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| Our backyard, a week ago in the evening |
Actually, the magnolia tree is studded with magenta buds and it's a LITTLE greener even today:
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| Our backyard, this morning, opposite light, actually not looking greener in this picture but I swear it is |
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| Magnolia tree, slightly doctored for more saturated color so you can see the pink buds better as I can't get off the deck to get a closer, more obvious picture |
That magnolia tree says it all.
I CAN'T GET OFF THE DECK.
I would love, love, love to be walking around, working in the garden, investigating my new surroundings. Actually, it should be working in the "garden" because there really IS NO garden, not yet. I am pretty much starting from scratch.
This is both an exciting opportunity and a source of loss -- I went to a garden center (don't worry, I moved very, very slowly and sat on every bench, and then hurt afterwards and stuck myself to the couch) with my mother in law last week on her last day, and the majority of my thoughts were:
"I used to have that."
Such a sad realization that my gardens at our "old" house were a labor of love that didn't crop up overnight, that were a result of careful tending and trial and error and developing beds over a good decade. And while I can create all new gardens here, and it's a bit of a blank canvas and a great opportunity for my grandiose plans to eventually have a mini botanical gardens instead of grass anywhere, right now I'm missing my flower babies that I used to have.
We were driving by the area where our house was, and Bryce said, "you want to drive by and see your gardens?" and I was quick to say, "HELL NO." I knew it would either a) make me sad because all my pretty spring flowers would be blooming there with strangers, or b) make me sad because it was all overgrown and neglected. (I'm pretty sure it's option A, as a neighbor let me know they took my list of plants that I left and didn't laugh and throw it out but rather started researching the plants to take care of them, which made me all warm and fuzzy inside, but I also don't want to find out that it was all too much and is neglected despite good intentions.)
So I guess this is a lesson in patience. Wait and see what comes up here, make plans knowing it won't materialize from my fantasy into reality in one season, and enjoy the surprises that crop up in unexpected places while I wait to be physically able to get down in the dirt.
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| Pretty Hellebores in a way-too-structured-for-me front garden area |
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| From above, sad structured mini terraced garden that needs to be filled to the brim with plants and have that ghastly weed-preventing, soul-crushing garden fabric removed from under the hideous red cedar mulch. I may have opinions on this, my apologies if you love that sort of thing...I need to cottage it up, stat. |
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| Wild surprise daffodils in the black raspberry thorns, I'd love to see this whole hill covered in them |
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| Surprise front yard daffodil, by the road, in with the weeds |
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How lovely to be surprised by what is going to spring up over the next few months! And think of it - you have a blank canvas to create your perfect garden. That's great. Perhaps you should use your time now to plan on paper? Do some drawings, plant suggestions, etc. Research gardens that you like. Etc. It's all productive, but it won't harm your healing progress.
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, I could definitely see that the second photo had a hint more green than the first. Before you know it, you'll be wrapped in luscious green leaves!
What a great idea! I have been mooning over plant catalogs and ordering a few things, but not actively sketching. I do have quite the Pinterest board set up! It will be lovely to have everything all lush and green and see what we actually have to work with here. I did get a bunch of railing planters and I am going to have a crazy container garden on all the decks (this house would be a smoker's dream, decks everywhere!). I am
DeleteYour backyard is gorgeous! It's such an oasis. Love Mali's idea about planning. I do that with my own garden and that's pretty fun too. ;)
ReplyDeleteThank you! It's like a freaking park, and we want to keep it natural, low maintenance, and usable. The magnolia was a nice boon, hoping there are other fun surprises out there.
DeleteI remember our first spring here, waiting to see what was going to crop up and grow. Turns out, lots of poison ivy...! Lol
ReplyDeleteSo sad that in moving you had to leave hot beautiful gardens you out so much hard work into. But just think, you now have a lot of experience with cultivating and growing gardens so you have a leg up and I bet it won’t take as long this time to have them turn out how you want. I like Mali’s idea of planning out what you want to do so as soon as you are able to you can down in the dirt again. And, I am very envious of you and your green thumb ability, which I completely lack!
NOOOOO to poison ivy... That stuff is nasty. Thank you for the green thumb assurances! From "supervising" my mom digging for the plants that came way early, I think we have super rocky soil, and a totally different ecosystem. So challenge accepted! I am enjoying the planning and wishlisting of a zillion plants though. đ
DeleteIt is fun for you and your space to get to know each other. And then do the dance of creation and manifestation together.
ReplyDeleteLove that! Yes, it will be fun once I can physically get out there any manifest some aided natural beauty out there.
DeleteLovely pictures! Makes sense that you'd miss your gardens - every time you'd post about them, I was always in awe of your green thumb ability. Here's hoping you're able to turn your new space into the gardens of your imagining when you're recovered and ready to work on that project.
ReplyDeleteI am decidedly brown-thumbed, alas. Both my mother and my MIL are good with plants, so I've relied on them to instruct me on how to maintain/resuscitate our plant areas. Last year they both pointed out some tulips and grape hyacinths that refused to bloom, so I'd decided to uproot and replant this year. Well, I got lazy, never did it, and this year, a huge surprise - both bloomed beautifully. I hope that there are some further wonderful surprises in your backyard as well.
Aww, thank you! It was such a labor of love. And I find weeding super relaxing and Zen, which helps. I love surprise blooming like that! My favorite surprises were "squirrel plants" -- areas helpfully cultivated by squirrel friends (my daffodil clumps were entirely that, didn't plant a bulb.).
DeleteSo much potential there!! Especially when you have the vision & ability & willingness to work for it! I HAVE made things grow, in the past -- and both my grandmothers had (& my mother has) some lovely gardens. I just never had the energy to keep at the constant weeding & watering. We moved around a lot when I was growing up, and I know my mother shares your sorrow over having to leave behind the gardens she toiled over... in fact, I distinctly remember one time she told the new owners of the house she was coming back in the fall to dig up her tulip bulbs (& she did!! lol). I never realized until just a year or two ago that the peonies in her backyard actually came from my grandmother (who died when I was 14)'s garden.
ReplyDeleteI will look forward to seeing your new garden plans unfold!