The Garden Life

Camassia

2013-04-24T09:04:00.000-04:00

Throughout Ault Park’s double border gardens Camassia is about to bloom. Their large clumps of tall, grass-like leaves in shades of pale green to darker green are very welcoming in Cincinnati where our winters can be quite grey and gloomy.

Yesterday morning, after pulling myself away from the woodland shade garden, I was entranced with these flowers on the verge of blooming. A few are starting to bloom at the base of the plant’s central stalk and soon there will be a soft pale blue to violet swath of color, like a soft blue haze above the garden beds.

On Sunday, when I was talking with a few of my fellow gardeners about adding spring flowering bulbs to the adopt-a-plot area for a punch of color, these beauties caught our eyes. I asked Bennett, one of my go-to garden gurus, if he thought these would be a nice addition the ‘prairie garden' I am working on behind the adopt-a-plot gardens. His answer was one only a gardener could give and gardener could love, ‘Oh that would be hot!’ So true!

Camassia blooms for two to three weeks in mid- to late spring. It is attractive to a number of insects, re-seeds itself and is fairly long-lived.

It is native to North America and in the Northwest was a traditional food for Native Americans who roasted the roots or boiled them to create a sweet treat.

They prefer moist, open habits and will tolerate shade when it is a bit drier.

According to the Pacific Bulb Society, “What family they belong in has been subject to revision. They have been considered in the Liliaceae family, the Hyacinthaceae family and lately with DNA studies have been assigned to Agavaceae or Asparagaceae."

The Ohio Buckeye

2013-04-17T06:35:00.001-04:00

The Buckeye, as you very well may know, is the official tree of Ohio. Thank you to The Ohio State University for making this fact known to much of the country. I sure do not know the state tree if Idaho or Louisiana. Do you? Primarily an understory tree, this native Midwest tree can reach 60 tall when grown unobstructed. In the early spring, such as now, the woods are full of the buckeye’s leaf buds opening. Are you new to dendrology? This tree is an easy ID- just look at those young leaves and buds.

Of all the trees native to Ohio and available for the home landscape this is not one of my favorites. Now, as I scout for signs if spring in the woods I am taken with this tree. However, I think it is a bit of weedy, raggedy tree. Gasp! Am I allowed to say that about my own state tree?As part of the native landscape I love it. As part of a woodland planting such as in a park, it is wonderful. As a specimen tree all on its own, it is not on the top of my wish list.

The Buckeye is a member of the Horsechestnut Family. Its botanical name is Aesculus, the name of the mythological Greek god of medicine. The German botanist Willdenow named the Ohio variety Aesculus glabra. The tree’s common name, “Buckeye” comes from Native Americans who thought the seeds of the tree looked much like a buck’s eye (that’s a male deer to my city friends).

Lost in the autumn woods with nothing to eat? Never fear, the Buckeye is here… Native Americans and early settlers would roast, peel and mash the buckeye nut, into a nutritional meal.

They are Here!

2013-04-08T21:12:00.001-04:00

What a treat to arrive home to find that my 36 succulents arrived in perfect condition. On a very rare occasion I order clothes online. Most often if there is a package for me at the house it's books. Now that I think of it, this may be the first time I have ever ordered plants.

I was researching plant companies for work and came across The Succulent Source. They were extremely pleasant on the phone, they have great prices and the size of the plants is ideal. Thirty-six succulents in 2" pots is exactly what I need for the raised rock garden at the park. The tiny pots will make it far easier to get the plants to the park and it will be a breeze fitting the baby plants into the smaller planting areas with the garden.

The days are getting warmer and the nights, for at least this week, are very comfortable. Once the plants are acclimated- they are settling in nicely in the garden room- I will be ready to install them at the park.

Just one more garden, please.

2013-04-03T09:09:00.000-04:00

To say I covet this new garden space may be a bit strong, but I do wish it was my space to tend. The large area is part of the condo’s property. It sits at the far end, on the other side of the parking lot. Right now it is grass, invasives and a chain link fence. When I look at it I see naturalizing wildflowers and bulbs, native trees and shrubs, a vine covered arbor and a few benches to sit and while away an hour. I would like to add some privacy planting along the fence to block the view of said offence as well as give our neighbors a bit of screening.

There is a water spigot at the back corner of the lot, I am not sure if it works or not, though. A few desirable mature trees set a nice foundation of shade and the new garden space adjoins a very quiet, private road. All-in-all, the bones are good and it would be a lovely feature of the property once it is re-designed.

My dad, who also lives in the building, has invited me to join the landscaping committee. I hope that by being part of this fine group and residing in the building more than a month (I am a newbie here) I can earn the trust of the committee and residents and be given the green light to garden. I would pay for the plants myself, at least to get things moving so residents can see what the space has the potential to become. Then, if over time interest in a more formal garden setting takes root, perhaps the building can invest in the arbor and understory trees.

A Very Short Garden Jaunt

2013-04-01T20:42:00.001-04:00

I wanted to share photos of some of the new pots I planted in the Garden Room, (Garden Room, that will be the name of the enclosed balcony), but it has been two days and they are still not growing. I am being a bit silly. I blame this crazy winter-spring tango we have going on here. Warm and sunny one day, cold, dark and snowing the next. Really, this has to stop.... I - NEED- SPRING!!

So I went out to find spring and start once again the wildly popular, (well, I hope it is popular) regular installment- A Very Short Garden Jaunt in which I brave the mean streets of Hyde Park, armed only with a camera and $5, in case I need coffee or a cookie, and find fabulous gardens to share with you.

Today, the pickings were a bit slim. I did mention the winter-spring tango, yes? But I did find some nice blooms and it did feel good to venture out again after work, to take in a quiet stroll before dinner.

Cheers!

The Glass Garden

2013-03-25T20:06:00.001-04:00

We moved across the street and to the fifth floor! I am still a landless gardener but now I have a sunny home and a roomy balcony to garden. Do I say I am gardening in the sky? Maybe if we were on the 20th floor I could say that. For now we will simply say balcony gardening. The space is 7'.5" x 21' and is glassed-in. The building is heated quite well so by simply opening the two patio doors the area stays rather warm. I doubt it will drop bellow 30 but how cold it gets out there I still do not know. I have to get a thermometer to know for certain. And that may be the most important thing to do before we dig in and plant the glass room. Can I install tropical plants or will it get too cold for them? Do we plant perennials and annuals for a burst of color in the spring and summer and lush green foliage year-round?

Right now the room is a hot mess. I am still deciding what stays and what goes; we have a few too many tables and certainly not enough planters! We will update the heavy green wood blinds with lighter, bamboo blinds, paint the walls and install a deck floor. We are also getting some cushions for the metal bench and a dining table and chairs.

While we waited to close on this condo, this was the room I would daydream about. I love how it overlooks the green space and is quiet. We have trees, a great view of the sky and many, many birds about. It is a lot like being in a treehouse.

PS I am not showing you the end with the mess!!

Putting Down Roots

2013-03-23T10:07:00.000-04:00

We are pretty much settled into the condo and I love the view from the new office. Darryl and I have a room just for our desks (yeah!). I have all my garden books in here with me and next to my chair is a wall of glass overlooking the green space behind the building. As we are on the fifth floor I have a bird’s eye view of the trees; the Sycamore really stands out against the other trees and there is a sweeping view of the sky. From my desk I can watch the clouds roll in and out. In the morning the sun illuminates the woods and sky and in the evening we are treated to some pretty remarkable sunsets.

The light in our new place still surprises me. Huge walls of glass and an enclosed balcony invite the sun and views of the outdoors into each room. I am certain our houseplants are breathing a sigh of relief. As much as I loved my old condo across the street, it was dark and not the best home for plants. The courtyard garden was spectacular and we could enjoy the gardens and sounds of the fountain as we sat on the patio, but it was dark and at the end of the day I had to check my garden life at the door; plants simply did not thrive in the house or on the balcony.

I am still officially a landless gardener. But with all the light and the yet to be planted sun room my garden life has expanded greatly.

Sacred Soil

2013-02-20T06:27:00.001-05:00

"Sacred Soil," she spoke those words a few times this evening; our guest speaker for the Greater Cincinnati Master Gardeners Association. I will share more about her in the next post- she was fabulous! During her presentation about four season vegetable growing I kept repeating her words in my mind - Sacred Soil, Sacred Soil... For her, the sacred soil was in which and from which her vegetable seeds grew to become the food she harvested. The sacred soil nourished her body. I do not grow veggies, my gardens are ornamental in nature but the truth of the sacred soil still applies. The plants that grow from my sacred soil nourish my soul and put me in a good mood. Well, most of the time. ha!

No one gardens because we have to, we garden because we want to. Edibles or ornamentals we garden because we have a love for plants, working with nature, creating something beautiful or growing healthy food. Whatever drives our passion for gardening it all starts with the sacred soil.

Admittedly, as of late there has been very little gardening in my garden life. The annual succulents I am trying to over winter in the house are not too pleased with me right now and the weather is still keeping me at bay from my gardens at the park. However, I have been going to the park several times a week to enjoy the lovely grounds and take photos as part of a re-launch of A Year in the Park. And there has been a lot of daydreaming and planning for what I will do this year with my sacred soil at the park.

The Hellebore

2013-01-24T09:03:00.001-05:00

Hellebore close to blooming at Old Rose Garden- Ault Park

Late January and the gardens are holding their cards close, revealing to us the architecture of trees, the marvelous patterns of bark that we often miss in the summer and a few early blooming plants to remind us that soon enough the gardens will erupt with color. One of my favorite plants for the garden, no matter the season is the Hellebore. Dark green, glossy evergreen leaves which appear to be immune to all pests and diseases create a thick matt of foliage during the year. In the winter or early spring I remove spent leaves at the base of the plant to clean it up a bit and that is it for the care. The Hellebore carries on with little maintenance from me but with much admiration.

The Hellebore in my park shade garden was a rescue plant. The first summer I was working on the plot I found the plant tossed on the compost pile. Immediately upon seeing it, I snatched it from eminent doom and planted it the new plot. It was not the perkiest of plants that first terribly hot summer but the roots took hold and like any perennial worth its salt, it came to life the next spring and has been thriving ever since.

A Hellebore just outside my front door is blooming already- a treat I assume many who live here pass by each morning without notice. You have to stop and get down low to see its beautiful bloom. And at the park, a few hellebores can be found, especially around the Old Rose Garden; just enough to motivate me to brave the frigid temperatures and trek up to the park to check on their progress.

A Garden Off-Season? Never!

2013-01-23T06:38:00.001-05:00

My Garden Life as of late has focused around my new venture- A Year in the Park. I have been, when my energy and the weather permits, visiting the park in the morning before going to the office. I can safely say if it were not for having a few gardens at the park that I care for I certainly would not be drawn to the park in the garden off-season. But, as any experienced gardener knows, there really is not a garden off-season. The soil may be frozen, flowers long lost and seed heads pillaged, but the garden is still there with much to teach us and much to enjoy.

It is now mid January. There were days when the autumn garden was in full glory, followed by a spectacular snowfall which transformed the landscape into a place of awe and pure delight for sledding children and their parents. Now the gardens are lessons in successful and not so successful garden structure and design. It behooves a novice gardener to spend time in the winter garden learning how to create structure, flow and visual interest without the assist of flowers and most foliage.

A garden student, no matter how diligent in her winter garden studies, still longs for flowers. At least this garden girl does. I have been eagerly awaiting the first blooms of winter.

Last time I visited the park, the Witchhazel, (Hammamelis virginiana) was moments from blooming as were the Hellebores. I tried to investigate the hellebores more closely to see if some of the blooms were complete, but the leaves and stems were stiff from the frigid night and I didn’t want to risk damaging the plant.

A Lesson from the Winter Tree

2013-01-22T06:50:00.002-05:00

Winter brings us many gifts in the garden. One of my favorites is how we can see the beautiful architecture of the trees. In the summer the tree’s thick canopy of leaves offers much desired shade and refuge from the hot sun. In the fall, well of course I am in awe of the radiant colors of autumn rusts, reds, oranges and yellows. But it is in the winter when the tree stands exposed and reveals itself to me; a foundation of a strong, sturdy truck, which branches out into a magnitude of branches upon branches and into more until just a slender twig remains.

When I was at the park this morning, before work, looking to see what was new, I found comfort in the bare winter trees. As I walked about the grounds, looking for signs of spring, my mind and eyes kept drifting back to the bare trees. Why? They were not showing signs of spring (with the exception of the witch hazel) and I was at the park to look for signs of days to come. Then I had an ah-ha moment. Now is the time to look within, to see what is at my foundation, my core before I start looking too far into the future.

I have a lot of ideas and things I want to do and lately I find that I have done little of anything. I have been simply overwhelmed with ideas, words and thoughts and instead of digging in, I ceased moving. I have to focus and look at what is at the foundation of what I want to be and what I want to accomplish. I need to build a solid trunk.

Winter is the Time to Find New Garden Loves

2013-01-21T08:18:00.001-05:00

I am drawn more and more to grasses these days. I think it says a lot about a plant to attract a new admirer in the dull days of January. The Old Rose Garden at the park has many grasses and this one, one of the smaller varieties on display, still looks interesting even stripped of its seeds. The grasses soften the straight lines of the walking paths and add movement and texture to the landscape when much of the garden has been cut back to the ground.

A Shocking Discovery about Annual Succulents!

2012-12-06T06:49:00.000-05:00

Are you ready for this? Are you sitting down? It has been less than two months but I can safely say that annual succulents do not like dark, cool condos as much as bright, sunny, warm gardens in a park.

I know, I am as bewildered and dumbfounded as you are. I mean, it is a lovely condo with lots of comfy seats, garden books and views of a courtyard garden with fountain, yet the succulents are showing signs of dissatisfaction.

I knew my home was not the ideal place to over-winter succulents, but I simply could not leave them all at the park to languish and die with the first hard frost. I potted a few of the smaller plants and placed then in the kitchen window which gets the most sun and in the family room window. Neither is an ideal site.

The plants are already twisting and stretching in hopes of reaching the light. I am debating if I should keep them pinched back or just let them go and see what happens. I wish I would have pulled two of the same plant from the rock garden at the park so that I could have pinched one and not the other to see, come spring, which fared better. Perhaps that will be an experiment for next year.

A Year in the Park

2012-12-01T11:27:00.002-05:00

A few years ago I started gardening at Ault Park and since then the park has been the center of my garden life. I have adopted several gardens, passed a few over to new gardeners, joined the board of the Ault Park Advisory Counsel and marketing committee and met a new friend, Mary Jo from the Cincinnati Master Gardeners Association. Mary Jo and the CMGs are now new gardeners at the park and I am a new member of their organization.

I have spent countless hours photographing the gardens and grounds of the park. I visit the gardens before work several days a week in the spring and summer and have spent many a late evening tending to the gardens and enjoying the park as it slowly winds down for the evening.

A while back I had an idea to write about the park for one year. In a way I have done just that; for several years. I even had a blog for that idea- A Year in the Park.

But something happened, I cannot quite recall what at this point, that made me simplify and condense several blogs into one. Oh yeah, that's it, I was trying to keep four blogs.. and work, run, keep a house, a full time job.. I had a moment of ACK!! I GIVE, UNCLE and paired everything down.

Things have changed since then. I am perhaps more busy than before but I have a new focus and goal in mind when it comes to my garden life. But do I want to start A Year in the Park again? Can I handle the responsibility of another blog?

I spent some time just thinking, sitting in the park and wondering if I could give a full year to the park; visiting more often, learning more of its history, writing more and visiting the archives more. Could I do it? I decided yes I could and I shall. It is part of a future gift to myself.

Wordless Wednesday

2012-11-28T07:00:00.000-05:00

Visits to the park never disappoint; even when the gardens begin to close up for the season. A well designed garden space has interest year round.

Orchids of the Krohn Conservatory

2012-11-27T20:35:00.001-05:00

I have shared photos from Krohn many times on this blog. The conservatory is so close I can jog there and back so it is not surprising that I find myself there, camera in hand, quite often. This week I visited as part of a different project I am undertaking; exploring Ohio with the Blue Blazes as my guide. Krohn is very close to the southern most terminus of the Buckeye Trail- marked by blue blazes.

The Beauty of the Fall Garden

2012-11-26T20:57:00.001-05:00

Sometimes it is hard to get excited about a garden that is no longer in bloom, especially if one is a new gardener or garden visitor. Fortunately, as we develop our garden skills we learn that there is an abundance of plants that lend beauty to the garden every season.

The adopt-a-plot gardens, in Ault Park where I garden, are pretty much closed for the season. I know for my garden plots I must add more winter interest. It is simply unacceptable to have so much garden space at this most popular park lacking fall and winter interest. Garden space is too valuable to allow large areas to become garden voids for five months of the year.

The Old Rose Garden, designed and maintained by the park, is still stunning. While many of the plants have been cut back as needed, the plants that remain provide structure, movement and lovely colors.

The fall garden, at least here in the Midwest, asks more from us. We will not be entertained with large blooms, expanses of vibrant colors weaving around a garden or the flutter of butterflies dancing about the plants we so carefully selected just for them.

The fall garden asks us to redefine what makes a garden beautiful. Instead of deep reds, we are presented with copper and bronze. Seed pods, some already absent the seeds they nurtured within, are our new flowers and grasses, trees with interesting bark take center stage.

The High Line, New York City

2012-11-24T09:54:00.000-05:00

The plan was to spend an entire day exploring the High Line and the neighborhoods through which it passed. I pictured a day taking far too many photos, stopping at far too many delis, pubs and corner bakeries and enjoying New York City with the High Line as my guide.

Unfortunately, the weather promised to be quite foul the day I had saved for the High Line. So in the morning I took the train to Wave Hill and the afternoon and early evening, I spent with the High Line.

If one were ever to doubt the power of a garden or green space, you only need to spend the afternoon with the High Line to understand the need for such places. The energy in New York is palpable. The energy is fast, exciting, throngs of people, and a constant hum of go-go-go permeates the streets. But there are places where the energy shifts to rejuvenating, energizing and relaxing all at once. The High Line is such a place.

All gardens, the High Line included, are great equalizers. When you are in a garden space you are no longer a executive, model, writer, student, retired teacher or homeless man. You are simply a person, a human being, enjoying time with nature and the company of others. We all have the same paths to walk, benches to rest our weary bodies on, views of the city and sky above and sun on our shoulders. In a garden we are one.

Vibrant blue sky is a striking backdrop for the the High Line. A raised rail track given a second life with grasses, perennials and small tress softens the hard edges of the city.

Tis' the season, already??

2012-11-15T20:48:00.001-05:00

Two weeks ago my Christmas Cactus decided to cut loose and start blooming. I think it heard me griping about the ads on television for Christmas, or the new PC term, 'Holiday' sales, before we have even had a chance to enjoy the Thanksgiving turkey. I would like to think the little plant was saying, Hey, it's not that bad, look I am blooming, Christmas will be here in a flash!

The truth is, the cactus is as lost in time as I have been lately. I was shocked to see Thanksgiving is next week- YIKES! Where does the time go? Luckily I have two more Christmas Cactus plants in the house so there is a chance we will have blooms or Christmas.

Ferns Save the Day in the Shade

2012-11-13T06:39:00.000-05:00

Every garden as a few plants that pull the garden together when the days grow shorter and the nights grow cold. Sometimes it is a dwarf conifer, or perhaps a handsome stand of grasses that add movement and grace in the fall and winter garden. For my shade garden, this time of year it is the ferns and stately Oakleaf hydrangea that are saving the day.

Ferns are one of my favorite plants and each year I add a few more to my tiny garden. I will admit that in the late spring and summer the beautiful broad leaves of the hostas and the majestic leaves of Rodgersia capture my attention and the seemingly endless colors offered by new heuchera introductions make my eyes widen with delight, and let's not forget the beauty of the toad lily.

But it is on days like this when the hostas are all but gone, the beautiful blooms of the toad lily just dried flowers with a tint of purple and the Rodgersia has already crumbled and fallen to the garden floor that I am quite happy to see the ferns, dark green, standing tall against the backdrop of the oakleaf.

A Few Bright Spots Remain

2012-11-11T18:36:00.001-05:00

The rock garden is definitely closing up for the season. The yellow blooms of the lantana are now brown and the soil and rock are taking center stage; pushing the plants to the side. There were a few areas of color and little groupings to make me smile and remember how lovely the garden was not so long ago.

I was absent from the gardens for a while. I knew they were closing down and part of me simply didn't want to face that it was the end of the season. As I suspected, the remaining annuals were dry and brown, the hostas had yellowed and were starting to drop and the huge lantanas that dominated the sun garden and bloomed all summer without fail were now just faded blooms and dried leaves.

The first order of business for the sun garden is winter interest. With the plants pulled and perennials cut back it is simply a sad garden patch with a few accent stones. Spring calls for some grasses to add fall and winter interest and perhaps two or three dwarf shrubs. I want the birds to have a place to sit in safety and coverage for the lizards that scamper about the park. The butterfly bushes are on the 'cut' list. I simply am not in love with them; they are straggly, and dull. Next year I will investigate the newer, more compact varieties to add color, structure and nectar for the butterflies.

Early Morning Haze

2012-10-21T07:07:00.002-04:00

Plans for a quick trip to the park late last week started like a childhood poem; It was a terrible, horrible no good very bad day .... well that may be a slight over dramatic dramatization but the other morning, it felt spot on. My computer was acting wonky, the 't' key kept falling off, I couldn't find my keys, the coffee I ordered on the way to the park was missing its cream. Yes, I know these are all oh so trivial, but it was rather annoying.

I really wanted to walk around the gardens, but the park was veiled in a thick fog. Arghhh... I was ready to write it off as a wasted trip when I saw this... wow, now that is a beautiful sight. All day I thought of that bench, how quiet and peaceful it was and how I would love to sit here with coffee (with creamer) in hand watching the sun burn the fog.

Decisions, Decisions.

2012-10-15T08:01:00.001-04:00

My garden friends in Cincinnati know that the weather here can be quite unpredictable. We can have frost warnings, cold temps, clear nights and two days later heavy rains and warm temperatures. It is not uncommon to have fall leaves crunching underfoot during a morning run but have the air and the breeze feel just like spring. Do I buy pumpkins for the balcony or shop for spring perennials??

I have been debating when to start closing up the gardens at the park. I hate to cut it all back- it looks so sad when I do. But I cannot leave it to die on its own like I did with my home garden for I want the gardens at the park to look nice at all times. So I cut and trim and pull those annuals that have served me well and are ready for the compost pile. When it came to the annual succulents in the rock garden I decided to try a little experiment. I will pot up a few and see if they can make it through the winter in my condo that leans more towards shady and cool than bright and sunny.

With clay pots in hand, I stared at the garden and its plants. I paced, hemmed and hawed; which succulents would I try to winter over? This is silly I thought to myself, they are plants, I can always buy more. But you know they are more than plants when you are a gardener. How can you sentence them to die a cold death after months of caring for them? You simply can't! I potted up five and have a few more pots prepped at home for my next trip to the garden. Long live the succulents- at least through the winter until they can return to their home in the park.

My City, My Garden

2012-10-14T20:02:00.000-04:00

If you have been reading my blog or following my posts on Facebook you know that I garden at a park. Ault Park has been my garden, my sanctuary and my creative outlet for several years now. Once I gardened a large yard. I worked on it tirelessly; at first out of love and all consuming interest in gardening and later as an escape. But as we all know you cannot escape, you cannot hide, from your troubles. No matter how much you shop, run, date too much or in my case spend countless hours in the garden, your troubles are sill there, patiently waiting your return.

I will share more of my story over the next several months. For now I will simply say a divorce and all that swirls around such an event led to me becoming a landless gardener- a lady who gardens at the park. This is not a bad thing mind you. In fact, the divorce was full of blessings; including finding myself after many long years. This is a happy story, with a few dark periods, but any journey that leads you to your true self and to where you are meant to be is a very happy story. I have love; much love and am happily engaged to the man I want to spend my life with. And I garden!

I garden in the park- something I never could have imagined as I dug ponds, built new gardens and collected plants like crazed lady five years ago. Instead of feeling sorry for myself and forgoing what I loved I simply looked around the corner, I peeked behind the curtain, and saw that a garden life is much more than the space between your house and the neighbor's. A garden life can be as grand as you want it to be and for me this means gardening any place that will let me. Ault Park is my base garden. There I can design and plant a few gardens just how I wish. It is as close to a home garden as I can find. The rest of my gardens, those I work now and those that I am still to uncover, I am simply the volunteer labor. These gardens, which I will introduce you to, are designed, maintained and cared for by others and I am simply lucky enough to have them say yes to my request to volunteer my time.

I hope you stop by this blog from time to time as I explore all the garden opportunities Cincinnati has to offer. Join me as I uncover, My City, My Garden.

In the Company of Friends

2012-10-13T11:00:00.000-04:00

It was evident as we stood outside the Bettman House in the fading light of day that those who came for the meeting cared little for formality and objectives at hand. Instead, an easiness settled in as we greeted each other and organic conversation that comes from those who are bound by shared interests and events that interweave their lives together filled the night air.

The adopt-a-plot gardeners were gathered for one of our semi-regular meetings. We were a bit early and not yet able to enter the building. As we migrated to the covered porch, pizza boxes were opened and the scent of baked cheese and spices drew us in. Snacks soon covered the table alongside bottles of wine. The gathering was underway.

Shortly we were inside patting name tags to our shirts, refreshing glasses of wine and conversing about all things gardens. Most likely we could have carried on for hours like this; simply visiting, but a nudge from Betty, one of the adopt-a-plots original gardeners, told me it was time to get to business. I updated the group on the new garden signs and posts and the new gardeners that were to join us next summer. They listened politely, interested in my updates, but ready to return to visiting with friends.

These are my friends. We may not see each other outside the gardens and these events, but when we do get together it is as if no time had elapsed. I am immediately at ease and at home, surrounded by kindred spirits who have a passion for gardening and enjoying the company of other gardeners. We are no longer lawyers, accountants, ad reps or merchandisers, we are simply friends who garden, at a park, for all to enjoy.