The status of the plants

I am not a gardener. I love flowers and plants but I didn’t inherit the love of gardening from my father. He got such joy from growing. I remember he had a garden every summer since I was a child. He delighted in watching the garden flourish and even in our short summers in Bradford he reaped the rewards of tomatoes and peppers in late August. Since we had late frosts I remember making little paper hats to put over the tender tomato plants in the garden in late May. And in September when the frost threatened the tomatoes which were now producing like mad he gathered all the green ones and put them in the basement on newspapers to ripen. But for me that love just isn’t there. It was passed to my son Ryan who loves to plant a garden. 

   So I do the best I can with actually very little knowledge of how to do it. For me it is hit and miss. I buy annuals and a few perennials and hope for the best. 

Right now the flowers seem to be taking a blooming break. The full flowering baskets are looking rather sparse even though I fertilized them. I am hoping that they will come back strong. 

I resort to adding sculptural elements in the garden like the pineapple and mosaic piece above. 

I even cheat with a fake (excuse me, faux) hydrangea wreath. This lemon mosaic has been decorating the doorway for many years. I love my garden and the few blooms it provides but on my bucket list is a cutting garden. I would love a space to have plentiful blooms such as in an English garden that I could cut and bring in the house. I never dare cut the flowers I have since they are so sparse and few between. Maybe someday my gardening friends can help me achieve my dream.