Last year, Richard and I decided it was time to do something about the overgrowth that lies just beyond our small, fenced backyard. We’ve put a lot of energy into our front garden, vegetable garden, and backyard oasis. But just beyond has been, well, you know the old saying, “out of sight, out of mind.” Nature quickly reclaims what is hers, and she was well on her way to owning the area!
We began talking about and visualizing the transformation we wanted to see, and we documented our plans last year with video and the blog post, “Our First Spring Project.” But life gets in the way. With our budding web business, the band After Two Glasses to practice with, yoga classes to teach and Richard’s bartending gigs, flora sculpting was frequently bumped down the list of priorities, making progress slow and allowing some of the vegetation to continue to claim the yard.
I could say we planned it that way because it turned out to have been a good thing, but we didn’t. Call it divine intervention or gross delinquency, but the many delays have allowed us to observe what mother nature offers, and by that we are able to make careful choices.
We’d already selected to keep the blackberries and the mulberry tree on the northern side. It was a job getting in there to beat back the unwanted growth while avoiding the brambles, our chosen tree, and some of the monkey grass. We left another young tree alongside the mulberry, thinking we might like to keep two small trees, but we have since decided the second one will have to go. It detracts from the delicate beauty of the mulberry and it’s blooms will soon hang over the pool inside the fence. This guy’s future is not looking very bright. We’ll give him a final farewell in the chiminea later this season.
We placed a couple of chaise lounges in the back, and we intend to try out a number of furniture options as we move forward. These lounges feel cozy under the graceful mulberry branches and offer a place to recline when hard work in the garden calls for a respite.
Next up, cutting back the southern side. Two trees caught my attention. One features a white flower that appears similar to a dogwood (I’ll have to do a little research); the other sports lovely and interesting orange berries. We want to open things up enough to be able to maintain the area but leave that “natural growth” look. It takes slow and careful consideration, and that is just what our schedule affords us. I’m glad we didn’t just move in and clear-cut the entire section. I’m not a fan of the annihilated look. My mother used to have a large yard that she carefully tended while managing to leave it with the feel of a lovely rocky landscape you might happen upon in nature. She showed me how to cut the older, longer branches of a bush and let the newer limbs move in. This kept the bush at a manageable size without that highly-manicured look.
So, with saws and clippers in hand, we moved in to the worst of the overgrowth. We’ve made some progress and brought the hammock down to the area. It is fun here, and I’ve used the hammock more in this area than I ever did on the deck. Funny that, but things must go where they fit. I’m not sure if this is it, but we’ll leave her here for a while and see how it grows on us.
I’ve added a few things found from other parts of the yard and donated by friends and relatives. There are some large pink lilies I removed from my vegetable garden plot. There are several oak leaf hydrangeas, gifts from a close friend, two figs from my Aunt Janet, and a pear tree from my little sister, Robin. I also have some cement art collected over the years I think will fit nicely in the mix.
It is so much fun to watch what happens as we work with the natural growth of the area. Because we are using the vegetation that grows naturally here, it will be easy to maintain, without watering or fertilizing. This is a form of gardening referred to as xeriscaping and it just makes sense! The biggest problem will be keeping things in check.
And of course, there are those rascally mosquitoes. I’m trying a few things regarding that battle, but that will be another story!
Stay tuned! There’s more to come… and more to go.
