The State of the Garden (After Being Away for 10 Days)

I'm a day late on my post, largely because I was completely demolished by the trip home from England. I'll be rather brief this week.

All serious gardeners are anxious about leaving their gardens for more than a few days. After all, who loves your garden more than you? Who knows how to give it the love you do? You can give all the instructions you want, but if the garden caretaker you have selected doesn't really pay attention or just doesn't take your instructions seriously, well, you can come home to disaster. For example, last year I returned from England to find that my entire vegetable garden was dead. Gone were my hopes for eggplant. Gone my peppers. Gone my potatoes.

So, this year, I decided to leave Turfman in charge. This is largely because he has to worry about making me happy. I am quite pleased to report that he comported himself with great aptitude. He did forget to water one plant that I have in a birdcage in the secret garden, and I discovered today that it had completely frizzled. But otherwise, everything looks happy and healthy. In fact, some things are absolutely flourishing.

There are over 50 pomegranates growing on the little bush now

The New Dawn rose has its first flower and 4 other blooms

The Christmas Limas have taken over
one half of the bean arch

But what is up with these mutant Cosmos?

So I raise my radius-handled border fork to Turfman, for making sure that the garden didn't miss its owner too much. And thanks to yet another grand tour of English gardens, I've been inspired to make some changes to mine. Stay tuned...