Published on Saturday, July 12, 2025

By Victoria Torley

Right now, I am smeared with dirt and covered with bug bites. I am also blissfully happy.

What? You see, for the last six weeks, I have been forbidden to garden due to minor health issues and the doctor said: “No gardening!” Evidently, I needed to protect myself from any sort of fungal infection that might be lurking in the soil.

Six weeks with no gardening! I  gained five pounds and now my shorts don’t fit! I was clean! I  was grouchy and grumpy! I was miserable.


On the other hand, Metric Man was pleased. You see, he does the laundry and there was a lot less laundry.


If I wore the same clothes all day long instead of throwing three full sets of gardening clothes in the wash every day. He was also happy that he didn’t have to stand on the deck and yell, “Time to come in now” five times before I actually did come in. Also, our supply of antiseptic and Band-Aids hasn’t needed to be replenished for a long time.

But all of that is over now because I am back! Now here’s the funny thing. After six weeks, you would have thought that my dogs would have forgotten the pre-gardening routine and slept as I got ready to go out. But no, not my dogs.

I opened the dresser drawer where I keep my gardening clothes and Little Dog, who had been asleep in the bed, raised her head. I opened the sock drawer and she stood up, shook herself, and jumped up on me. Big Dog, hearing all the fuss, came over and looked in the bedroom. He shook himself and started bouncing in a circle. Dogs have long memories.

At that point, there was no hope for a clean getaway. They left me alone while I got dressed, but, as I sat down to put on my socks, there was excited whining and woofing, plus some jumping which clearly said: “Hurry it up!”

Finally, we were outside, where the last act of preparation is always putting on boots. For some reason, Big Dog always thinks I need help at this stage and pushes me toward the bench. Darn over-protective dogs.

Finally, gloved, eye protection in place and plants in hand, we headed to the garden for a little weeding and planting. I was able to get really dirty and get some fire ants bites before a pouring rain started. My husband didn’t even need to yell for me to come in.

Plant of the week. If you are looking for a border or hedge plant with great flowers, look no further than Ixora. No matter what you want it to do, the Ixora does it well.

Plant it as a tall shrub to use as a hedge or screen or prune it tightly to use as a border planting. Need a potted plant for the deck? No problem for the Ixora. Flowers are usually red, yellow, pink, or orange and all colors are bright and cheerful.

Plant Ixora in full sun and well-drained soil and fertilize regularly. A great colorful addition to any yard.

------------
Find more interesting stories about gardening in Costa Rica on the AM Costa Rica Garden page. Questions on this article, Ms. Victoria Torley, gardener columnist, can be reached by emailing victoriatorley1@gmail.com
--------------