Tearing myself away

Why do I do it? Every summer, just as the first trumpet lilies are popping, as the martagons come into bloom, as the annuals are finally filling out, and as countless other growing things need my full attention, I leave for almost two weeks.

This is so wrong. But it happens every year because, for reasons wholly unrelated to the garden, we must take a vacation in the summer. And it must be now, just as the beautiful weather begins, and I would be able to sit outside every day after work, sipping, reading, and getting up to deadhead or restake every few minutes. (Having a garden full of oriental lilies means constant tying, staking and splinting. Pathetic really.)

Sure, the guy comes every day to water. Invariably he ignores a container or two and then acts all innocent when I come home to the casualties. And the weeds. And the unchecked insect incursions.

Most of all, I mind the gap in the timeline. Gardens change every day, sometimes dramatically and half the fun is watching the changes unfold. This is especially true in a short season like Buffalo’s. A lot can happen in ten days.

Who knows what will greet me upon my return.