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[잉그리드 전주살이] A Flowering Spring

기사 작성: 전주대 교수 - 2014.03.27 21:21

Every spring I promise myself that I will get all the plants I want for my home. In the past sixteen years I had a lovely porch where I did container gardening. I had planted peas and okra and kale. But my landlady was a little concerned about cockroaches so she made the containers disappear during the winter months. But what did survive her was my lilac tree. I found it at Cheungang market fifteen years ago and brought it to Dongseohak Dong on the back of my bicycle. I love lilacs. When I was a child there was a huge lilac tree beside my room between my two windows. For two weeks I would fall asleep every night with the fragrance in the spring. But my landlady would prune it a little too much and I would have to fight to keep it alive. Last spring I replanted all my spring bulbs in that pot with the tree and was looking forward to seeing all the flowers once the weather turned a little warmer. But my landlady threw away my tree, pot and all, when I told her I had to move out. I guess she thought I would move into an apartment and have to get rid of it anyway. I really hate apartments. Noisy and too full of complaining people. Including me. I have noisy birds and I feel trapped in apartments plus they are smaller and more expensive than houses. My current home is not as scenic as my last home but I have a little back yard I share with no one, at least right now. I may have to share it with the person or people who move in beside me, but they will have their portion and I will have mine. Anyone messing with my plants will suffer the consequences.

I have already been busy finding plants. I went to Cheungang market on Saturday and found a new lilac tree. Went to Nambu market to get a big pot and soil, then went home and planted it. It only has buds right now but it is in a big, deep pot and has room the grow full and tall in the best place in the yard. Then I found crocuses, daffodils, grape hyacinths and hyacinths. When these flowers die off I will replant the bulbs with the lilac tree. The only thing I haven’t purchased in spring bulbs yet are tulips. Being one of my national flowers (the Dutch part of my heritage) we have always grown them. But in Korea I find they are limited to a few colors, no mixed colors or frilly petals. So to my surprise I found tulips with frilly petals right in front of my house at the flower store there. I have to pick some up today to add to my spring madness collection. I hope to have a very colorful spring garden next year. I am enjoying the colors in my house right now.

While driving around on Saturday I saw a store advertising blueberry bushes. But it was on Paldallo by Nambu Market and so it was too busy to stop. So I went on Tuesday and bought one plant. It wasn’t cheap but I am trying container gardening again and wanted to try something new. Hmm. Imagine eating blueberries straight off the plant in my backyard. So I’ll see how well that works. I also bought a hydrangea. I never grew one of those before. They are somewhat expensive, like the blueberries and you can’t eat them. But they are sooooo beautiful. I looked up online how to grow them and they can get very big and grow well in the ground or pots. So this should be an adventure this summer. Hopefully I will have lots of color all summer in my backyard. I still have other containers I haven’t planted anything in yet. I did get two pansies but no purple ones yet. There are lots in containers around the city but I shouldn’t liberate any from them. Of course I want to buy them, I just have to find them! That’s not always easy. I am also looking for irises, purple irises. They don’t last long but the colors are so beautiful. I may try growing some vegetables but I haven’t decided what, yet. Peas would be nice but I may be too late to start them. Cucumbers and tomatoes are possibilities but then I should hurry a little while I can buy seedlings. Most years they are gone before I find time to do it. I also bought some other flowers I haven’t seen or grown before. I don’t even know their names. So I may be if in some pleasant and maybe delicious surprises this summer./전주대 교수

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[잉그리드 전주살이] A Flowering Spring

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