The Gardeners Anonymous Blog

How To Prune Your Lilac—A Story of Death, Survival and Rebirth

My Garden Before the backhoe

Several years ago my husband and I bought a house. We had to dig up the yard around the house—which was pretty nice to begin with—not my style, but nice.

We had to dig up the whole yard to put in a drainage system and a septic system. The only things we didn’t change in the garden were the mature trees. Everything else, we tore out. 

Well, the septic guys tore everything out anyhow. They came in with backhoes and tractors and ripped up everything in their paths.

I had told them I wanted to keep several plants. 

I got vacant stares and a lot of elbow nudging as I pranced around the former garden as I pointed at plants and said things like: “If it’s not too much trouble I’d like to save this one,” and “This one is so pretty, let’s keep it, shall we?” and “If you could just drive around this one, that would be good and I know there are some daffodil bulbs in this area, here.” 

Finally one of the English speaking workers walked over to me and said, “Ah, excuse me lady, but I don’t think no one told you, when we done, this whole area here, (making a broad sweeping motion with his hand) this area will just be dirt. Nothing left.” 

The corners of my mouth drooped. “Oh, O.K., I see, so what your saying is I can forget about the daffodils?”

“Yes ma’am.”

Seeing the disappointment in my eyes and mouth. He went on to say. “Maybe we can put big plants in bucket and move them to the side.”

“Oh, great, we can put them in buckets, like flowerpots,” I said, thinking he didn’t know the proper terminology. 

“No ma’am, the bucket on the tractor.” 

I looked at the tractor gaping at me and my landscape like a hungry, man-eating dinosaur. 

Oh, THAT bucket.

Over the next few weeks I saw almost an acre of manicured garden turn into the La Brea Tar Pits.

After the backhoe

One of the backhoe drivers did manager to scoop up an old lilac tree and move it to the side of most of the activity but before I could save it, another tractor ran over it—again and again and again.

After a few days the crushed lilac bush was thrown onto a heap of uprooted vegetation and left for dead. 

The San Francisco Flower and Garden Show 2011-Where the Unrelated Things Are

I actually liked this fountain creature. It was very Where the Wild Things Are.

I have said this for the last two years “I don’t think I’m going to The Show next year.”

But.

When March rolls around, spring fever arrives and I get so filled with excitement and optimism. I just want to go see the gardens and become inspired.

You can buy jewelry at the flower show.

Well, I guess wantin’ ain’t gettin’.

The fountain creature (above) was one of the things I liked but they were few and far between and soon I began to gnash my terrible teeth and roll my terrible eyes.

You can buy a embroidered picture at the flower show.

I am not in the know of the behind the scenes drama of the SFF&G, but it seems as though something went terribly wrong this year.

There were very few gardens. Or Maybe it just seemed that way because there was so much other...uh...stuff for sale in and around the garden area.

 
You could get your knives sharpened at the show.

 

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I was disappointed last year, but compared to this year, last year was ten times better.

I have to let go of the memory of the theatrical ambiance of The Cow Palace— whaaaaaaaaa aaaah! But the unpleasant industrial atmosphere aside, the gardens were less than stellar.

My girlfriend flew up from San Diego to go with me to the show. I was horrified and embarrassed. Several cocktails were needed afterward to dilute the impression the show left on us, but at least we had each other.

This year the flower and Garden show seemed more like one of those hokey home shows. You know—the ones you go to with your husband. You hold hands and peruse up and down the isles
You can buy basket at the show.

examining booths filled with double pained windows and sliding glass doors, covered gutters, insulation, fiberglass spas, and white-bread good ol’ boys selling the latest in new-fangled bar-b-que equipment.

You can buy a shirt at the show

I have been known to take upwards of 200 pictures at the Flower and Garden Show. This year I think I took 19. And most weren’t of gardens.

You could buy a tablecloth at the show.

I was sort of overwhelmed with the amount of extraneous merchandise and material floating about the “Flower and Garden Show”

This is my friend’s new puppy.

I just thought I would throw this picture in. It doesn’t relate to the Flower and Garden Show either, but isn't she cute?

For more information on this cute dog see my dog blog.