There is no doubt that spring has made its welcome appearance. We have touched on this subject in recent issues but only in fleeting moments, as if to say that the real spring is yet to come. What we have now is only a taste of what it could really be. In a few short weeks, or perhaps even days, it will bust out in all its glory, making us forget those dreary and forlorn days of winter.
Around here the mustard and nasturtiums and the acacia trees and bushes are waiting for no one. They are saying “Ready or not, here we come.” And sure enough, the countryside, the roadways, the empty lots and even out-of-the-way places like my backyard are inundated with their characteristic hues of yellows and oranges that have been dotting those places for more than 200 years.
We must understand that this foliage is part of nature. No one has planted them or nurtured them or any of those things that we would do with domestic plants.
They, of course, came out years ago and each year they go on doing their thing. But they convey a beauty to the community and we accept them.
The things in nature have an innate beauty, but how about those things that are cared for and nurtured and developed into something beyond what nature can offer?
Well, the community is going to have a chance to find out.
I had a talk with Ernie Trimble the other day and she told me about an event sponsored by the Bonita Valley Garden Club that will be coming up early next month. For the fourteenth time the club, led by its president, Leslie Schroeder, is staging their annual garden tour.
This will involve six gardens at homes here in the Sweetwater Valley, some fledglings and some that have been around for quite a few years.
For example, there is one garden on Butternut Hollow Lane that was featured several years ago and is being reprised this year because of requests from those who have taken the tour in the past. They remembered the garden in its infancy and they would like to see how it fared in maturity.
It is interesting to note that many of the gardens on this year’s tour feature those plants that are drought resistant, that are native to other parts of the country, and in some cases, other parts of the world. In our present-day water-conscious society there are many gardeners out there who take advantage of those plants that require little sustenance, but, by the same token, offer the beauty and the tranquility that many of us expect from our labor.
The garden tour will be on Wednesday, May 12, 2010 and will start at 10 a.m. The gardens will remain open until 3 p.m.
The tour, by the way, is the principal fundraiser for the club. The fee is $15 in advance and $20 on the day of the tour. Monies earned from this affair and other smaller ones take care of the scholarships that are offered to students at Southwestern and Cuyamaca Colleges, interested in continuing studies in horticulture.
In addition to the garden tour, one may also purchase a box lunch that will be served at the Community Room of the Bonita Sunnyside Library on 4375 Bonita Road at about noon. For ticket information and purchase one may call Vera Matthias at (619) 479-0429.
I have taken this tour many times in the past. I oftentimes come away from the tour with a new desire, perhaps even a resolution to transform my half acre into something that the Bonita Garden Club would put on their tour. So I sit on my deck and look out at the expanse of land and come to the conclusion that I would not like to disturb the mustard and nasturtiums that have found a comfortable home. Maybe next year?
