Life is short - spend it in a garden that makes your heart smile GROW YOUR OWN PARADISE

By Pam Baytos

OSU Extension master gardener volunteer

Picking just one thing to love about my garden is like picking one of your children as your favorite.

Of course my plants are on the list.

I don’t really have “fancy” cultivars, but seeing the bright colors of cone flowers, daisies, black-eyed susans, cosmos, blanket flowers, iris, liatris and many others mixed in with my foliage plants including coral bells, lungwort and hostas make me smile.

Throw in shrubs and trees – some favorites are hydrangea, red twig dogwood, sprirea as a background to flowers – and the enjoyment lasts through all four seasons.

I think what I love most about my garden are the unexpected things that make me smile.

Walking past Milly (our life-size clay pot lady with her crazy planted hair who sits on a rocker on our deck) or Bradley (the headless manequin who moves around the gardens and dresses up for each holiday) makes me forget my troubles.

There’s even a mosaic “shovel head” hanging on the side of the outhouse shed with her tea-cup eyes and hair made of rake tines.

Back in the vegetable garden is the scarecrow with her blue satin ball gown and fancy straw hat atop her gourd birdhouse head.

Every year the house wren sets up housekeeping and lets us know we’re in her territory.

Water features go from the peaceful sounds of the old clawfoot bathtub with its “flower” showerhead sprinkling over water plants and goldfish to the birds splashing in the birdbath I made using a huge rhubarb leaf as a template.

I smile at Momma dove, who every year builds her nest on top of the traffic light on the side of our garage. Soon, she and her babies keep watch over the driveway. I always say hi to them as I pass by.

If you’re up for an adventure in my garden, you can always follow Bella, the “big game hunter” dog. There isn’t a frog, snake or even bug that can safely pass thru. I use to wonder why she was barking at plants, but learned to always look before I reach underneath – as she’s my early snake detector. She’ll spend hours “stalking” her prey through the yard, finally growing tired of this game and heading to the shade for a well-deserved nap.

There are many types of gardens with endless designs.

Some are very structured and formal, while others are planted with an eye toward the owner’s lifestyle.

A garden can really be as small as containers on your patio to sprawling acres of plants and trees.

Life is short – spend your time in a garden that makes your heart smile, whether it’s formal or fun.

As you can see, I plant with an eye toward whimsy because I think that while you’re fulfilling your time at garden therapy (a.k.a. pulling weeds), you need something to smile about.

Maybe one day I’ll want to turn my chaos into serenity and plant a zen garden.

Guess I’d better start my search for a big happy Buddha.

To watch a fun video about another whimsical garden, visit http://go.osu.edu/gardenwhimsy.