tractor Supply was the first place I've found it.  You see, last year my daughter and I were at a Home Show together and she remarked how much she loved forsythia.  Forsythia!  I have always heard other gardeners remark how forsythia was just a green blob when not in bloom.  Influenced by their disgust, I never imagined it in my garden.  

But suddenly, it was her remark - no, it was the tone of pure joy in her voice at seeing a forsythia - that began to influence me.  I imagined two forsythias close by the catenary (which I am still working on, and is not ready for a reveal yet), with yellow daffodils in the grass across the way, and yellow carolina jessamine blooms on the vegetable garden fence nearby.  And when it's not in bloom, the unassuming forsythia will let the autumn grasses that are planted there, shine.  

It's interesting, but my entire spring garden plan was influenced by her three little words "I love forsythia".

We gardeners are easily influenced.  And it seems, we also love to influence others.   Take my favorite spring bloom so far this year, the checkered lily, fritillaria meleagris.  I had long admired this bloom in photos, but never dreamed of having them in my Texas garden.  That is, until Alistair of Aberdeen Gardening convinced me that they just might live in my garden, and that they were certainly worth a try.  And so, try is what I did. 


Last year, I purchased and planted several bulbs, and put them in two different areas.  One area stays moist, while the other area is a bit drier.  And lo and behold, they are both coming up.  They are the bloom that I am most excited about this year.  Will they return next year?  Not sure, but it will be fun finding out!

My great-grandmother's daffodils have influenced me, too.  I decided I wanted daffodils growing in the grass just as they still do at her house, 30+ years after her death.


I started planting them last year.  They are such a cheerful display, and I think of her whenever I see them.  But it is the photo of the daffodils blooming in debsgarden that has given me resolve to continue adding to my little display.  Maybe one day my daffodils will be give such a lush showing.


Sweet little species tulips are another bloom that I have been delighted to see.  Tulips don't return here, and I'm much too lazy to dig them up and replant every year.  While I was ordering bulbs last autumn, I read about species tulips.  I read that they might, just might, return every year in hot-weather gardens.  That small possibility is all it took to influence me to add them to my garden.  Keeping my fingers crossed!

Who has influenced the blooms in your garden lately?

I'm joining May Dreams Gardens for Garden Bloggers Bloom Day, where there is a lot of influencing going on!




53 comments:

  1. The checkered lily, fritillaria meleagri is gorgeous! Never thought it would grow here in TX. Your daffodils are so pretty, I'm sure they bring a smile to your face. I love pass along flowers.

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    1. It will be fun to see if the fritillaria comes back next year. Oh, I hope so - I've so enjoyed seeing it come up, and I love it's patterned bloom. Even my husband was impressed by it!

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    2. that is one of the plants I covet most - so I'll enjoy yours fervently!

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  2. Blogs inspire me all the time. It takes me an age to read them because I keep stopping to google the plants for more information. The daffodils we planted in the orchard last year are coming up. I envision them spreading over the years. My gift to the future.

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    1. "My gift to the future" - I love that! It certainly is, and I wonder if my great-grandmother realized how long her daffodils would bloom when she planted them.

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  3. Inspiration is where you find it. I would not have planted tulips this season had I not won them on a giveaway. They've been so successful that I will plant Purple Tulips this fall. Maybe they'll need some of those checkered lilies you grew so well as companions.

    Forsythia is one of those things that grew in abundance in my childhood. They are beautiful when you give them room to gracefully arch and I think you are right about the grasses.

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    1. Checkered lilies would look fabulous next to your purple tulips! I hope you'll give them a try. I also hope I have given the forsythia enough room. It looks very bare right now with a big area and two sticks!

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  4. Influencing is great because it is all tied up with emotion, and emotion in the garden is what inspires us. Some plants remind me so clearly of certain people that it is a joy to have them in the garden particularly if the person is no longer with us. I also love buying plants which have significance in the name. I have an Auntie Barb who married Uncle Eric - so the Rose 'Alberic Barbier' is very precious to me !
    I love your Spring garden ideas built around forsythia, and it is a true herald of the season. Yes, it only blooms for a short time, but it is so gorgeous for those few short weeks that it earns its place in the garden.

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    1. Glad to hear your thoughts on forsythia. For some reason, all I've ever heard about this plant was negative thoughts. I think I'm going to really like it, though. And you are exactly correct about the way plants pull at our emotions and memories. Those are the plants we love, no matter what's currently fashionable!

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  5. I think we are all influenced by the gardens of our childhood. I have to grow the things that were in my parents' and grandparents' gardens. My most vivid memories of these gardens are springtime ones.

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    1. I don't remember much about what was in my paternal great-grandmother's garden, but I know it was full of flowers. We were allowed to pick just one every time we visited - it was hard to decide upon just one precious bloom!

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  6. Hi Holley, your fritillaria meleagris is sooo... beautiful! It is always good to try things out, isn't it? I love your meadow with the daffodils. There is nothing more charming than that in spring. I have never heard anybody growing species tulips in their gardens. It is quite a pretty plant. Hope it will come back for you.
    Where do I get my inspiration? I think mostly from our visits to England. For me the English Gardens are simply the epitome of gardening! Wishing you a lovely rest of the weekend!
    Christina

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    1. Oh, Christina, if I could visit England, I know that would be VERY inspiring! You know that the posts of your visits have inspired me without my even being there!

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  7. Holley, thank you for the compliment. I have to tell you that I often feature a large forsythia that usually blooms along with the nearby daffodils. This year many of the flower buds got frosted back in January when we had our below 10 degree cold spell, and the forsythia was late in blooming, though it is trying to make a come-back now. There are some beautiful hybrid forsythias, but mine are the old-fashioned species. Besides the glorious sunny late winter blooms, my forsythias also have fabulous fall colors.

    I too have loved fritillaria from afar. Those checked blooms are amazing! I hope your do well!

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    1. Glad to hear about the fabulous fall color on your forsythia! And I had read how hard this winter has been on these hard-working shrubs. I've thought for several years that I needed a forsythia to tell me exactly when to prune my roses. But the thought of their blooms freezing doesn't sound like they are as all-knowing as I thought! ;)

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  8. Memories from childhood, the comments of friends and family, pictures in magazines, and posts by garden bloggers - all have the power to influence my plant selections. The most recent influence I acted upon was the emotional response to a plant bearing my late mother's name, which I came across just before the 1st anniversary of her passing. I'm sure the forsythia will make you think of your daughter every time you see it - not many things in our lives carry that kind of power.

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    1. How wonderful to have a plant that bears your mother's name. I have been thinking of acquiring plants with the names of my family members, or as close as I can find. I hope the plant does well for you and brings you lots of joy.

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  9. The pattern of the petals look so amazing. We can't find here. Thanks for sharing

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    1. I had never seen them in person before, either - just in photos. They are just as much fun to see in the garden as they are in a photo! Just a little bloom, but I hope they return next year and if they do, I've read they'll be bigger as they get established.

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  10. Be careful with forsythia, it's like weed it grows like mad. Well at least here it does. Every house has at least one. :)
    I admit I was influenced by our store catalog into buying 2 new red lilys. I said I'm not buying any more flowers for this year and then our mailman brought us spring catalog. All those beautiful flower photots made me crazy. :D

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    1. Oh, I know about those spring catalogs! I've ordered too much already this spring. I'm having to have to throw the catalogs away without even opening the pages now!

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  11. Holley, I am well chuffed that my little talk of fritillaria meleagris inspired you to give it a try. We have never had forsythia in the garden, yet I always admire it whenever I spot one in Spring. In our new house, our neighbour has one in full bloom at the moment, it kind of looks like it is in our garden, so if I talk of it in the future only you will know its not really mine.

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    1. Oh, I hope you do a post on forsythia. All I've ever heard is negative things, and I would love to hear from someone that admires it. And your secret is safe with me - I won't tell a soul that the forsythia is really in your neighbor's yard! ;)

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  12. I really like the frittillaria. I think I planted it once and didn't have much luck. Glad it bloomed for you. What a nice idea to have your great grandmother's daffodils. We have several plants that we inherited from my late MIL. I think of them as heritage plants! Happy Bloom Day to you!

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    1. Well, I hope the fritillaria returns for me. They are such a fun bloom! But, I know that many things here will bloom once then never return, so I'm not buying any more until I know my money won't be wasted!

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  13. That checkered lily is stunning. And, you got a good shot of it.
    I planted daffodils a few years ago, in the grove behind our house. They've only bloomed twice. One year, the deer ate the blooms. They still come up, though. Maybe I need to try again.
    Happy Bloom Day.

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    1. I thought deer didn't like daffodils! They must have been hungry. Our deer population has grown immensely in the last couple of years. They are already nibbling on some of my roses. I hope they don't decide the entire garden is their buffet!

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  14. It's often difficult not to be influenced Holley - whether it's a tiny bulb or a shrub, once we are inspired there's just no stopping us is there :)
    Glad the Fritillaria has grown - I hope it likes your garden and stays put. I can't grow tulips a 2nd year for a different reason (too wet in summer) yet have found the species to have come back a 2nd year this year. Haven't noticed if it has flower buds yet, fingers crossed.
    Happy bloom day :)

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    1. How exciting to have your tulips return! It must have been just the right conditions for them. Funny how it's the little things that thrill us gardeners!

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  15. Well done on the Frittilarias Holley!

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    1. I was thrilled with them! I do so hope they come back again next year!

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  16. Articles about the effects of pesticides and the degradation of our native ecosystems affect me the most. They are heartbreaking but they make me angry enough to re-evaluate my choices. But any garden photo, magazine, or blog featuring carefree cottage gardens also make me swoon. Then I just have to figure out how to do it organically.

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    1. I agre with you on the organic part. But it's formal gardens that make me swoon. And they should be easy to have organically. I think I need to incorporate more green shrubs in my garden that I can hedge!

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  17. Spring is definitely down there with you. Wish I could say the same. Getting snow again tonight. Love the little checkerboard look of that bloom.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. Snow again! That is not good, and I hope your garden is safe and sound underneath it all. It has seemed like this winter will never end!

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  18. Holley how exciting to see your bulbs especially the checkered lily and your grandmother's daffs...I took out all but a spreading low growing forsythia as here they don't bloom much due to our late frosts.

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    1. I don't see forsythia around here much, either. (I hope that's not a bad sign.) But I had been thinking about getting one for a while - it's the best sign of when to prune all my roses!

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  19. I really love your display of daffodils! And the fact that they are influenced by your great-grandmother makes them that much sweeter! I too have been influenced by others especially my great-aunts and my grandmother...they were award winning rose gardeners. I was always in awe of their blooms as a child. I will have to remember your beautiful tulips as I have a dear friend that just moved down south last week and I am sending her a garden box to start a new garden at her new home in Dallas. I am not familiar with many good warm growers so I will add these to the list as she and I have a love of plants and she has no idea what grows in this zone. Thanks for the inspiration! And a wonderful week ahead to you! Nicole xoxo

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  20. Two peas in a pod. I love forsythia too but the show is over before it begins. My husband brought two home this weekend to plant along with a quince (which I already have plenty of). Let me know how the Checkered Lily does in your location. Have you heard of the Texas Tulip (Tulipia praecox)? Chris Wiesinger, the Bulb Hunter, introduced them to me. So far, mine have come back.

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  21. Those species tulips are very pretty... I'm tempted to try them in my garden, and see if they come back better/more than the sad tulips I have now. And daffodils in the grass, what a great idea! Thank you for the inspiration!

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  22. I was not influenced by garden before because I had no garden in my childhood. Now I love tulips the most and yours looks very interesting, Holley! The picture of daffodils growing within trees is wonderful!

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  23. I love your checkerd lily, I don't think I've ever seen one before :)

    I'm also a fan of daffodils in the grass. I'm living in my great grandmothers house, and I love how the daffodils pop up in the strangest places, little surprises that make me smile each spring. I've added my own, first in beds, but I'm spreading my wings this year and scattering them about too!

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  24. I was strongly influenced recently by an article about looking at your garden from various windows in the house and making sure it was just the view you wanted. That seemed perfectly right to me--that we really grow these gardens for ourselves and secondarily for others to enjoy. If the view out my favorite window isn't a pleasure, what can I do to make it a pleasure? I do have a favorite view from a second floor window and for the past twenty years, I've loved-with-my-eyes a gorgeous Japanese Maple named Pearl. Last week, Pearl had to be removed because of a virus that killed her. We planted a new tree. Now I watch this new tree, knowing that in reality, she won't provide real shade for ten years at least. They say people plant trees for those that will come after. So, I deviated a little--not blooms here--but still the power of life growing in our gardens.

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  25. Oh yeah, that is so true! I've been so influenced by other garden bloggers and gotten so many great ideas for plants, design, and growing conditions from them. And that joy that others convey about their favorite plants is so contagious. Excellent post!

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  26. How wonderful to garden under the influence; even nicer to shop under the same! I'm influenced nearly every day by some plant or other that I see on garden blogs. There's quite a list going and I've not a square inch of planting space that isn't already crammed full of something.

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  27. Oh so many influences! I am influenced by my grandmother's garden, by plants I remember seeing as a kid, and by other garden bloggers. I'm very influenced by a pretty picture! The frittilarius is so cute. I planted some at my old Red House before we moved, but sadly moved before I got to see them bloom.

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  28. I’m not sure what happened to the comment I left here yesterday but if it turns up, please delete one of them – seems it might hav vanished into the blogosphere…

    I get influenced all the time, just look at my wish list on my blog! I didn’t think I had room for a Forsythia in my garden, but 2 years ago I found a dwarf one online and it has been happily growing in a container since. It is on my patio now but will be moved into the border once my spring bulbs have gone to fill the gap – as you say, the rest of the summer it’s just a green bush, but that can be quite useful.

    As for tulips, I have Fosteriana tulips in the flower beds, they come again year after year. They are not as tall as many other tulips, but the fact that you don’t have to plant them every year more than makes up for it.

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  29. I really like your idea of planting the daffs in the grass like that. I also love crocuses that way. What a nice way to remember your grandma.

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  30. I really like your idea of planting the daffs in the grass like that. I also love crocuses that way. What a nice way to remember your grandma.

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  31. Great story - your daughter wanted forsythia, and you got it! Who knows what that will influence down the road? When my mother asked for roses, my father was planting them that day...

    (I don't think any of my 3 sisters asked our folks for a certain plant, let alone us 3 brothers!)

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  32. I agree...daffodils are such a cheerful display. They seem to greet us at spring's door, welcoming and foretelling the beauty that is to come. I, too, love the golden spray of forsythia. It is another spring favorite.

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  33. Fritillaria meleagris is my favourite flower of the spring. I planted a few bulbs many moons ago, and now I have a huge bed of them. I am sure yours will multiply too - just let them do their thing i.e. develop seeds heads and you will be well away.

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  34. Other gardeners and their gardens are a huge influence on me. I will see a plant I don't know and think, "oh, isn't that nice" or I will often see something familiar used in a way that I never considered and think, "what a great idea."

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