the portable gardener

last year was the first time in my memory that i lived in a place with distinct seasons. i decided to play around with growing flowers from seeds and so seeded and tended a tray of 72 little peat pellet sprouts. i had maybe 7 different varieties of flowers started. having never attempted this before i was, naturally, certain all would live and flourish.

the little patch of ground off the back porch of the house was where i planned to plant my garden. it was filled with rocks and loose sand - a treacherous place for little plants. as i worked through the spring and changes were imminent, i ditched the little plot of land in favor of two large clay azalea pots. my cousin thought that was a telling strategy. i crowded my seedlings together in those pots with no thought of plant etiquette - what needs how much and should never or else.... this approach often works for me. things were growing and they didn't look like weeds. it was progress.

on june 15th i packed the dogs, the computer and the two pots into my car for the 12-hour drive to arkansas. it happened to be a glorious day.

summer had begun and slugs were on the march. i'd never dealt with this before. the snapdragons and zinnias feebly bloomed and i tried in vain to figure out what the hell else was in those pots, what had actually made it. they were starting to look like weeds now.

since i don't know a perennial from shinola, i had no idea what, if anything, would survive the winter. a few leafy things did and, magically, the last weeks have brought great excitement to the clay pots. there is strong healthy green. there are shoots, there are buds. what does this mean? no idea. but it's progress.

if i'm not mistaken, i have an echinacea about to bloom. i hadn't known it made the trek and survived the upheaval. i like that it's a healing plant. i can't wait to see it.