An article asked, “What kind of a gardener are you?” and set me thinking.
My gardening started as a hobby, rest from my work as a seamstress. I began buying gardening magazines while riding the New York subway.
Reading the magazine gave me an outlet for the hectic pace of New York City. After reading a few issues, I began to yearn for a garden.
I tried planting flowers for some friends and relatives, but it was a wasted effort. Either they neglected the garden or moved away, leaving the wonderful plants I had put in.
Lovely Garden
Finally, in the fall years ago, I found a place of my own, 2 acres of wild tangled scrub oak and pine. I cleared off a spot and planted twenty-five tulips.
All winter in the city, I made plans for the lovely garden I would have. But in the spring came the rude awakening—no tulips. Instead, moles or mice had a nice time eating them.
But never say die! Even before the house was planned, I had enough land cleared off to plant about 200 gladioli.
They did surprisingly well due to a wet spring and good bulbs. However, the soil I had was sandy, acidic, and not very fertile, and when the bulbs were dug, they showed very little increase.
I cleared a little more each year, grubbing out the roots, and made plantings among the trees, adding old cow manure and working in leafmold.
Naturalistic Garden
I wanted a naturalistic garden. But the flowers did not do well after a few years, as the trees grew larger and cast more shade.
A friend of mine who had a lovely annual garden in an open sunny spot told me I must decide whether I wanted flowers or trees. Of course, I told her I wanted both and immediately set out to prove I could.
But it was not that simple. We had a forest fire which came very close. It scorched my fruit trees, some evergreens, and French lilacs. But still, I would not give up.
By this time, I had help with the roots. I had met a man with enough ambition to grub out the undergrowth and cut down some undesirable trees. We had been married only a week before the fire.
My house had been only a 12 x 20-foot shell, not even shingled, and used only as a home in summer and on good weekends.
Vegetable Garden
But now it began to look better, and I planted a lawn and a vegetable garden. We added to the house, and it became more livable.
During the war years, when gas was being rationed, we could not use the car, so I came down on the train to do my gardening.
In 1945 we moved from the city and came here to make it our permanent home. The first thing we did was to put up a fence to keep out rabbits and dogs:
Our vegetable garden flourished, and we bought a freezer. Finally, we grew enough to keep us in food over the winter.
Plan For A Border
I gave up dressmaking, but even before that, I would spend most of the daylight hours out in the garden, sewing till late in the evening.
When I read articles on garden planning, I began making a plan for a border.
A small inside curve is where my trees and shrubs create a shady nook. I have rustic seats and a table there, which also affords shade for some wildflowers—bloodroot, shortia, and ferns.
Solomons-seal, trilliums, and many others. My plants are more or less shade tolerant, and I plant my tulips in ½”-inch-wire mesh baskets to protect them from moles and mice.
I can also lift them out and plunge them in again in an out-of-the-way place to ripen their foliage. I put a clump of day-lilies or other soon-to-flower plants there instead.
I have made many changes to the border—for the better. I hope to add azaleas and more tulips for a greater display.
44659 by Na