Van Bourgondien

September 2006 Winner

Thomas Knox of Chelsea, MI is our September 2006 Winner!

I live right on Main Street in a small town in Michigan. Our home is just a block from downtown, so there is a good amount of neighborhood foot traffic as people walk to and from the post office, the bookstore, the library, and the other local shops and restaurants. Our house dates to the 1860s, and it's the first one we've ever owned, so I'm fairly new to serious gardening. I'm still learning every month and every season, but I find that I really enjoy the challenges of the Michigan climate, and have come to revel in the anticipation that goes with trying out new bulbs and perennials.

When I talk to neighbors about my perennials, shrubs, and bulbs, they sometimes ask me "How can you remember the names and varieties of all these plants?" What they don't understand is that I decided I wanted to try any particular plant or bulb about a year ago, hunted through books and catalogs and ordered it about 6 months ago, planted it 3 months ago, and have been nursing it along and anticipating the big payoff in blooms or foliage ever since. By the time I've got something in the ground, I definitely know it's name!

I like plants that give two or more seasons of interest, and it's important in Michigan to have your garden doing something in early spring and late fall. The summer season is just too short otherwise. I've added a number of shrubs ranging from dappled willows, to fothergillas, to caryopteris, and nothing has disappointed me yet. Also new this year are four kinds of clematis and I very much hope they winter over successfully.

Bulbs have become a big part of my garden in the last few years, and each year I get a little more adventurous. This summer I tried my first glads and dahlias, and the results have been spectacular. The delicate Atom gladiolus gave me armfuls of blooms, and the even more petite Abyssinian glads are not only beautiful, but fragrant as well. Between the Tommy Keith, Thomas Edison, and Deuil du Roi Albert dahlias, we've had gorgeous cut flowers for almost two months. I had a good deal of fun with rain lilies, tuberoses, and colocasia, and next year will bring camassia, aconite, and scilla into the mix.

All the pictures I've included here are from this year's effort, and it's been a great one. The summer was mild and wet, and the usual August scorching just never happened. I'm only hoping that the winter proves to be just as plant-friendly and that I can get an early start next year. In the meantime, I'm watching my forsythia turn bronze out the kitchen window, and planning to force some blooms from it in January. And of course I've always got my catalogs to keep me busy over the winter.