Katy's Garden

I have seldom seen such a viciously strong willed, rambunctious, heedless plant as the ornamental gourd that is invading my front border in these days. It was never supposed to be there of course. It just decided, all by itself, to take residence.
I had sown 12 seeds in jiffy pots in april, hoping to ger something colourful and fast growing to populate some shabby corners of the garden with a temporary splash of subtropical luxuriance. Not one ever germinated, and after more than two months of fruitless waiting, both peat and soil were tipped under the roses at the back of the border. I always throw used compost in the borders to improve the structure of the ground. This seed must have decided that he liked it there and popped up one day in exactly the right place. I desperatly needed something to hide the bare woody legs of the hideous tea roses, and there he was. I had no heart to pull it. Gardenenrs can be weak, or merciful, or inspired, like this. If I had tried to plant something there, an annual of the right size from the GC, it would have shrivelled in the heat and died. It would have never worked. But the volunteer gourd has rapidly grown into a beautiful plant that really completes the picture. Of course it is also trying to smother everything else in his path. It is a hard task to referee the border this days, trying to keep the gourd out of things without curbing its tumbling splendour. I weave it here and there, where the recent planting has left bare patches, where other plants have already gone off, or where the roses are most leggy. I prune where it´s too much, and pull the leaves that try to cover shrubs and delfiniums and petunias.

Next year I will concentrate all yellows and orange and red-maroons on the west side of the house, if the works there are finished (which is not sure). The "Moulin Rouge" will be a lot more visible on the background of the pale walls, and the large shrubs will isolate this "hot" coloured border from the pink and purple of the front. This is also the sunniest place in the garden, and the hottest. I think sunflowers, marigolds, californian poppies, gourds and nasturtiums will provide a wonderful low maitanance, long blooming corner here, despite the rather poor ground.