Thinking about the 13th at Augusta, ‘Azalea’, you know? It always gets me started on something. Not about golf, really, but about trying things out, seeing if they work.
Reminds me of this time I tried to get fancy with the garden out back. Saw all these pictures, perfect layouts, flowers blooming just right. Like that hole, beautiful but tricky. So, I decided I’d replicate this fancy layered flower bed I saw in a magazine.
The Grand Plan
First, I went down to the hardware store. Grabbed bags of soil, different kinds. Bought a bunch of plants – some tall ones for the back, short ones for the front, just like the picture. Got some rocks too, for edging. Felt real professional doing it.
Then, the real work started. Spent a whole Saturday digging. Pulled out old roots, leveled the ground, or tried to. It was way harder than I thought. The ground was tough, full of clay. My back was killing me by lunch.
- Measured the space out.
- Dumped the new soil in.
- Arranged the rocks around the edge.
- Started placing the plants.
Where it Went Sideways
Here’s the thing, I didn’t really check what kind of plants I bought. Just went by the look. Turns out, half of them needed full sun, the other half needed shade. My spot? It got maybe four hours of sun, max. Classic mistake. Like trying to hit a hero shot over the creek without the right club.
So, I planted everything anyway. Watered them real good. Stood back, feeling pretty pleased. Looked okay for about a week.
Then, things started going south. The sun-loving plants got all leggy and pale, reaching for light that wasn’t there. The shade plants? Well, they were okay, but the snails found them. Ate holes in all the leaves. The fancy rocks I bought? They just sunk into the mud after the first big rain.
Ended up pulling most of it out by the end of the summer. Replanted with some tough, basic stuff that actually grows there. Wasn’t fancy, but it survived. Sometimes, you just gotta play it safe, know your limits, you know? That whole experience, starting with the big idea, getting the stuff, doing the work, and then watching it fizzle out… yeah, thinking about Azalea brings that stuff back. You try, you learn, sometimes you just gotta take the bogey and move on.
