Garden 337

A cottage garden in an urban setting


Dutchman’s pipe

Dutchman's pipe flowers

These vines have such odd little flowers.  I read someplace that the flowers emit an unpleasant odor, but I’ve never detected anything unpleasant about them, odor or otherwise.  But there are definitely more flowers on the vines this year than ever before.  What I didn’t expect was that these vines send out runners, and I now have to be vigilant about weeding them.

I planted the vines on the advice of a friend who is a master gardener.  I wanted a green wall that would hide the secret garden.  My initial plan was to put in arborvitae.  I actually love the vines, but I don’t like the ugly supports.  My mistake there was hiring a handyman who was in over his head.  It’s really too late now to take the supports down and put something more attractive up. So, I have to enjoy the green walls when they are green and dream of them when the leaves fall and winter blows in.



About Me

I haven’t always been a gardener, but I have always loved gardens. It has taken 16 years to get my gardens into the shape they are today. And, I’ve had help. I’m 74 years old, have rheumatoid arthritis, and had a late stage cancer six years ago. I am, though, intrepid. I’m the kind of person who plods along, tailoring my goals as I go. Last November I had a long overdue knee replacement surgery and I’m hoping this spring, summer, and fall will be able to maintain and find even more joy working in all of my garden beds. Full disclosure, though. I have a garden guy who comes once a week to work in my gardens.

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