Maryland Grows

I celebrate the surprises my garden serves up.  Serendipity is one of the most joyful aspects of gardening.  You just never know what secrets your garden will reveal.

Last fall, I dug and divided a large clump of great blue lobelia because it needed more shade. When I lifted the clump, it collapsed into 13 pieces with barely there, weeny roots. I dutifully planted each, watered, and prayed. 

Nothing came up this spring.  Ah well, I tried.  But I noticed some distinct sprouts last week.  Lobelia!  Four had survived the move, so I did a little happy dance. Never had I had a transplant take that long to emerge.  Never.  It just goes to show you that nature has her own plans – and timeline.  Gardeners need pocketfuls of patience.

I love clustered bellflowers.  Deep purple globes of tiny blooms wave atop 2 foot stems, guaranteeing oohs and aahs.  I finally got my hands on one, planted it and waited with anticipation.  It just sat there.  Refused to bloom.  For two years I waited, watching leaves unfurl but no blessed blossoms.  The third year it bloomed.  I nearly threw it a party. 

But not all surprises are good.  I now know that rhizomatous plants like bellflowers can be beasts, spreading aggressively by sneaky underground stems.  Some are invasive and should be evicted.   So proceed with caution and do your research.  The word “vigorous” on any plant tag should give you pause. 

Sometimes it isn’t the garden that surprises us, but its unexpected guests. One year I was filling a small water bowl in a container garden when I had a sense of being watched. A frog was nestled in the shallow bowl looking smug.  I smiled, said “howdy,” and watered around him. Now that container was four feet up on an elevated deck so getting there took some effort.  Did he use the steps?  Climb the coral honeysuckle?  He never said.  But I do know that frogs drink through their skin so he needed that water. So every day for two weeks I added water to his bowl as he shuffled a bit to the side for his daily refill.  Every day I grinned, grateful for the whimsical start to my day.

Ever have an alligator on your computer?  Last week I noticed a flash of orange on my keyboard.  A quarter-inch-long spiky ladybug larva was looking for lunch.  These orange and black beneficial insects eat thousands of aphids, scales, thrips and mites.  I gently relocated him from my fingertip to the garden and wished him happy hunting.

Sometimes our brush with nature is a literal brush. I was reading on my patio yesterday and spied a squirrel peeking out at me from a drape of spiderwort.  A friendly fellow, he walked right under my chair, brushing my leg with his fluffy tail on his way to some hickory nuts. 

Whether you call these God-winks or close encounters of the natural kind, they are gifts, the most delightful of surprises.  They keep us watching, noticing, learning and reveling in the wondrous world around us.

By Annette Cormany, Principal Agent Associate and Master Gardener Coordinator, Washington County, University of Maryland Extension.  Read more by Annette.