• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary navigation
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Carol J. Michel

Award winner author of gardening humor books

  • About
    • Contact
  • Blog
  • Books
    • Shop
    • Gardening Humor
    • Children’s Books
    • New – The Halloween Hare
  • Speaking
    • Upcoming Speaking Engagements
  • Social
    • YouTube
    • Instagram
  • Gardening Humor
  • Children’s
  • All Books

May Dreams Gardens

Another Perennial Border is Named

April 19, 2011 By Carol Michel 15 Comments

Tulipa humilis ‘Magenta Queen’

I like to name my gardens.

I don’t like to force the names. I wait for the names to come to me.

The overall name of my gardens is May Dreams Gardens.

Repeat after me… “All year I dream of the days of May, when the sun is warm, the sky is blue, the grass is green and the garden is all new again.”

When I reviewed the garden designer’s plans, and realized the “east perennial border” would be planted to have peak bloom in August and early fall, it seemed natural to give that border the official name of “August Dreams Garden”.

Across the way from August Dreams Garden is the original perennial border, known on the plan as the “west perennial border”. This is where I’ve been planting perennials for years, plopping them in where there was room, where it appeared they wouldn’t grow taller than the plant behind them or wouldn’t crowd out, too much, those plants around them.

The garden designer has always been a little vague about any plans for this garden border.

I suppose it is a little daunting to think about moving some of those plants, though she has had me, or rather the digging guy, move some plants to other places, so she’s willing to do that for the sake of the design. 

There isn’t even an accurate accounting of what grows in there, anyway.  Plus, when I wrote that first email to the garden designer to introduce myself and my gardens, I indicated I needed a design that would allow me to occasionally add plants without messing up the overall design.  The west perennial border is as good a place as any to do that.

(I did not define “occasionally”, by the way.)

Tonight, while out admiring how nicely planted and mulched August Dreams Gardens is right now, I looked across at the other perennial border and noted that it seems more like a bit of mish-mash. It could use a good cover of mulch, a little weeding and raking out, and a few more plants.

On the one edge of this perennial border is a lovely clump of Tulipa humilis ‘Magenta Queen’.  It grows amidst a mess of plants plopped into this garden earlier in the spring when I had to move them out of the holding beds in the vegetable garden so that area could be cleaned up.

I  plopped those tulip bulbs in that spot last fall because it was bare ground and I could dig there.

As I stood there admiring those tulips and gazed across at the rest of that garden border, its suddenly it occurred to me what this garden border should be named, this garden border with plants plopped here and there, where it looks like they won’t be taller than the plants behind them or crowd out those around them, too much.

This border will henceforth be named…

Plopper’s Field.

Filed Under: Blog Tagged With: garden design, humor

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. p3chandan says

    April 19, 2011 at 6:49 am

    Or it can be named as Carol's Ploppy Corner! Cant wait to see your new designer garden!

    Reply
  2. Rosie Gan says

    April 19, 2011 at 8:15 am

    I think 'Carol's Lipstick Border' would be a great name.Those magenta tulips are shaped like lipsticks for two-lips!
    Rosie

    Reply
  3. Fairegarden says

    April 19, 2011 at 11:29 am

    I love Plopper's Field as the name of your free for all bed, Carol! It has rather a farm sound to it.
    Frances

    Reply
  4. Layanee says

    April 19, 2011 at 12:29 pm

    It has the sound of serenity and peace for all your bits and pieces.

    Reply
  5. Carol says

    April 19, 2011 at 12:35 pm

    Love the name! I have a space like that in my gardens too…every time I run across a plant I just can't pass on and then I can't decide exactly where to put it …. it goes in the temporary bed…some plants have lived there 9 years now .

    Reply
  6. Earth Girl says

    April 19, 2011 at 1:02 pm

    In Ploppers Fields the poppies grow..

    Reply
  7. Commonweeder says

    April 19, 2011 at 1:10 pm

    I love the name! so many of us have similar beds, I am sure, and now we know how to refer to them.

    Reply
  8. Cindy, MCOK says

    April 19, 2011 at 1:39 pm

    Perfect name! All of the beds at Wit's End bear that name, LOL.

    Reply
  9. Gail says

    April 19, 2011 at 1:55 pm

    An inspired choice Carol!

    Reply
  10. ProfessorRoush says

    April 19, 2011 at 2:21 pm

    Plopper's Field, I love it. I probably would have settled for Plopper's Plot, but I'm a sucker for alliteration.

    Reply
  11. Mr. McGregor's Daughter says

    April 19, 2011 at 7:08 pm

    LOL – that name would apply to most of my garden.

    Reply
  12. Diana says

    April 20, 2011 at 12:57 am

    Love Plopper's Field — so inspired and we can all relate to it.

    Reply
  13. Caroline says

    April 20, 2011 at 4:07 am

    Wine just spewed out my nose at that one! Bravo!

    Reply
  14. Janet/Plantaliscious says

    April 20, 2011 at 7:57 pm

    You've just described the border we have in front of our garage! Great name. Enjoy your plopping!

    Reply
  15. Asha Ram says

    April 24, 2011 at 2:23 pm

    Lovely tulips! Look at that color!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Categories

  • Blog (3,047)
  • Internal (2)

Blog Tags

annuals Blogging books bulbs dr. hortfreud embrace fairies fall family flowers fruits garden bloggers bloom day garden bloggers book club garden design gardeners gardening gardening geek gardens hoes holidays hortense hoelove houseplants humor indoor gardening insects lawn letters to gardening friends perennials rabbits reviews Secrets seeds shrubs spring tools trees vegetable garden vegetable gardening vegetables weather weeding weeds when a gardener wildflower wednesday winter

The Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Footer

Gardenangelists Podcast with Dee Nash

Gardenangelists Podcast

Connect

  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • YouTube
  • maydreams icon

Quick Links

  • Home
  • Contact
  • Books
  • May Dreams Gardens
  • Podcast

Updates from Carol Michel

* indicates required
Email Preferences

Newsletter Archive

Copyright © 2023 · CarolJMichel.com · Sitemap · Privacy Policy

Book purchase links are affiliate links and Carol earns a small commission if you make a purchase.

We use cookies on our website to give you the most relevant experience by remembering your preferences and repeat visits. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies.
Do not sell my personal information.
Cookie SettingsAccept
Manage consent

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
CookieDurationDescription
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional11 monthsThe cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-others11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance11 monthsThis cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance".
viewed_cookie_policy11 monthsThe cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.
Functional
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Performance
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Analytics
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Advertisement
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Others
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
SAVE & ACCEPT