Garden View
August 2007

The Hose Days of Summer
by Robert Blade

Elisabeth Sheldon writes of August in A Proper Garden as "the month one spends dragging the hose around yet never managing to make up for the lack of rainfall." Sheldon is an octogenarian gardener of English origin who currently lives and gardens in upper New York State. I only discovered her by chance as I was perusing the tables laden with books at the Kettle Falls Library's book sale during Town and Country Days. My hand instinctively reached out for the book upon my seeing the title. I'll pick up any book without thinking if the word "garden" appears anywhere on the cover. Once the title registered in my mind, I almost put the book down without even glancing at its pages. A proper garden indeed. It just sounded a bit stuffy. Not in the least.

Every chapter is filled with wit, humor, practical advice, and insightful horticultural observations. How can one resist reading a chapter titled, "Averting Chaos" or "The Struggle for Control"? In many cases she dedicates the entire chapter to a discussion of a single genus like salvias, dianthus, campanulas, and lavender, or group of plants such as bulbs or rock plants. Sheldon frequently refers to renowned garden experts when discussing a plant's characteristics or cultural needs, and then describes her own experience, which invariably contradicts the expert's, in humorous details.

I was so enthralled by the amount of information and so entertained by Elisabeth Sheldon's wit and style, that I borrowed another of her books, Time and the Gardener from the Rural Library District. It was another treasure trove of insights, observations, and laughter. I believe that I will add it to my own library as well.

As for the garden hose that I am dragging about during this summer; it is not a Flexogen. When I owned my nursery over fifteen years ago, I had only Flexogen hoses. They were durable, easy to move, didn't kink, and provided many years of nursery service. Not so anymore. Based on my experience, a Flexogen hose is now one in name only, and apparently manufactured differently than it was back in my nursery days. The Apex Neverkink hose comes with a lifetime replacement guarantee against defects in workmanship, materials, and kinking. It is not the least expensive, but it is definitely not overpriced. It slides easily around obstacles and doesn't crush plants with flopping loops that immediately kink once every stem and leaf is broken. It actually works to keep your garden alive rather than terminating it through hose brutality.

Those bright scarlet spots of color one sees in the open pine and fir forests are Scarlet Gilia (Ipomopsis aggregata). Its eye-catching flowers can also be seen on hillsides and along roads, wherever the soils are dry and well drained. Trumpet flower, as it is also known, grows easily from seed and flowers in its second year. Since it is described as a biennial, it is best to let it go to seed in the wild garden so that it will reappear every other year. The stems, flowers, and foliage have a somewhat pungent scent that give the plant another common name, skunk flower. The flowers, in spite of their lack of agreeable fragrance, are abundant with nectar. Hummingbirds love them.

Rob Blade lives in Rice, Washington. He designs and installs gardens. For more information, call 509-738-2964 and ask for a brochure.

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