I've Created a Monster!

It took me years to convince Miss Patsy that she needed to garden - not only for the beauty of a garden and cut flowers for her home, but for the health benefits. Her negative comebacks were the usual 'I'll get dirty', 'I'll get sweaty', 'It's too hot', 'I don't have a green thumb', and on and on and on! She came up with all the usual reasons not to garden but I really expected her to eventually come up with a unique reason why she couldn't garden . .but she never got creative - she stuck with the usual negatives! LOL! Of course I always came back with positive reasons as to why she should garden!

First, playing in dirt is GOOD for your outlook on life - Since the soil contains the basic chemicals that pharmaceuticals use in anti-depressants, it either relieves or abates depression. Ever seen a depressed gardener?

Second, sweating is GOOD for you . .it cleanses the body of toxins that accumulate in and harm your body. These toxins will eventually make you sick. Have you noticed that most gardeners look healthy?

Third, getting hot is GOOD for you . . .we make most of our much needed Vitamin D from the sunshine. Recently science has proven how a good balance of Vitamin D aids the body in fighting off everything from the common cold to cancers! Since Vitamin D levels are good indicators of overall health, primary care physicians and specialists are now checking the Vitamin D levels in their patients! Dr. Michael Holick explains amounts of Vitamin D required for different ethnic groups, the length of exposure in different hemispheres to reach these requirements as well as the best times of the day for exposure to the sun in his book, "The UV Advantage". *

Finally, let me say that a 'green thumb' is an old wives tale. A green thumb is not an inherited gene. Knowledge of a plant's needs and the discipline required to provide those needs is what makes a particular plant happy. Without this discipline and knowledge, eventual failure is guaranteed.

Now, let's get on to the Monster I created! When I finally got Patsy to experimenting with gardening, she was calling or texting me several times a day (I loved it). She eventually became my 'star' student! But as she learned more, the questions became fewer and fewer.

Each time she'd buy a plant, she'd call and offer me some of it. Of course, most of what she offered, I already had. Then one day she saw an article in Southern Living about a 'new' chrysanthemum named Ryan's Pink. She was absolutely enthralled with the plant. She bought some and promised me that 'she now had a plant that she knew I didn't have'. She talked about and bragged on this plant like it was a new born baby - and I couldn't wait to get some! Then she sent me a photo of the plant and my heart dropped.

Not only did I have plenty of this mum, in the spring I tossed many into the compost pile (after breaking off and discarding the roots)!! What to do??? What to do??? I really didn't want to discourage Patsy's enthusiasm, but by the same token, I didn't want to insult her intelligence by inferring that 'she'd done good'. Not to mention that she and Ron were coming for a visit and were bringing the plants to me and mine were in bloom!

Of course, during her 'training' period I had told her not to believe everything she reads in magazines or catalogs . . .both have a tendency to embellish the truth. Not to mention that the plants are grown under pristine conditions, the photos are made by professionals, and the descriptions are written by professional writers. It was my gut feeling that Ryan had found this plant in his gramma's garden, cultivated and propagated it, then introduced it to the market. I say this because you see it in most every garden in SW Georgia.

To further support my gut feeling, our paper and mail boxes are about a quarter mile from the house and I usually stroll over, looking at nature as I progress.

And look what I found last Sunday. Now folks I can assure you that I've never planted any Ryan's near this spot; therefore, I'm thinking that a seed was dropped by either a bird or the wind. And since a seed is never true to it's hybridized parents, the plant MUST be indigenous.

If I'm wrong, I apologize profusely to Ryan and beg his forgiveness!

All that said, the Ryan's Pink mum is one of the most beautiful, carefree mums you'll ever have. It requires little care other than thinning it in the spring and pinching the remaining plants to make them branch. In the spring when the plants reach about four inches high, I use plain, sterilized kitchen scissors to cut them to two inches. When these reach about eight inches, I cut them to four. I do this progressively until the first of July; when I discontinue cutting totally. If you fail to do this, the plants will be long and leggy and will tumble over long before they begin blooming.

I have pulled a few stink bugs off the foliage, but that's the only insect I've ever seen on it . .and NO disease!


Another beauty of this plant is that the more flowers you cut, the more blooms you have. Plus, they make a most beautiful bouquet of flowers for your fall decorations.

This brass coal bucket was given to me by another special sister, Helen. It's what I use to display only my favorite flowers. And because Patsy gave me these mums, they're very special.

Undaunted by my haranguing and her failures, Patsy has become a Magnificent Gardening Monster! She's taken it a step further than me and grows most of her own vegetables! I'm really proud of her considering her most humble and frightful beginnings.

Now most of The Monster's phone calls are to introduce me to a new plant or growth and care information for a particular plant.

WAY TO GROW, Patsy!

*After writing this post, I settled down to read the Sunday paper. Inside the USA Weekend magazine, on Page 6, there is a detailed article on Vitamin D and its value to our health.