The Goddess in Her Garden: Aphrodite

The Goddess in Her Garden

Romance perfumes the air in Aphrodite's garden

Attract that special someone to you (or turn the head of one already close to you) by planting a pocket garden dedicated to the delights of love as embodied by the Greek goddess of love and beauty, Aphrodite.

Pocket gardens are small-space gardens, intimate places in the yard that might or might not be part of your larger landscape plan. You can append a pocket garden to a larger border, or use it to screen that utility box or heating unit. A pocket garden can nestle up to a mailbox or send its tendrils up a trellis. If you are truly challenged for space, try a container like a window box, a raised bed or an attractive pot for your pocket garden.

Your Aphrodite's garden might have to thrive in shade or in sun, so I will suggest a version for each light condition.

In a well-drained, shady spot, captivate your valentine with those heart-shaped marvels, Caladiums (Caladium bicolor, All Zones). They come in striking combinations of white-and-green (like the 'Candidum' and 'White Christmas' cultivars); pink-and-green (e.g., 'Fanny Munson' and 'Carolyn Whorton'); even burgundy-and-green (like 'Florida Cardinal' and 'Little Miss Muffet'). Soon you will find these tubers for sale in your local nursery or home improvement store.

Back up the Caladium with the dark greens, blue-greens and chartreuse leaves of Hosta (Zones 3 to 8 ). These classic shade plants have broad leaves that many call heart-shaped. There are hundreds of cultivars-have fun choosing among them. Some are plain green, some are variegated or edged with white, all are marvelous for any shade garden. They set off the leaves and blooms of other shade plants and are a cool, grounding presence in themselves.

Another flowering perennial to add is Astilbe (Zones 4 to 9), a favorite of mine. Its clumping green foliage is finely wrought, and the feathery plumes it gets in Spring or Summer (depending on cultivar) are sure to attract love's attention. The blooms come in pinks and reds, peach and white, even purple. Astilbes like soil a bit richer than the other shade plants in this garden, so dress them with compost. Astilbes also like plenty of water. I can't grow these gorgeous plants in my dry, high-desert garden, so please plant one for me.

Finish off your colorful shade garden with an edging of Ajuga (Zones 3 to 9 ), commonly known as bugleweed. Most of the Ajugas are under six inches tall, and they turn out pretty blue or violet flowers in Spring.

http://www.cauldronliving.com/images/articles/rose.jpg

For that sunny-spot pocket, what could be better than a deep, red rose? Make a shrub rose the center of your Aphrodite's garden in the sun. Underplant with thyme, in all its shades of green-forest, lime, chartreuse and silver. Other herbs that look grand with roses are rosemary, dill and parsley. Ring your underplantings well out from the shrub, so they will get the sun they need to thrive. If you prefer a ground cover that snuggles up in the shade of the rose bush, try European ginger (Asarum europaeum, Zones 4 to 8 ), and remember to water the rose-and-ginger pair well in the heat of summer.

If roses aren't your thing, or don't overwinter well in your area, substitute a small, native tree and wreathe it with twinkling white lights for Valentine's Day, Beltane and other romantic dates that are special to you.

Now park a garden bench beside Aphrodite's garden, lure your beloved to it, and let the goddess' fiery magic work on you.

--Stephanie Hainsfurther is a freelance writer and editor living in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is the author of Pocket Gardening for Your Outdoor Spaces (Hobby House Press, 2004).

Plant care:
Caladium is a tender perennial, which means you'll have to dig it up before winter and store the tubers in sand or vermiculite in a warm place. Many people just leave them in their pots, put them in the ground and then remove and overwinter them. If you use this method, remove the soil first and pack them in sand or vermiculite anyway, so the tubers don't rot. Others treat them as annuals and let them freeze and die in place.

Cheap trick:
If you like the arrangement of plants chosen for your love garden, repetition of Aphrodite's pocket plants throughout your landscape will reinforce the theme of passion while anchoring your yard with good design. Take cuttings from your original plants and propagate them, then transplant in Autumn.

Another cheap trick:
Just as the Astilbes in your shade garden come into bloom, cut and dry the plumes for indoor bouquets. I know, it will hurt. But you'll have that intense color in a dried arrangement all the rest of the year. Plant enough Astilbes to give you color indoors and out-they look superb in drifts.

Link to USDA Plant Hardiness Zones Map: http://www.usna.usda.gov/Hardzone/ushzmap.html