Thoughts on a garden

After talking to friends and neighbors about gardening, I realized I've been guilty of false advertising. When I speak of working on my garden, I'm actually just talking about landscaping design and doing funky things with found objects. The sad truth is I can count on one hand the plants I actually know by name and manage to keep alive in spite of mismanagement. The reason so much jade, fox tail agave, aloe, and geraniums are in my yard is because they refuse to quit growing -- not because I have a magic touch or know anything about them. There are succulents people have given to me that manage quite well on their own and I have zero clue to what they are.

As I pass by real gardens and say hi to people who are carefully weeding, dead-heading, and other maintenance routines to keep their colorful and rich array of flowers healthy and looking great, I grimace at the thought of spending time tending to the more tedious chores of dealing with plants. I prefer to deal with creating brick borders or building planter boxes than worrying about what to put in them. It's just a happy surprise if anything takes off and thrives. 

That said, of course it's nice to hear people seem to like how things are shaping up and appreciate the vision. It does keep me off the streets and out of trouble.