Some Gardening Goodness
Long story short, having two children with GERD has resulted in me having to alter my gardening over the years.
When we first moved in, well over a decade ago, I was enthusiastic and dedicated to beautifying our patch of green. Over the first few years, we ripped out the front lawn and about 1/3 of the back… planted a variety of flowers, vegetables, hedges, and fruit & ornamental trees & bushes… and turned our lot into a little piece of paradise.
Starting To Alter The Front Yard, First Summer After Moving In
The Mature Front Garden
Naturally, with illness-induced neglect, the weeds and neighbouring quack grass quickly took over, and chaos ensued. So much so, that we actually hired people to come and weed the garden a couple of years ago, as I just did not have the time or energy (or will) to do so.
On the days that I wasn’t feeling completely hopeless (and ready to bulldoze the whole thing and put the grass back), I tried to figure out what to do. I decided that I needed to simplify things. Drastically. But how? I realized that I found it much easier to keep up with the raised veggie beds in the back yard than the dispersed flowers in the front (you can tackle one small area/box at a time, rather than not even knowing where to begin), and so I started redesigning things to incorporate that idea.
Raised Veggie Boxes in the Back Yard
Luckily, around that time, my youngest started to show some health improvements as well. Which meant more time and freedom and energy for me to start reclaiming the previously ignored parts of my life – like the garden! So. I started weeding like crazy… and dividing the front yard into areas… with separate beds or boxes… moving the salvageable plants into them… and then lining and mulching the pathways in between them…
First Raised Flower Bed, 2012
Piece by piece, things slowly started to take shape…
Herb Circle and Bulb Bed, 2013
This year, I’ve thankfully carved out even more time (and whimsy) to dedicate to the reclamation task. Hours (and hours and hours…) of weeding later, and I can see how awesome it’s going to be again. Soon. Which inspires me. So much so, that I decided to take advantage of some old bed boards I found in the alley one day, and turn the flower beds into actual BEDS… 😉
Trash to Treasure: (left to right) found bed boards, sanding, “Martha” at work, spray-painting (followed by varnishing), 2014
Raised Flower Bed #2, in Pink
I still have a long way to go with the remaining weeding (and a second headboard to paint in purple… not to mention the other raised boxes, etc.), but it’s really starting to take shape again, and looking at what I’ve already accomplished encourages me to just get the rest of it done!
Anyhow. That’s what I’ve been up to lately. Not “crafty” so much, but still creative somehow. I think I’ll take advantage of the rainy weather this weekend and do some inside creating – like some sewing projects for my friend Jasmine, or some crocheting, or cooking a yummy meal or something like that… So, yeah. A blog post. Whew. Hope y’all have a great weekend. Ciao!
