I have often said that I am a writer who gardens, not a garden writer. And anyone who takes advice from me does so at their own peril.
I do my best to combine pretty pictures, the latest gardening news and the advice of other, more expert, gardeners. But I am not sure I would take my advice about anything but what to order off a wine list.
What makes matters worse is that I don't take the advice I give.
I admit it. I should have cut back my perennials in May and June, and I didn't.
I was greedy for their growth. I couldn't bring myself to hack away at the emerging monardia, Echinecea and helianthus. I couldn't bring myself to cut back the Shasta daisies, the roses, the Russian sage, the new coreopsis that I planted last year.
I congratulated myself on cutting back the Joe-pye weed, but even that was only a little of what I should have done.
The result is rangy and overgrown stuff all over the garden. All of it is blooming or ready to bloom, and now is not the time to cut it back.
My garden would have been so much more orderly and contained if I had been tough in May.
Now, all I can do is cut back the sedum "Autumn Joy" and hope for the best.
I have a gardening journal that I keep in one of those marbled composition notebooks, and I will make a note of my mistakes.
And hope I remember this lesson next year.