Behind our house and beyond the garden is a messy field that needs attention.
It’s about three-quarters of an acre that used to be in hay production until the farmer who tends the rest of our field decided that I should mow it instead of him farming it. (Thanks for that.)
My husband would love to see a huge swath of neatly mown green grass. I haven’t yet convinced him that traditional lawns should be a relic of the past. The chemicals that must be dumped on them to keep them as pristine as he likes are bad for the environment, as are the emissions of my riding lawn mower.
The other option is just to let is grow scraggly grass. As ugly as that is, it’s very good for the environment and as a habitat for the wildlife.
A more manicured idea is to make it a wildflower meadow. But those don’t just pop up from seed and look picturesque without some serious seeding and tilling.
If I’m going to go to all that trouble, why not make it my own field of dreams? A lavender field of dreams!
Have you ever been around lavender in bloom? The scent is intoxicating! Heavenly! I grew lavender for a couple of years as the border in my herb beds before I had to tear them out to install the raised beds. As the lavender bloomed, the bumblebees would be everywhere, working slowly and peacefully around the lavender blooms.
Before they faded altogether, I cut bunches of lavender to place around the house and lined my drawers with the blossoms. I even made a pound cake with lavender scented water and lined the baking pans with the lavender blooms.
Then, there’s lavender sugar, lavender lemonade, lavender ice cream…
Lavender farms seem to abound judging from a Google search. Most of the farms at the top of the Google listings seem to be small artisan enterprises that also produce their own products. Well, forget that. There’s no time.
I wonder if there’s a market for pick-your-own lavender farms? Nope. I don’t want all those people down here invading my privacy.
Let’s see…Maybe I can grow it for some large-scale producer? Probably not. They would want me to meet some quality control standards or obey other rules. I’m not good at rules.
Perhaps…nah. Not that either.
Maybe I’ll just make some lavender borders for now…And get a lavender colored chair so I can sit and watch the bumblebees at work. And those lavender fields will just have to remain my field of dreams. At least for now.
About those Survey Results…
Have you cast your vote for how you would spend the $10,000 Donald Trump is going to give you? It’s interesting that so many people are choosing hardscaping. And although I made my case for nice garden seating, as of this writing no one has chosen furniture!
Robin
Kris at Blithewold recently passed along the E is for Excellent award to Bumblebee…
She said that she particularly appreciated the discussions of public gardens and parks and the encouragement given to go, enjoy, learn.
Thanks, Kris, for the recognition! As you know, blogging is a labor of love, but it’s also sweet to get compliments–and comments from readers too.
Apparently I get to pass along the award now, so I want to recognize the quartet of writers at Gardening Gone Wild. Nan, Fran, Saxon and Steve have been doing an excellent job of writing substantive and thought-provoking posts. I particularly like their design series that encourages reader participation. It’s been some of the most interesting garden blog reading I’ve run across.
Thanks again, Kris. I hope to make it to Blithewold soon! So many gardens…so little time!
BTW, if I could figure out the HTML to get copy to wrap around an image, that big E wouldn’t be so darned big. All the HTML code I’ve tried doesn’t work. Grrrrr. I don’t win any awards on my clever use of HTML code.
Robin
Every place I visit seems to have its own unique “green” character.
In London, I was charmed by the profusion of creative window boxes around the town. In France, I was amazed at the enthusiasm of small towns to “green” their city streets compete for prizes. Here in the U.S., I adore walking around Charleston and glimpsing into tiny jewels of walled gardens. In Key West I was enchanted by the exotic, luscious, tropical plants growing with wild abandon in the yards of even the most humble cottages.
One of the most charming cities with a unique garden appeal I have visited is Amsterdam. The city of 12,000 bridges and 160 canals is also home to about 2,400 houseboats that line the canals and waterways around the Netherlands’s capital. Houseboat living became popular in the 1950s during a shortage of affordable housing. As boat owners upgraded their old and dated barges for larger and more modern vessels, ingenious and thrifty folks bought the barges and converted them into floating homes.
Despite the fact that they traded in earth for water, many of the houseboat dwellers still have gardens. Visitors to the city can tour the canals in well-narrated tours. But the narrative is just noise when you start snapping photos of all the picturesque waterways and the homes.
Not a few of the houseboat dwellers had converted portions of their decks into tiny but traditional gardens by carting in loads of dirt to create a replacement allotment. Most, however, were container gardens. Beautification of their aging vessels seemed to be important to many, as containers of geraniums, daisies and, of course, tulips were abundant.
Many of the houseboat dwellers had productive pots of tomatoes and herbs. Some of the canal dwellers just seemed to be giving their houseplants a good airing.
Amsterdam is a wonderful and inviting walking city. The streetscapes are safe, clean and lined with interesting plants. But the canals are what draw the eye and the imagination.
For me, it was a lesson in “make blooms where you are planted.” Regardless of how humble your abode or challenging your growing circumstances, create a bit of beauty to brighten your day and the day of those who see your home.
I certainly wish more of our American suburbs and small towns would take the lessons of our European cousins. A bit of greenery and flowers is not just beautifying. It sends the message that someone cares about the place where they go at night and raise their families.
Robin
