Our first spring project

From our deck, you can look out over our large backyard and see almost endless possibility. Morning and late afternoon sun give the area a beautiful glow. It seems like a perfect place to spend a summer afternoon lazing in a hammock or playing a spirited game of croquet.

It is not. But it soon will be, for our goal, this spring is to unearth the hidden beauty lying under the overgrown brambles and privet and create a secret garden of our very own.

We came up with the idea late into the fall of 2012 and intended to knock it out before it turned off cold. Frequently, my plans are bigger than my clock. And so, when the temperature dropped, we shelved the idea with the intention of bringing it back around come spring.

Well, folks, spring is upon us! Hallelujah! And so it begins!

This idea of unearthing a “secret garden” developed from a couple of serendipitous events in my life. Years ago, I lived in a house that had once been inhabited and cared for by two widowed sisters. Their gardens were the pride of the neighborhood, or so I was led to believe. When I lived there, no evidence of any fancy garden could be seen; at least not until a broken lawnmower allowed the gardens to re-emerge. I couldn’t believe my eyes; a beautiful garden was hiding there all along! I’d mowed it over and never known.

Fast forward ten years, and I’ve got an area in the back yard that I’ve ignored WAY too long. Out of sight, out of mind! When I finally ventured out to inspect the result of my gardening procrastination I was reminded of the over-looked gardens around my last home. There was a bench between two trees. It had long passed its utilitarian usefulness but offered an interesting visual of the blending of man-made and nature-made. A few ornamental shrubs and flowering ground covers were still thriving and some small volunteer trees had emerged of their own volition.

It would take some doing because it was for sure a big ole’ mess, but that’s what makes it fun. Right, Richard?

We planned to observe, select and then cut away what was not necessary to reveal the glory beneath! The reasons to do this are many. It will be less work. These are clearly plants that will grow here whether we take care of them or not. Okay, that sounds pretty easy to me! Clearly, they can survive flood and drought. Good for Alabama, less work for me. They will require no fertilizers or watering. Good for me and good for you.

Here is what caught my eye:

The light coming in is lovely as it peeks through trees over the fence to softly light the morning hours. It is shady but striking as you look out over the gloriously glowing backyard in the afternoon!

There are some blackberry brambles competing with unwanted weeds. We’ll remove the weeds to give the berries room to thrive. And just over these brambles grows a mulberry tree. It produces a fruit much like a blackberry. I’ll cut away the other small and wiry trees and let this one develop. I’ve also read the mulberry can be pruned to allow greater ease in harvesting.

The tree next to the mulberry is large. There once stood another beside it but only the stump remains. There is a weathered beyond use bench between the two and the trees both eventually grew around the stump. It is interesting and always draws contemplation for those who see it, but I don’t know how I’ll salvage this interesting feature. I’ll be thinking on it and welcome suggestions.

This area sports trees, bushes, and weeds. We’ll select a tree or two and there are a few blooming things in the bushes I’ll want to save. We’ll even take down some of the little trees beyond so the fenced back yard will get more light.

I’ve already planted a couple of figs and a pear tree. This will add to my natural fruit orchard while adding a little privacy to my neo-secret garden area. I plan to add a few other things here and there. I’m likely to dig them up from somewhere else and bring them in. I’d like to have some ferns and hostas and other shady flowering plants. And they’ll be perennials for sure. And I may purchase an organic blueberry from Garden Shop of Homewood.

I plan to add furniture. Maybe I’ll have these lovely chairs rebuilt or even try it myself. There is a table that matches but the glass was destroyed several years ago after a storm by a fallen tree. It is the right feeling for the area but this is to be a LOW budget project so it would take some creativity to bring this object into the mix. I also have a couple of wrought iron tables that might do, but they are both small and uncomfortable. Perhaps I’ll use a hammock. We’ll experiment and try a few things out to see which option feels the part.

We’ll be bringing you more videos and stories as we move through spring and summer to create what we hope is a lovely, shady and relaxing secret garden!

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