The Obsessive Neurotic Gardener

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Posted on October 14, 2010 by jmarkowski Posted in Uncategorized .

As the garden season comes to a close, I sit here and reflect on my first year writing a garden blog. I ask myself, “John, what did you gain from this writing gig?”. And I say:

  • I have met some fantastic people 
  • I have given myself a chance to do something creative and fun
  • I have learned a ton from reader comments and feedback

But then, the skies opened up and provided me with the biggest benefit of all – I GET TO FOOL ALL OF YOU.

I never realized the magic of the camera when taking photos of the garden. It is like the yard is full of vain and superficial actors and actresses who insist on only being filmed from a certain angle. And I couldn’t be happier to oblige.

So I now provide you with the photos that unearth my dirty little secrets. I feel like the magician who gives up his secret as to how he really doesn’t cut the damsel in distress in half with a saw. But, I digress:

Beautiful helenium blooms …      

That resemble the Leaning Tower of Pisa 

Oh the ample phlox blooms with such a sweet scent …

That are hiding some ugly down below 

Rose blooms, so dainty and breathtakingly floriforous …

But have more holes in them than OJ’s testimony

I can’t breathe, these iris blooms are just so stunning …

Never mind the god awful foliage of the others surrounding the only one that bloomed 

A nice close-up of a chelone bloom …

A nice close-up of death

Those zinnia blooms are going to rock …

Just keep your head at bloom level and promise not to look down

A glorious daylily bloom …

And the only one not disposed of by the deer

Nothing says summer more than rudbeckia blooms … 

And nothing says summer more than the slow decline of the foliage to follow

Did I mention a daylilly bloom already …

Well, the friggin deer got all these too 

So when all looks gloomy out in the yard, I just strategically avoid all the “bad” and only give you the “good”. Consider it my little gift to you all to make your day that much better.

ONG 

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17 Comments
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17 Responses

  1. Melissa says
    October 14, 2010 at 9:47 pm

    I appreciate your focus on the positive! Oh, what a little Spanx can do!

  2. xoxoxo says
    October 14, 2010 at 10:04 pm

    Ahaha! Sometimes I can’t bear to post because I can’t fake it anymore! Im glad to know others focus (the camera)on the good too!

  3. Tammy says
    October 14, 2010 at 11:47 pm

    Always accentuate the positive. Check. You done good. I love it and the photos. I thought you were going to tell us you highjacked them from the internet.. heheh… Great post. Tammy

  4. allanbecker-gardenguru says
    October 15, 2010 at 12:09 am

    That was soooo funny and poignant.

  5. Gardening Jones says
    October 15, 2010 at 12:17 am

    Hahaha…that’s what ALL my flower gardens look like (that’s why I don’t post ANY flower pics. And did I show the pic of the canteloupe half eaten by the Ground Hog? Nooooo…
    Great post as always, keep the best of the best pics coming (gives me hope).
    ~GJ

  6. ~Gardener on Sherlock Street says
    October 15, 2010 at 12:46 am

    We all do it but we do it in “real life” too. My wild area is a mess but man the sunflowers looked great coming out of it!

  7. Jean says
    October 15, 2010 at 2:18 am

    Hmm, well at least you captured SOME daylily blooms before they became dinner. We all do that w/our photos, so don’t worry. And happy blogaversary!

  8. milka says
    October 15, 2010 at 2:50 am

    Enjoy reading your blog 🙂 Happy weekends!

  9. Janet/Plantaliscious says
    October 15, 2010 at 11:41 am

    Brilliant! We all do it, take photos from artful angles that avoid showing the messiness and failures of real gardening. I think we should all show a little more of the full picture from time to time, to keep us honest and make one another feel better about our own dying foliage, unkempt corners and triumphant disasters.

  10. The Idiot Gardener says
    October 15, 2010 at 1:13 pm

    My garden always look really really good. In fact, I have to Photoshop in some old bricks and rusty tools and dead plants because that’s what the people want to see. In the real world, I’m Alan Titchmarsh’s ‘better at gardening’ brother!

  11. scottweberpdx says
    October 15, 2010 at 5:02 pm

    Hahahahahahaha…I LOVE this post…and I think we are ALL guilty of this deception!

  12. Karen says
    October 15, 2010 at 10:18 pm

    That’s one of the reasons I like winter, after the snow falls, all the undone stuff looks so nice and neat! My husband likes to see ‘the big picture’ so I try to show some long shots of this disaster we call home from time to time and then the not-so-great stuff shows. So, yes, LOL, we do all tend to take pictures of the face-lifts and not the saggy baggies.

    Thanks for this happy post, it was a lot of fun!

  13. LC says
    October 15, 2010 at 10:43 pm

    That’s a gutsy thing you just did… I doubt that I’ll do that any time soon! L

  14. Leslie says
    October 15, 2010 at 11:22 pm

    From one blog writer to another John I commend your honesty… bravo… don’t think you’re not the only one. Sometimes we get crazy topics in our heads but when we go to take a picture of what we’re going to write about, there might be just one flower or leaf on the plant that we can find left to photo! It happens all the time. Plus, I think the zoom is a great feature as if you get really close, it blurs out the background which is so helpful especially if the entire picture doesn’t look so enchanting. Great post.. I enjoyed reading it. So, any ideas on what you’re going to write about come winter?

  15. Lori @ Projects Plenty says
    October 16, 2010 at 4:02 pm

    What an entertaining post, love your wit. The “good/before” pics are great. I am going to have to check out your site.

  16. Titania says
    October 19, 2010 at 8:52 pm

    Yes you have to look at the garden with one eye laughing and the other crying. It is a lovely garden!

  17. Kirk R. Brown says
    October 22, 2010 at 5:07 pm

    I don’t generally get anywhere near as close to the pretties. Most of my own garden shots are from the distance and angle of sitting on the bleachers at the 10 yard line. The final exposure results in the same crowd-pleasing results. David Copperfield is also a gardener in his spare time.

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