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May Flowers... and June and July and August... by Stephanie Julian

In my other life as a newspaper feature writer, May is when I begin to set up interviews for garden features that run every Monday through October.

For the past 15 years, much of my summers are spent touring other people's gardens. Some huge, some tiny, and all lovingly tended.

The pictures you see here a just a few of the hundreds of gardens I've seen over the years.

When I ask gardeners why they garden, the response I get most is stress relief.

Getting your hands in the dirt, pulling weeds, deadheading flowers, digging holes... all of these activities get your mind off the stresses of the day.

Unfortunately my garden suffers because I spend all summer driving around the county, traipsing through people's yards. I've got so many ideas I'd love to do to my garden but no time to do it.


Combine that with book deadlines and I'm lucky if I have time to stop and smell the flowers I've already planted

Right now though, the lilac tree in my backyard is in full bloom and the scent is magnificent. It wafts in through the open windows and makes my entire house smell amazing.

Very soon though that will fade and I'll transfer my attention to the hostas I adore. Whenever I do have time to hit the nurseries, I almost always come home with several new hostas.
This year, my time will be really limited and I don't expect to spend more than a few hours tending the garden. I'll be busy tending my career.

I will, however, get storing up more ideas.

Comments

  1. A lilac tree? Wow! I bet it is amazing. I have honeysuckle on my back fence, and it smells beautiful too.

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  2. I read about the most gorgeous lilac trees that covered the ruins of a castle. The people had abandoned it because of the problem with malaria, the swamp land surrounding the area, and until they could drain the swamps, the area was uninhabitable. But the lilac trees were in full bloom after centuries of growing against the ancient stone walls. Beautiful.

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  3. I love hostas too! Very reliable, even when neglected, which makes them perfect for a writer!

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