This was to have been the year my garden underwent a long-overdue makeover. After 22 years some early projects have just plain worn out. Others have worn out their welcome as my taste, goals and attitudes have changed and evolved.
I had anticipated a leisurely process would take the entire spring and summer. That was before the Garden Conservancy invited me to join its Open Day garden tour later this summer.
In case you aren’t familiar with the organization, the Garden Conservancy is a national nonprofit whose mission is “to preserve exceptional American gardens for public education and enjoyment.”
Their modest admission fees ($5 per garden) helps fund the preservation of 16 gardens across the country, most notably a joint effort with the National Park Service and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy to restore historic gardens on Alcatraz Island.
How could any gardener refuse such a worthy endeavor?
The invitation came more than a year ago, which seemed like plenty of time. Last August began a frenzy of activity that continues to this day. I’d like to be able to say that I had a plan, but that wouldn’t be entirely accurate. It was more like “man the torpedoes.”
I have always advocated serendipity in the garden, which in my case too often translates to chaos. The first order of business was to re-establish a measure of control. There really was no excuse for allowing paths to be overtaken by dozens of plant species. Just because many otherwise difficult-to- grow treasures are eager to take up residence in gravel paths does not mean they must be left there.
So began a pathway purge. One walk was badly overgrown, so my husband, Randy, and I spent a warm week in February excavating the entire length several inches deep, leveling the dirt, resetting a brick edge and spreading fresh gravel. (When I suggested replanting thyme into the now pristine path, I got quite the glare.)
We next tackled aging crosshatched cedar trellising on the patio, replacing it with rusted rebar panels made for reinforcing concrete. The result was a bit stark so that led to the addition of wrought-iron rings and pots to display some of our cactus collection. We also built a new mailbox garden, added the trellising to the vegetable garden, moved shrubs, added trees. Like a good face-lift, with a nip here and a tuck there, none of these projects has dramatically changed the character of the garden.
Not all of my plans have gone off without a hitch. I’d hoped to put back a strawberry patch in the front yard that has been consumed by lilies of the valley, an innocuous-looking bulb that is bent on world domination. Frequent May rains have kept that area too wet to dig. The replacement strawberries stored in the garage are undoubtedly dead by now.
There’s always next year.
Garden writer and lecturer Marcia Tatroe’s most recent book is “Cutting Edge Gardening in the Intermountain West,” ($29.95, Johnson Books). E-mail her at rltaurora@aol.com.
Tour a garden
Visit Tatroe’s Godwottery and four other Denver-area gardens Sept. 12. Details at or 888-842-2442.
