Jeff has been away on one of his annual overseas trips where he and his buddy Dr. Ab Abernethy explore parts of the world I have no strong desire to see up close and personal. This year it's Russia, so I thought it would be fitting, as a way to feel connected to Jeff's experiences, for me to indulge in some Saki. (Note the spelling.) I am referring of course to the author, not the drink. Although not Russian, Hector Hugh Munro (pen name Saki) wrote many of his short stories with a distinctive Russian setting.
Reading a collection of Saki's short stories in "The Chronicles of Clovis," I came across the wonderfully disturbing tale "Sredni Vashtar." It is the story of a young boy's bountiful imaginary world and his pet ferret Sredni Vashtar. The following lines arrested my attention:
Photo by Jeff Abt |
The little red salvia, salvia coccinea.
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Sredni Vashtar went forth,
His thoughts were red thoughts and his teeth were white.
His enemies called for peace, but he brought them death.
Sredni Vashtar the Beautiful.
"His thoughts were red thoughts..." Isn't that a rich statement? We immediately know the reference to passion, violence, even death. Red carries with it these connotations; it evokes these feelings. That is why Jeff writes about "red in the garden" nearly every summer and mentions bringing this passion of expression into the landscape with red-blooming plants.
I want to put in my 2 cents worth this year. I always appreciate the vibrant splashes of red Jeff plants throughout our garden every year, but this year has been different. A dear friend made for us a beautiful wind chime of red-and-white stained glass pieces. It is delicate, so it has found its place in a protected area of our side garden. Using this wind chime as the major feature, Jeff decided to make our side garden a predominately red garden this year. The result has surprised me.
The surprise is due to the paradox found in red. Speaking literarily, red is an archetype for life as well as death. I just referred to the reference of passion, violence and death, but red can also make us think of life — our life's blood, as it were. This paradox continues in the garden.
We would think that since red is a hot, tropical color, it would make the garden feel hotter. Not so. I think one of the reasons tropical plants bloom with such loud, fiery colors (like red) is because we need this vibrancy in the heat. When everything around us is fading, our colors need to remain rich.
This reminds me of the time Jeff visited a friend and found him cooking tuna and jalepeños. It was August, in Texas, (we all know what that means), and the friend worked outdoors. Jeff said the very air burned his nostrils; so, why the hot peppers? They cooled him off.
Heat, like so many other things, is relative. Feeling hot? Surround yourself with hot, fiery colors, and they actually discourage the feeling of heat. Why? I'm not sure, but I think (at least partly) it is because when we are feeling drained and all our energy is sapped by the Texas heat, those hot reds in the garden invigorate. They reinsert our "life's blood," and we feel refreshed.
I need to make this a gardening column, so here's a list Jeff left me of plants that will add red to your landscape: Coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), coral bean (Erythrina herbacea), Texas star hibiscus (Hibiscus coccineus), turk's cap (Malvaviscus arboreus) and
salvia coccinea. Don't forget there are also red zinnias, cannas, camellias and fuchias. This list is by no means exhaustive, but I don't want to forget the subject of last week's column the "Knock Out" rose.
Who would have thought that (like hot drinks and hot, spicy foods) hot colors in the garden can actually cool one down. Try adding a few of these red-blooming plants and inject a little life's blood in your garden.
