Its True Confession time – I’ve been fooled. The deceiver’s name is Nightshade, and for a long time I thought he was a good guy. He hid his true self behind the beauty of a trellised rose bush and I was misled. Deceived into thinking I was lucky enough to have a clematis on the same trellis as my rose bush, a clematis that would now flourish since we removed the rose bush. Flourish he did, clematis he was not. Here is my four step recovery program.
Step1 – Say goodbye
Like so many relationships, I saw what I wanted to see. But I couldn’t look through those rose-colored classes when he showed his true color in the purple flowers that bloomed recently. This wasn’t a vine to admire, it was time to end our relationship. My shovel and I took care of that.
Step 2 – Instant gratification
It was time to get over it. I needed immediate happy. Hats are happy. This one was in my basement and the flowers came from a vase in my bathroom. I didn’t need that vase there anyway.
Step 3 – Rebound
Sometimes you just need a rebound relationship to get you back in the game. I needed an annual, something that would bloom this summer. This climbing Cardinal vine will be my summer fling. I have high expectations for our short-term relationship.
Step 4 – A long term relationship
I choose wisely when it came to my next step relationship. This is Princess Diana clematis. I’ve had my eye on her for years, ever since Richard Hawke, the Plant Evaluation Manager at Chicago Botanic Gardens said she was one of his favorite clematis. It was the Chicago Flower and Garden Show, and this slide has been in my “Favorite Things” presentation ever since. Now she is mine! I know it takes a while for a relationship to bloom with a perennial; the courtship can take a few years. She will be worth the wait!
Leave a Reply