Loss in the Garden of Earthly Delights

Anna Warner lived on Constitution Island in the Hudson River.  She wrote one of my favorite books, Gardening by Myself, about the joys and sorrows she encountered tending her garden.  What I took from that book was that gardens were about hope, not expectation.  One must tithe the occasional loved flower or fruit to the rabbit or mole; they also need to live.  Letting go goes with loving a garden.

Four years ago I collected seeds from a milkweed pod in the mountains.  I blew the seeds into my garden as the wind blows milkweed seeds on the mountain.   No plants grew from this sowing.  The next year I planted new milkweed seeds from the mountain in a box, and hardened off the seeds as I would seeds from the nursery.  Once planted in my garden these grew tall, but unlike the milkweeds on the mountain, eventually flopped on the ground.  Forked sticks kept the plants almost upright.  For two years the milkweeds did not flower.   This year, spurred by maturity and a cold winter, the plants developed their first flower buds.

Yesterday the flower globes opened and spread their strong seductive fragrance all round the garden.  Bumblebees and smaller insects visited and I felt the joy a long-awaited pleasure brings.  Last night’s thunderstorm flattened the milkweeds.  They still smell wonderful.   Twine cushioned with plastic tubing holds some upright now and the old forked sticks are back in service.

The good news in the goldfish pond was that one Fantail fish and three Comets survived our harsh winter; over the winter they grew three times bigger.  One of the Comets disappeared; I found him later, a floating ghost fish.  Today I cleaned the pond again.  This time we had only one Fantail and two Comets.  The other Comet has not yet surfaced.  The Fantail fish is lumpy.  The fish is probably sick with a parasite; there are treatments for it.

Charlottesville Tree Stewards gave out vouchers toward buying a tree.  I used my voucher to buy a Gala apple tree and planted it as the Tree Stewards recommended.  It flourished and flowered.  I got a younger McIntosh from a cheaper nursery to pollinate the Gala.  toward the end of May twigs full of leaves turned brown. The nursery where I bought the Gala tells me that Fire Blight is the culprit.  The trees may not survive, even with antiseptic pruning and vinegar spray.

I am sorry about these losses and potential losses, yet I'm grateful for the garden. I've relearned that though I am responsible for living things in my care, they do not belong to me.