gardening at night

Even with the arrival of daylight savings time, it’s been hard for me to make enough time to work on outdoor projects. I’m dying to get my hands in the dirt, but by the time I get home, make and eat dinner, it’s dark. Last night, I got home even later than normal. I made my cup of tea and wandered into the yard with the dogs to catch a few bits of twilight. Out in back I found propped up and waiting for me a present from my husband WIll. He had used some old wood from the scrap pile to frame out a plastic vertical garden panel that I had picked up at Lowe’s a while ago.

My first thought was that I’d try to fill this frame up with plants during the busy weekend, and then I said to myself “Why not do it right now?”. The answer to myself was a resounding “YES”! It was a beautiful night, so why postpone doing something I’ve been wanting to do for so long. We have twinkle lights strung up over our patio table and Will came out and clamped a few spotlights from the workshop out there, too. This transformed our patio into a beautiful, magical, gardening stage of sorts. Just look….

Gorgeous, isn’t it? I worked and worked for 3 hours straight. One of our dogs laid out in the dirt under the lemon tree watching and keeping me company. I planted my vertical garden, but I didn’t want to stop. I repotted plants, then started more succulents from cuttings and soon the entire table, benches and surrounding ground were covered with pots. It was such a pleasurable evening, I didn’t want to go inside and have it end! This is the first vertical garden I’ve attempted. I’ve been dying to try to do one ever since Heidi & I visited Flora Grubb Gardens in San Francisco, 2 years ago. The place is amazing and one of the highlights for me (of many highlights) was the succulent “painting” hung on the corrugated metal wall. The panel is huge, maybe 6 feet across, and stunning.

My project is a petite 18 or 20 inches square. Just something small to start with. I’m pretty pleased with how it came out and I can’t wait to make a larger one now. Good thing I started a bunch of small cuttings in my nighttime gardening frenzy. I’m going to need them for my next larger vertical garden!

Many thanks to my hubby for the little gift and the help with the lights and mostly for giving me a wonderful evening, all by myself. It’s just what I needed to spark my creativity and sooth my mind.

-Susie