There’s no place, like the right place.
By Tim King
Sylvan – Adj. of, pertaining to, or inhabiting the woods.
This is the season when a lot of us will look around the garden and evaluate the year. Sure, there may still be a few weeks left of color - late bloomers, hardy annuals, newly purchased mums – but the writing is on the wall. What’s grown has grown, what’s bloomed has bloomed. Soon the color palette will shift from the ground to the sky with the brief flash of brilliance called autumn.
The only question that remains now is “Did my garden do what I wanted it to do?”
For me this question is usually followed by “well, then what can I do differently?” I am, after all, a guy…problem solving is what I’m hardwired to do.
Most often, if a plant or shrub didn’t end up living up to my expectations, it’s not the plants fault. It’s mine. Maybe I didn’t fertilize it when I should have…or at all. If I did, maybe I should have measured more carefully? Or maybe I really did plant those bulbs upside down after all?
There are a lot of things that I could have done wrong this summer. But, like most things in life, I found that simply finding the right location can be the single most important factor of insuring gardening success.
Unfortunately, plants must rely on the good sense (or otherwise) of their owners to determine their fate. Plant a marigold in the shade – you’ll watch it fade. Put a hosta in the sun – by July it’s all done.
To reach their full potential, plants must find a place that matches their specific need for sunlight. Of course water, the right type of soil and showing them a little attention once in a while is also important, but without the right location, their fate is sealed – a life of mediocrity, or worse.
This is why I can be seen digging up perfectly good plants around my yard at this time of year. If I can get them into a new spot now, maybe they’ll have a better shot of coming up stronger next year. I’ll either move them to an entirely new location or split them up and set the stage for a botanical a-b test next year. There’s nothing quite like seeing actual proof that you made the right decision. For me, affirmation yields contentment.
Whether its flowers, shrubs, trees or people, until something finds the right place to grow, it can never truly reach its full potential.
Unfortunately, you can only find this out by trying the other places first. Its trial and error and it can be scary. How long do you think it took the first person to figure out the best time, location and conditions for growing corn, or potatoes? Talk about a test of faith. Guess wrong and you go hungry.
Today, it’s easier. Many of the plants we buy come with clear planting and growing instructions right on the tag. The biggest challenge is trying to decipher the difference between partial sun, partial shade and dappled sun…or how to keep something moist and in well-drained soil at the same time.
It can take years or it can happen instantly. But when you find the right place, it’s something special.
With just the right amount of sunlight, your plants will have a much better chance of actually looking like the pictures in the catalog that you bought them from. What’s best is that most of this growth will occur on its own, with very little effort from you. A perfect example of being in the right place at the right time. Flowers will blossom with vigor and roots will grow strong and deep.
After finding this good place, future generations of plants will have an easier time reaching their full potential too. A particularly hard winter or wet spring can still wreak havoc on your garden, but at least the scales will now be tipped in your favor.
The process reminds me of one of my favorite quotes about hard work and success. Thomas Jefferson said, “I'm a great believer in luck and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.”
Finding the right place can be hard work, but the rewards are great and the choice is ours alone.
Tim King is a freelance writer who sees the forest and the trees from his home in Scarborough. He can be reached at - sylvan.sauntering@gmail.com
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