Hubris in the garden

I’ll have to admit that every once in a while I am guilty of hubris when it comes to my garden, especially this time of year before bugs and heat and gardening fatigue have taken their toll. I look out at an expanse of bright blossoms and healthy foliage and swell with pride.

But inevitably, in the wings, my dear and revered Mother Nature is standing by to bring me back down to size. This year my comeuppance was particularly humbling. My caladiums last year were so beautifully satisfying that when cold weather threatened, I decided to save the bulbs to replant in the spring. (Caladiums won’t tolerate freezing temperatures so I couldn’t leave them in situ.)

I dug the fat bulbs and stored them in the garage over the winter and in early March, shook off the dirt, removed any lingering dried foliage and planted them in an array of pots. I put a few on a sunny windowsill and a few under a grow lamp, just to see which would emerge first and dreamed of a field of colorful caladiums in my back yard.

And then I waited. And waited. And waited. While my tomato and zinnia seedlings virtually jumped out of the potting soil and grew quickly and happily, my caladiums didn’t show a sign of life. Finally, after a couple of months, I couldn’t stand it any longer and dug up one of the potted bulbs to see if it was at least putting out roots. This is where Mother Nature began laughing as if she were watching a Laurel and Hardy skit.

Because what I discovered was that I had planted all my carefully saved caladium bulbs upside down. And poor little pitiful leaves were trying desperately to blindly push their way through damp dirt to find sunshine. Oh good grief!

Humbled and slightly embarrassed, I dug up the remaining bulbs, turned them right side up and tried again. More than half the bulbs had rotted, being planted so improperly they just gave up, and the remainder weren’t in any great shape but a half dozen persevered and look pretty good, though still a little frail by now.

It was a great reminder that no matter how long you’ve gardened, how much you’ve read and studied and how hard you’ve worked at it, gardening is still a humbling – though ultimately extremely satisfying adventure.