A Garden on the Ranch

March 29 2016

Tuesday

Dear Readers,

Well howdy Readers. It's Miss Dottie reporting from the Misfit Ranch on creating a ranch house garden. It's looking like rain so let's sit on the porch of the bunkhouse and sip on some iced cold sweet tea and chat awhile. Susie's got some great rocking chairs and the aroma of Spring flowers is ever present. Just breathe in deeply, exhale, and relax.

My gardens have always been in the front or backyard of my house in the city. My (evolved) favorite is the french vintage garden filled with roosters, floral fabrics, red/yellow/purple hues, back/white accents, peeling/painted ironwork, distressed woods, and rustic accents. I love the wabi sabi style of imperfect perfectness. For some strange reason, I like feeling like I am in a beautiful cocoon of color. The more plants the merrier!!

It's my friend Susie's birthday this week. We decided to celebrate with lunch at a local Mexican restaurant then headed back to her ranch. We were piddling around and got the bright idea to redo the flower bed in the front of the main house. My mind went immediately into my french vintage mode but soon realized I had a lot to learn about gardening on a Texas ranch.

Miss Susie was gracious enough to give me some clues as to what would work ... the Summer sun is blistering hot, plants needed to be water wise, AND the ground needed to be very visible.

Ranchers need to be able to "see" all around themselves. In the country, snakes LOVE thick vegetation. Mr King's ranch next door has lots of rattlesnakes and Susie has taken care of some nasty rattlers and copperheads. It's not scary, just a fact of life.

The focus needed to be on less roses and more cactuses and garden artifacts.

We headed out on a fun scavenger hunt scouring the ranch for unique "items" that would make Susie's garden special.

As a gardener, I was in awe of Susie's greenhouse where she keeps plants for the winter months. (I want one of those!!) We filled the back of the mule and were so excited to see what we could put together with our treasures. 

Our first step was to clear the bed giving us a clean slate. We dug up a young tree and replanted it. (The tree can be espaliered and will offer shade when it gets a little taller.) After that, we focused on the whiskey barrel cleaning it out and replanting the cactus (note to self: wear thick gloves next time), adding trailing plants, and different garden pieces ... a frog, horse shoes, a potted Zinnia, interesting stones, pottery.

We had found a plant stand, weather vane, a wheel, some chickens, AND Susie's aunt had brought her some day lilies and a ??? plant. We replanted the elephant ears, lillies, the ??? plant, and filled the plant stand with different cactuses.

Mr Frog leaping out of the whiskey barrel

Cactus, purple vines, &
horseshoes for good luck!

A finished garden!

One little corner all dressed up!

The bed may need more dirt then a thin layer of mulch to keep the soil moist but that can be added in the next week. For now, it's basically done. Time to watch those plants grow.

You know, sometimes we rush to judgement based on what we are used to, what we think we know, and presume that all people and areas should do things the same way. The good Lord made various parts of the country and cultures different for a reason. What I knew most of my life has been altered once I got a taste of walking in someone else's shoes (or, in this case, boots). It's made me more tolerant, less judgmental, and certainly a more well-rounded person.

The shepherd protects the flocks; the rancher protects his herds; and, the farmer protects his crops and livestock. This city girl? She protects her gardens and furry kids! ALL OF US have a job to do!!

Miss Dottie

PS  Have you ever noticed that after creating the Garden of Eden, God gave Adam his very first job (a job which I greatly envy). "The Lord God took man, and put him in the Garden of Eden to dress it and keep it." (Genesis 2:15) What a wonderful vocation ~ to tend to all the beauty and glory that God specifically fashioned for him, all the days of his life.

Y'all enjoy your evening and remember ~

YOU are prayed for each and every day.

Until my next adventure, I am signing off.