It wouldn’t be fair if I didn’t include my garden failures on this blog. Hard as I try, from time to time things just don’t work out as planned. Take for instance the photo above. This was Buxus microphylla var. japonica ‘Morris Dwarf’, common name: Morris Dwarf Boxwood. Known for its compact form and sun tolerance, I thought it would be the perfect solution for this spot beside the port cochere.
I acquired the plants in the spring of 2011. By late spring the following year, they were showing signs of stress. And one by one, starting from left to right, they declined. One slow painful death followed by another, then another, and so on. As I witnessed their demise, I couldn’t help wonder if it was something I had done. Well planted? Check. Well watered? Check. I cross-examined myself to the point of aggravation. Was I overzealous in my amendment of the soil? Possibly. Perhaps too much organic material.
Well, what’s done is done. No sense in fretting about it. A new season awaits and with it new challenges and plants to try. I’m really enjoying the winter downtime, but there is a little part of me that is excited by the few minutes of daylight that are added to every passing day. Mishaps or triumphs- bring it on!
And speaking of bringing it on, head on over to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Man’s blog this Wednesday for an exclusive interview with one of gardening’s greats- Margaret Roach. Her new book The Backyard Parables has just been released and she will be stopping by Kevin’s on her blog tour to talk about this and that, and gardening of course.