“My love of gardening was nurtured by my favorite Aunt Jackie, my father’s sister. Neither of my parents cared for gardening considering they had to hoe cotton prior to walking 6 miles to school. Trust me, I grew up hearing that story when I complained about anything! It was the summers and holidays that I spent with Aunt Jackie that I got to experience that glorious feeling of having dirt in my hands, planting and watching my endeavors come to fruition. The satisfaction that only a gardener can feel about this wondrous gift.
It wasn't until the 1990s that I ever got to stay in one place long enough to see a garden mature. Being married to someone who is in the oil business, we were never anywhere longer than 3 years and working during those periods I was a weekend gardener. I have had the honor of planting gardens from Texas to California and Louisiana and finally back in my beloved Texas that I was born and reared in. We bought a home on Lake Conroe, just north of Houston, Texas. I am probably biased but I think this is the best place to live and garden for we have 9 months of growing season and a very mild winter. I am now considered a Domestic Goddess for if the Lord is willing my days out in the work force are ended and I get to have the luxury of "living" in my gardens all the time.
We have been here for 4 years and I immediately started making the existing flowerbeds bigger. Last year we bought landscaping stones at Lowe’s and for the first time got to try our hands at building retaining walls. We pulled down the fence and replaced it wrought iron so as not to block the view to the lake and you know me, I just had to have a rose arbor and planted two "Teasing Georgia" roses and one of Thomas Jefferson’s favorite vines from Monticello "Snail Vine".
We put in a Pond after digging in the worst orange mucky clay I have ever seen, and last year added a fountain in the middle. Its so much fun to watch the ducks come and swim there, they have become my garden buddies and can be seen circling my house and if I am in the garden make a landing almost at my feet. They follow me around quacking relentlessly for me to feed them.
Since joining Gardenbuddies last year I have found a new passion/obsession and that is Clematis. After reading everyone’s posts and taking advice I took the plunge and I do mean a very deep plunge.. Last fall we built raised flowerbeds and I had visions of roses and clematis dancing in my head. I made a conscious decision that it shall be my "Piece de Resistance" and ordered umbrella trellis and bought many clematis from one of our own GBs HoneyB (Debbie) who lives in Washington. From her, Suzymac, Katie, Miquel, Wanda, Twrosz and our own resident clematis aficionado from England Brian Collingwood, I have received words of wisdom and guidance and I now own 14 clematis and have planted 10 new roses.
This year I indulged my husband’s desire to have fruit trees. This Spring we planted the new and improved Meyers lemon tree, two apple trees, White Princess peach tree, San Marcos plum tree, and a loquat tree to add to the pecan tree we planted when we first moved here.
My future plans for my garden are to build a pergola near the area where I put all my clematis and roses, to have an area to put tables and chairs and build our barbeque pit for entertaining and so I can further indulge my passion to add evergreen clematis and of course to continue adding clematis to my existing list to cover everything and anything that gets in their way!!!!”
