Dan's Papers - May 15, 2009 - Earthly Delights

A longtime client called this weekend, exhausted but ecstatic about filling me in on the news about the great Mother's Day project she and her three sons had embarked upon. They decided to bring out the tropicals and plant the whisky barrels and pots outside themselves.

They bought their own plants, roaming the nursery and picking out flowers is always a lot of fun, then the real work began. This was a Herculean task that left them hungry and ready for bed. One of her sons, a young man in his twenties, declared that he had always loved the garden and really appreciated the flowers, but now he has a newfound respect for gardeners.

We had long discussions this winter about how this project would come about, planning what to do and setting the best date for the family to show up and chip in, everyone had their part to play, even the toddlers will contribute, but I never even went over to supervise. They were completely on their own.

The guys would be the ones to bring out all the large planters that wintered over inside. Large pots full of tree ferns, jasmine, papyrus and tibouchinas needed to be moved and it truly was a three man job, as all the planters were at least 18-24" plus. Getting through the house and out the door with a four foot jasmine plant without knocking anything over is enough of a challenge, but there are at least eight of them.

And then the contents of the greenhouse had to be emptied out onto the various patios. The collection of different kinds of agapanthus and the papyrus conveniently went right by the greenhouse door but other things, like the prickly agave had to be taken around the house to the sunken patio.

The ceramic planters needed to come out of storage next and the whiskey barrels could be emptied of the old cabbage and kale planted there last winter. The client gave each of her three sons the same types of flowers to plant in the whiskey barrels but then stepped back and let them find their own personal way of arranging them.

Next weekend the grandchildren will be out and their project will be to plant the nasturtium border along the edges of all the beds. This will be gratifying for everyone once the colorful annuals come up, but it will be particularly pleasing for the little ones as these big seeds are easy to handle and they germinate and grow very quickly. Every weekend for the next month the kids can come out and chart their progress.

After a wrap up discussion I suggested a garden journal to the client. It may well be that this becomes an annual Mother's Day ritual at their house. From one year to the next it is easy to forget what worked and what died, but a few notes will be a good reminder of the successes that they had the previous year and also a lovely memento of a wonderful way to celebrate family together. I can't wait to see what they have done, because this is more than just having a great day together en famille. What they have selected to plant and how they have gone about it will truly be an expression of their own aesthetic.