Need to vent

I need to complain for a moment, so if you don't want to hear any whining read no further.

My mother in law is driving me nuts. My husband I plant her front flower bed every year. I tried to introduce more perennials explaining that is what I'm doing in my gardens. Less work to replant each year as we age. Two years in a row she pulled them all out in the fall claiming she didn't know which were annual and which were perennial. I think she doesn't like change and just wanted her usual petunias so she played dumb.

Last year she asked me to pull out the iris by her back deck because they were full of grass and weeds. She wanted me to plant something that wouldn't get weeds in it. I told her I hadn't found that plant yet. She pointed to her neighbors hostas. So I went home took splittings from my wide assortment of hosta and planted her back bed for her. She is now upset because hail punched holes in all the hosta and there are weeds and grass in the bed. She's in her mid 70s and obese. The combination makes weeding very hard for her.

My husband is planting petunias right now. I love her. Drives me nuts though.

Ugh, sorry you're dealing with that, duck_toller. It's very kind of you to help her out, though, even if she is driving you nuts.

I do wish you luck with finding the plant that won't get weeds in it. Perhaps you could convince her that dandelions are lovely annuals that reseed prolifically. :P

HMMM. Not a snarky suggestion, but..how about putting down weedbarrier..then the hostas..then stick in some annuals and silk flowers. The ones at Michaels and Joanne Fabrics look really good and are on sale now. The lady who used to live next door always had (fake) tall alliums tucked in among perennials for a bit more color in the shade. Not much I can say about the hail, except to be thankful that my garden only had the small hail, not the roof/garden ruin type this season...whew! Have been seeing roof repair trucks on my way to the library.
You are a very nice DIL :)

You're a good DIL. I'm sure she appreciates that on some level ; ^)
Sounds like just plant what she wants and use even newspapers with mulch over to block weeds. Try not to dig up any more than you have to from now so the mulch can stay in place and no new weed seeds come up.
Good luck! we all need to vent some time!

Thank you for your understanding. She's a good woman. She lived through the Depression and lost her husband young. Her health isn't the best and she admits she isn't a gardener. Silk plants and weed barriers would be a good idea, but the truth is she really just wants her petunias.

Today my husband and I went to some open houses for condos. I don't know if she will ever consider it, but she's so lonely I think if we could convince her to think about it she would be so much happier without 2 acres plus a full home to take care of. She also manages the renting of the family farm.

Partly its hard because my mother (who I inherited my love of gardening from) is much more physically able. I got my bluebells from her. Amongst all the other stuff she's given me.

Duck_toller -

I can relate to her wanting to be independent. My father was that way & nothing would convince him otherwise. He lived to 92. He may have lived longer if he wasn't totally on his own, but he wouldn't have been as happy.

What about weed block & mulch then putting containers of plants (like the petunias) on top of the mulch? That way when they get scraggly or are done blooming you could easily replace them with other plants. It would also be a lot less work for her & the height of the pots might allow her to sit on a stool if she does any work on them.

Oh the pot idea might work. Petunias have so many varieties now, I would just leave her with what she is happy with.

In the meantime, VENT AWAY! We all need to do it once in a while ~j

Yes we do. . . glad you're feeling better!