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| Let the fun begin! |
Sound all
too familiar my gardening friends? Let
me share:
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| The old walnut in all it's grander. |
We had to
have our largest and oldest walnut tree cut down because it had become a danger
to lives and buildings. We mourned the
loss. And then! And then, I realized it was an excellent
opportunity to have a new garden bed.
Wowzer and kick in that gardening addiction!
Yes, I
started breathing faster and my heart was racing. Was it sugar or garden addiction? That burst of energy gave me all kinds of
thoughts about making, moving and designing.
I was blinded by the fact it would take lots of physical work especially
considering there had to be a huge mass of roots to contend.
Another rationalization
was I would simply move things I had and it wouldn’t cost a dime. Ah yes, rationalization of the finest kind.
First, I
asked the forester to leave the stump about four feet high. And now it was time to “encourage” my good husband
into the whole process. He enjoys
designing building projects and so little by little I showed him fairy houses
made from tree stumps. See my garden
blog for a picture of the end result.
I had to be
pretty darn ruthless with the existing Comfrey that had surrounded the walnut for
years. Comfrey is an old heirloom plant
that is beautiful for about half the summer and a real invasive ugly pain the
other half. It has spread and this patch
will not be missed.
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| Old walnut showing the damage. |
Once I had
killed (hopefully) the comfrey, I had a blank circle except for the existing
daffodils. Good to go! Perhaps this is where tunnel vision married
rationalization. Those daylilies that
had eventually become too shaded could be moved, it was a chance to get some
new daylilies (because one never has enough) and having all this outside my
computer room window and off the back porch was an added bonus. Seriously, I was doing this for the masses,
for the love of gardening and alas - for my garden addiction.
It’s been
gently suggested by one of my sweet family members that I may want to consider
downsizing my gardens in preparation of getting too old and feeble to care for
them properly. Plus, is a yard full of
perennials, bushes, trees and things a home selling point or a home selling
deterrent?
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| Comfrey around the old walnut. |
To date,
I’ve tried to consider the suggestion and right now I’m thinking gardening and
the beauty are some of the things that keep me going – although perhaps
painfully going. Planning and improving
my gardens gives hours of good brain activity.
(I know! I know! Rationalization!)
I know from
past experience (both mine and my garden friends) that seldom does anyone buy a
home and have the same likes as the prior owner. That goes for both inside the home and the grounds. They buy a new home with their own set of
loves and visions and seldom does it include what’s already been done.
I follow
several old home sites and the comments substantiate this. A few will fall in love with the total
package. Most others will wax on about
what they would change and how could anyone be so stupid as to do such and
such. I do hope whoever buys this home
from us in the future will have our vision and love of old homes and gardens
but if not, so be it. With a few
exceptions, a lawn mower set on low and grass seed will return it to the simple
yard it hasn’t seen in years.
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| I call this my blank canvas. |
I’ve been
around too long to suppose my garden will become a nationally protected garden
heritage site. Seriously, it wouldn’t
become that even if I paid off the judges.
It’s not that big of a deal but it is the deal I enjoy today with
visions of what it will look like for that little patch where the old walnut
had stood.
Maybe next
year I’ll consider paring down my beds – ha ha ha ha ha ha – Oh gosh that’s a
good one.
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