THE BLUE CHAIR: A purchase made on a whim breathes new life into the garden

Sometime before December's Polar Plunge I thought it might be nice to have a place to sit in my green paradise. Trouble is every square inch of my landscape is planted or mulched and there is not really a place to create a resting place to sit and invite a friend to enjoy the view. Ah ha! I decided to put the sitting area in my driveway. After all, my vegetables are healthy in their grow bags in the driveway and, occasionally, I add a container or two of flowers I do not have room for in any other place. With this ‘aha!’ moment I began to look for the perfect chair for my sitting area. I quickly discovered these awesome royal blue chairs. They are metal and similar to the chairs my mother had in our back yard when I was a child. Those were green. I spent many childhood days sitting and reading under a giant pecan tree in those chairs. There were also green ones available online, an exact match to the chairs of my childhood.

The royal blue chairs blend with my garden's assortment of blue containers, thus I chose a really vibrant shade of blue. I hit the buy-now button and soon, with the help of my neighbor who can put anything together, the blue chairs were in the driveway. They were perfect and aptly became known as "the blue chairs."

Sitting in one became my haven. I had an awesome view of my front yard (and the rest of the neighborhood). Happily, I could watch the activity in the blue bird house without disturbing them. We have already had one set of precious blue birds fly away. Watching the mother and father birds build their nest was time well spent. Back and forth they flew all day long with bits of straw and leaves. The nest was finally finished. What an accomplishment for two small birds. Soon after I watched them carrying bits of worms in their beaks which they offered to the chirping babies. I was delighted to see tiny beaks in the opening waiting for a treat. One day I found a baby in the driveway and another in the bushes. I placed the baby in the bushes, hopefully, out of the eyes of the feral cats who watch my birds as much as I do. Hopefully, those two babies, now independent, are bringing happiness to another gardener. Growing plants which provide food for adult and baby birds is one of the most important of a gardener's jobs.

My next door neighbor comes over often when she sees me puttering about and suggests we sit in the chairs. She is another energetic plant person and our conversations are a pleasure. We solve many of the garden's as well as the world's problems from the blue chairs. My garden rings with our laughter.

My husband and my puppy also sit a spell in a blue chair to keep me company as I garden. Other friends who pass by and see me sitting in the chair stop to talk about plants or Jacksonville news. The blue chairs have become a magnet for lively conversations.

A telephone call to my sister who lives in South Carolina becomes even more special as we carry on long conversations in a blue chair. It has truly become "my special place."

Being the person who puts plants everywhere I landscaped around the chairs. Although they are in the driveway, they are flanked by colorful specimens. A magnificent chartreuse conifer grows in an elegant blue container and a bright yellow sedum sits on the other side.

The blue chairs are the place for quiet thought as well as to enjoy the garden's beauty and its gifts. Nature provides the entertainment: the charming sounds of chirping birds, the breeze through the trees, or the fragrance from the flowers..

From the blue seat I can spot a weed across the way. I hopped up to retrieve it. From the blue chair I study my garden and mentally make a list of what needs to be done.

• I can easily spot any problems creeping into the garden but also capture the beauty of nature.

• Ugh, the black grasshoppers (lubber grasshoppers) are here and munching on my flowers. They have evolved to the point there is no proven way to get rid of them. Birds do not eat them as they have a terrible taste. The only enemies are humans who step on them, smash them with a shovel, or perhaps even cut them in half. When they first appear, there are hundreds of them; they grow by leaps and bounds. They finally disappear in the fall.

• The hibiscus sawfly has hatched its eggs which become teensy tiny caterpillars on the leaves and they are turning them into lace doilies. The rose sawflies have also left me (eggs) their tiny green caterpillars to chew my rose leaves. Head out early in the morning and look at the underside of the leaf and pick off the little green wigglers.

• The mulberry weeds are popping up everywhere. I can actually spot the mulberry weeds from the blue chair. They are at home in our flower beds. This invasive weed germinates every thirty days. To keep our gardens from being run over, pulling up mulberry weeds is a chore that must be done every day. Get them while they are small. The less you disturb the soil deeply, the less you disturb sleeping weed seeds and give them incentive to sprout.

• Another pest, not invasive but highly aggressive, is the chameleon plant growing without a care by the driveway. It is cute, but no beauty queen. I bought ONE thirty years ago and I am still trying to get rid of it. I have dug it up, sprayed it with roundup, and it still defeats me. It seems if this obnoxious plant gets in your garden, it will never leave regardless of any efforts to get it to leave. I see it in nurseries and online. Walk on by.

• Forty years ago a husband's friend. passed a small plant to me. Not knowing any better I promptly planted it. I was not wise enough to understand why someone often gives you a plant (they may have too many). It did not take long to realize the error of my ways as it spread every day of its little life. I hoped it would disappear. Four decades later I am still trying to get rid of it. It is a sneaky plant and turns up far away from where I planted it, another opportunity to enjoy the soil and the garden while I pull weeds. I have actually read that garden soil is good for you.

• Sitting in the chair also allows me to see which plant needs water and to see if another one may have gotten over watered. It is easy to spot flowers that need to be deadheaded (remove the spent flowers) or need other attention.

• The blue chair has brought me close to nature. I may never have accomplished this feat just passing through or staring out the window. Birds’ singing is a charming sound; I have also heard little frogs talking. Occasionally, I find one in the garden. I enjoy watching the small lizards scampering on the plants.

• If I happen to see something special across the garden, I take a stroll. The garden changes every day, especially this time of the year. We do not want to miss a new bloom. There is a treasure I might have overlooked, if it were not for the time in the blue chair.

• My early lilies are in full bloom calling me from all over the yard to come and look.

• Since I do not use chemicals in my garden, the blue chairs are a safe haven. I dread when our city begins to spray for mosquitoes.

A purchase made on a whim has become an important accessory to my gardening life. If you do not have a place to sit in your garden, buy your own blue chair and find a spot for it (even if it is in the driveway), and be in the middle of the action. Research has suggested crazy plant ladies are more likely to live longer and happier lives. With the blue chair I may live forever. Additionally, research has found being in the green helps us recover from surgery or illness. Another plus for the blue chair. It is close to the growing plants and right outside the door. Regardless of my occasional frustrations of gardening, sitting in the blue chair quickly helps me forget them. The blue chairs have the magical power to bring me peace.

Sherry Blanton, "The Southern Gardener," writes about gardening for The Anniston Star. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Facebook at Southern Gardener-Anniston Star.