My Column - Plant...Life

Looking Past the Bloom -
By Tim King

With summer now officially in full swing, the "Red Dot" clearance of perennials that have recently ‘lost their bloom’ is now on. Go to any garden center and you will likely find a sad shelf or rolling cart filled with browned, often drooping plants.

These containers, which were full of color and promise just a few weeks ago, are cast aside destined for immortality as part of a far away compost pile, or worse, simply forgotten. This is generally the time I like to add to my perennial gardens. Yes, maybe I’m cheap, but I also enjoy the feeling of rescuing these unwanted plants whose only fault was getting placed at the back of the line.

Their lives began just like the lucky ones who have already found homes earlier in the season. They are all born of solid ancestry, nurtured and raised into budding adolescents and then sent out into the world to do the best they can with what they have. Many arrive to nurseries and home centers still wet behind the ears, and again they are coddled and cared for with just enough food, water and sunlight to keep them green and alive.

And wait. Now, it’s a lottery. Who gets picked and who gets left behind?

When the warm spring sun calls forward the promise of summer blooms, many gardeners take stock of perennials peaking through the hard ground. What has survived the winter? What will need to be replaced? What do I want to move? How do they get those plants to look so BIG in the catalogs? These are just a few of the thoughts on my mind as well.

Inevitably, I’ll make a few trips to the local greenhouse - not to buy- more to breath in the warm air and kick start my senses from the deprivation of earthy smells and bright colors I have endured through the winter. (The annual Portland Flower Show having only whet my appetite while there was still snow on the ground!)

No, these early trips are primarily R&R (research and rejuvenation) journeys. I may buy a plant or two but my thoughts immediately flash forward to a summer day, much like today, when I’ll uncover a perfectly good day lily, daisy or geranium in need of rescue.

While many of their more fortunate cousins have already established their roots around the neighborhood, the ones I’ll pick have sat patiently waiting. As the days turn into weeks and they begin to strain against the confines of their now to small pots, many must wonder what they did wrong. Did I bloom to early? Too late? Was I not green enough? How did I end up next to the cinder blocks and why didn’t anyone put me back before now?

So the next time you visit a garden center, look past the evergreens shrubs, trees and groundcovers that are now in season and search out the table of shabby looking plants pushed into a back corner. Often, given a chance (and a little sunshine, water and good soil of course) these survivors often respond by performing well for many years to come. Not every plant you rescue will come back, but many do...you just have to wait a little longer to see whether your compassion has paid off. And, what’s so bad about that?