Flowers, Music

Step by Step in the Garden

47 Comments

Along with buying lots of annuals to brighten my shady yard, I also bought a handful of perennials, including Jacob’s Ladder, which is now in bloom. The flowers are modest but pretty, and I am already planning to buy more plants for various spots in the relatively moist areas in the front garden. Plus, now that I have hoses in the front, I can baby, at least a little, the plants that like extra water.

This plant always puts me in mind of the Bruce Hornsby song, “Jacob’s Ladder,” and the plaintive line “All I want from tomorrow is just to get it better than today.”

Step by step, one by one…in the garden. And in life?

47 thoughts on “Step by Step in the Garden”

  3. What a pretty color! I don’t guess I’ve ever seen one of these, though I have heard of them. I wonder if they’d grow here??

  5. Step by step; one by one … that is how to manage both our gardens and our lives. I rejoice in every flower that blooms and in every interesting / happy experience. Today, for example, while I was hanging out the laundry, I happened upon a green feather from an African Green Pigeon – it seemed like a real treasure, for I cannot remember finding one before.

  6. Annuals are great for some instant gratification aren’t they. Easy to go berserk in the garden centre and fill the trolley up with them though – or is that just us?

    1. No, not just you! You should have seen my trolley when I went to the garden nursery last month. Holy cats! I don’t think I could have fit another plant in, and at least three quarters of them were annuals.

  8. As much as I like annuals for their summer show, it is the perennials that excite me the most (our frugal Yankee nature perhaps? 😉 ). The fact that they return and increase is a happy thing.
    Your JL is a pretty one and looks like a hybrid. I have the old-fashioned, pass-along plants that are more pale blue and a couple white ones. But en masse, they create a cloud of soft color.

    1. Yes, yes! If this one survives and thrives, I’ll buy more. Now that I have hoses out front—thanks to a wise person’s advice—I’ll baby it if the soil seems dry.

  9. I like it – gardening and music. 🙂 I don’t have any Jacob’s Ladder so will be interested to see how it performs for you. I love the color. I have one garden bed that I’m transitioning to all purples and blues.

    1. I’ll keep you posted. Hope mine does well, but I have such a difficult place to garden that I usually just buy one plant now to see how it grows. If it thrives, I’ll buy more.

  10. “All I want from tomorrow is just to get it better than today” is such a great line. Finding flowering plants for my mostly shady yard is a never-ending pursuit. Thank you for the inspiration!

  13. “Step by step” reminds me of that gardening song — “inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow.” Yours certainly is developing nicely!

  14. You have reminded me that I used to have a Jacob’s Ladder in my garden – I wonder where it went? I must get another one.

    I sometimes find a project too daunting and then breaking it down into a series of small steps makes it feel more do-able. So I love the idea of your garden developing step by step!

  20. Nature really does have so many lessons for us, doesn’t it? I imagine your garden must be blooming beautifully.

    Haven’t heard this song in years …. it really is nostalgic! I think I was living in Waco, Texas when this song aired.

  22. I love Jacob’s Ladder! I have them in my garden and they self-seed very nicely which is good, as the plants aren’t particularly long-lived. They are native to Britain but very scarce now. I had never heard that song before – thank you for the introduction, Laurie!

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