Charlotte Weidensee keeps a plaque in her courtyard that reminds her of the reason she takes such great care of her garden of flowers.
“It’s a quote from Ralph Waldo Emerson and it says, ‘The earth laughs in flowers,’” she said.
“I like that so much because, to me, a flower garden makes me feel good. … That’s why people are drawn to flower gardens and flowers. It makes them feel good and they notice the beauty.”
Beauty is something Charlotte and her husband, Victor, have made sure there is plenty of at their home in the Woodridge subdivision off Mount Rushmore Road in Rapid City.
When the couple moved there 26 years ago, the courtyard was all cement.
“I thought, ‘I can’t live with this,’” she said.
It inspired a call to a landscape contractor, who helped Charlotte map out what kind of garden she wanted between the courtyard gate and the street.
“I’ve always loved flowers and this gave me the opportunity to put in ones I thought I wanted,” she said. “I have a pretty big variety in this small space.”
Since then, Charlotte has maintained and replenished the plants and flowers, which have grown into a garden the couple have enjoyed every year. Last fall, they planted colorful day lilies, evergreens, blue chip juniper, a variety of grasses, several varieties of yarrow and deep purple salvia.
The purple and the bright yellow make an attractive contrast of colors, Charlotte said.
Gardening is about timing, she added, and she plants varieties that don’t all bloom at the same time.
In the garden this year there are also veronicas, white and red daisies, day and oriental lilies and her favorite — a clematis that has climbed a tall trellis.
“It’s the prettiest one and we’ve had it sine we moved here,” she said.
The labor of tending to a successful garden is worth it, she said.
“There’s quite a bit of work,” she said. “You have to train them and thin them out.”
She spends time among the flowers often; much of it is early in the morning when she “dead-heads” the plants, or snips off dead leaves and blooms.
“I go out when it’s still cool, and make sure they have enough moisture,” she said.
That has become easier recently with the installation of a drip irrigation system that waters the garden.
For more than two and a half decades, the garden has been a place of tranquility for Charlotte, and for neighbors, family and friends.
“It’s a good place to go sit and have coffee, read a book or whatever,” she said. “My family has really enjoyed it.”
Strangers are no different.
“I have people who are walking by stop and comment on them and want to know what some of the plants are,” she said.
Charlotte’s advice to new gardeners is to start small and be organized.
“Plot out a plan, decide what flowers they like,” she said.
And don’t be afraid to call on the experts — such as a landscaper. Charlotte learned a lot from the hands-on help, she said, including how to arrange flowers by height and type of leaf.
“There’s a lot of things you think about,” she said.
If getting help isn’t an option, just go for it, she said.
“Get a big piece of paper and plot it out yourself,” she said. “Try it on your own and make a plan, and start out small.”
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