Patience, grasshopper. . .

When I worked in the field for a landscaping company, people with second homes here in Crested Butte would come from other parts of the country and want their garden to look like their one in Texas, Oklahoma, etc. . . and they'd want it to look like in NOW.  We'd do what we could to cram plants in to make the garden look full, fertilize the crap out of things to get them to bloom; basically force a garden to look 'mature'.  Without looking up some wise Asian quote about gardening and patience, I'll just tell you straight up, it takes time.  Part of the joy and satisfaction of these projects is finding out what does well, how different plants seem to do better than others certain summers, and moving things around to find the best spot for a plant, both for aesthetic reasons as well as finding the ideal exposure. 

June 29th, 2010

June 29th, 2012

I've been working my garden since 2009, basically from scratch.  There were a few salvageable plants on the outside of the fence, but I completely created the garden inside the fence (which used to be all grass).  My Siberian Iris in 2010 had a few blooms; this year it is packed with buds and blooms.  My golden Hops vine struggled the first couple of years and finally has some of the vitality my regular Hops vine has.  My Delphinium have thrived in their spot against the fence and should burst in the next week or so. 
I was incredibly lucky to have a mature Lilac when I bought this house.  It is such a treat to have these fragrant flowers and such a huge shrub.  It can take years for a new lilac to bloom up here.  There are plenty of mature Lilacs around town that bloom every year, but they are not nearly the size of Gunnison plants, only 30 miles away.  That shows you the difference of 1,000ft of elevation. . .

Nothing beats the smell of Lilacs

Planted in 1997 (I think)

Suki on the lookout for her friends coming down the street

One final note today to remind us all to love our dogs as much as they love us.  Suki lost a friend this week and although I'm pretty sure dogs in Crested Butte have the best life a dog could wish for, it never seems long enough.  We'll miss you, Chuck.