Gardening In Miniature

Day 135: It's well-known that I am a complete failure when it comes to growing vegetables, but have a reasonable amount of success with flowers. I tend the flowerbeds fairly regularly in spring, keeping them weed-free until summer activities distract me from their care. I water during hot spells, seldom otherwise, and have identified certain species which are capable of surviving my lackadaisical treatment. That said, my garden is generally a riot of colour from June through September, if completely devoid of anything which might be called organization or scheme. However, in addition to enjoying blooming annuals and perennials, I take equal delight in the miniature landscapes which occupy the cedar split-rail fence: mosses and lichens of all shapes and sizes. Not a dry day passes that I don't stop to look more closely at one of my "garden-variety" lichens when I walk out to get the mail or feed the birds. It pleases me as much to see a colony of Cladonia coniocraea flourishing as it does to have nasturtiums cascading from a hanging basket or cosmos nodding over the sidewalk.