Hollywood Juniper and 'Ogon' Spirea

Much of my garden is under construction right now, what with the removal of the Bradford pear, and now, this very day, the addition of five 'Green Giant' Arborvitaes.  So it's a major transformation of one long side of my back garden, pretty exciting stuff.  I even get to redesign my neighbor's side of the border.  You all know what an opportunity that is - she's even spliting the cost of the trees.  And yesterday 7 cubic yards of leaf mulch were dumped in my driveway.  More on all that later.

For now, I'll avail myself of the magic of photography and select some of the pretty spots to show you.  This multi-stemmed sculptural juniper was planted last fall.  The 'Ogon' Spirea is the object of a new infatuation of mine, dating only from last August, so I've never seen it blooming.  Well, I'm shocked, I tell you, at how early it's blooming, considering that all my other 5 or 6 types of spireas bloom in late spring.  But what attracted me to it is the wow factor of it chartreuse foliage.  Now I'm on the look-out for 2 more because these babies in mass are awesome. 

In front of the spirea are Euphorbia x Martinii, an evergreen perennial, which I'll be showing you again when they bloom.

And I don't know what's up with the lone pink tulip - probably a carryover from another year, another design.  So it'll have to be yanked to clear the stage for the Tulip Design of 2006 (alert the media).

Comments

[blake]

thanks for the info. i am getting into gardening. i have a bouganveilla, cactus palm and tomato plants. i also have a plant i can't figure out what it is. will you go to my page and see the pic and tell me? thanks

[Millie]

The pretty, pink, lonely tulip is being YANKED!?!? Gag! You are one tough babe. The other plans sound beautiful.

[Sandy]

Have fun!

[Kathy]

I have a bouganveilla that never flowers. I planted it about 10 years ago and every year might have 2 flowers. It lost all of its leaves about a two months ago and now the leaves have returned but no flowers. It is planted against a wood fence and gets full afternoon sun. I fertilize every Spring. Any idea why it doesn't flower?

[Gardening and Garden Decor Aficionado]

I was just reading about gang violence in LA and needed to find something more uplifting. Just look at some of the ways in which gardeners like you describe things. You talk about a “major transformation,” “pretty exciting stuff,” “I even get to redesign,” “the magic of photography,” “a new infatuation of mine,” and “the wow factor” (perhaps my favorite!). Just look at what excites you and what motivates you. You even get energized about having 7 cubic yards of mulch to work with!

Sometimes I feel caught between two worlds that seem like they are light years apart. And yet, both of these worlds can exist in the same neighborhood. The one world is characterized by crime, drug and alcohol addiction, violence, hate, early death, a loss of hope, lots of excuses, laziness, poor education, few perceived positive options, a lack of personal responsibility, broken homes, failure, poor coping skills, and lots of copping out. This is what I perceive to be the world that is populated by teenage gangs in our major cities.

The second world is characterized by respect for people and for life, health, kindness, fulfillment, long life, hope, personal responsibility, drive, courage, affirmation, love, productivity, education, lots of positive options, united homes, success, good coping skills, and few excuses. This is the world that I live in and the world that I think that gardeners live in.

Based on the way that I see things, gang violence is a striking example of what happens when people fail to look to the traditionally accepted vehicles for advancement and improvement and instead look to “phony” and highly glorified “options.” When teens look to self-centered sports figures, gangster rappers, thugs, criminals, and drug dealers for “guidance” that will be instrumental in their career decisions instead of staying in school and actually learning a trade or a skill that will lead to an honest living, what kind of “fallout” is to be expected? What kind of world will result?

Isn’t it ironic how some things of immense value are so close by that they are not even noticed? Yesterday I read a post on a garden blog about a gardener who felt the need to return to the earth and renew her soul by feeling the soil in her hands and by experiencing the “smell of crushed leaves.” Gardeners understand how important it is to “return to the earth” for renewal and to become more grounded with nature while other less fortunate teen gangsters most probably see the earth and soil as something to spit on.

I don’t have many good answers for the existence for these two disparate worlds, but I feel thankful and blessed every day that I live in a world understood by gardeners rather than in a world of crime, violence, and hopelessness. :-)