Recently, Libby decided that I had planted a few lantanas in the wrong place. I thought they'd be great at the base of the desert willow by the back walk, just in front of the screen. I liked the way they smelled in flower and it was nice to see their calico blooms when I came home every day, summer to fall. Libby, on the other hand, thought that they got in the way of her laying down spot.
So she munched and munched on the one until she finally just pulled it out by the roots. Then, she pruned the next one down the line until it was a little stump. That's when I decided she meant business and some changes would have to be made. So, before she completely destroyed that one (and the third), I took her advice and pulled them out myself.
In their place, I transplanted 5 Mexican feather grasses from the front.
Frankly, Libby was right. The grasses are going to look way better there, and the lantanas, which were always a bit scraggly anyway, have been transplanted to a nice new sunny spot.
But I gotta keep an eye on that old dog anyway. Sometimes, her gardening style just doesn't suit mine...
5 comments:
The dog has a good eye. I like the feathergrasses there.
Watch out for her chewing on lantana when it's in berry though. They're toxic.
If you can't beat 'em, join em. Dogs sure do have a way of dictating our plans in the garden, don't they? And you are wise to accept this inevitability. I have a corner bed to plant, but the dogs love to look out the fence for deer, so I will need to incorporate a path into the corner with room enough for both of them to stand there and pant. Having met Libby, I think I'd do just about anything for her, too. My money's on her in any future gardening disputes!
hummm....now i am thinking she really did get her sight back in that one eye. can we make an appointment w/ her to do a consult in our backyard?
The feather grasses have a good tonality reference to the fence backdrop behind them. These grasses remain copper in the fall and winter as long as they are green in the spring and early summer. Good choice Rex!
ESP.
I learned to trust this concept years ago when I lived in Wimberley. It was sort of Taoist gardening with my dog as head monk - going with the flow of nature, learning to let go of resistance - and oddly, I was often happier with the result than I'd been with my original plan. She was a lot like Libby, and we're lucky to have had them in our lives.
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