Before I get to the reason for the pouting, though, I'm going to post a few photos to catch everyone up on the horticultural highlights of my little sabbatical:
 |
| I counted FOUR blooms on my rescued Bird of Paradise this winter! |
 |
| This 3ft tall tower of 'Brasil' philodendron looked pretty through the winter next to the BOP, in spite of having almost no soil in its container. |
 |
| Mexican heather bloomed through part of the fall and early winter, mingling nicely with a nearby succulent. |
Okay, I feel better now, after seeing a little bit of plant prettiness. So, here goes: I haven't been posting anything here, and I've kind of been in mourning because... I'm going to be leaving my garden. And I didn't know quite what to say about it.
The reason for leaving is a very good one--even a happy one. I'm getting married in August, and my fiance simply does not fit in my house. (Frankly, he's not all that fond of old houses, anyway. He would like to have something a little bigger, and more open.) At 6'4", he has to bend his head on the lower landing of both staircases, and when taking a shower upstairs. His size 14 feet do not fit on the steps... in fact, he has to walk sideways on his way down.
I love my house, but the thought of leaving my garden is really what sent me into a bout of melancholy. The garden is really where I healed after my divorce. It has witnessed countless thoughts, hopes and dreams... and, worse, the cherry trees I planted years ago are just now starting to bear fruit!
But... there was never any question of whether or not I would eventually move once we got married. A man should be comfortable in his own house, after all! I did request for us to put off the whole moving-and-house-hunting process until next spring, however. The thought of planning a wedding in just 10 months PLUS trying to keep my house in show-worthy condition sounded pretty much like an impossible task. And since he's a very reasonable guy, he readily agreed to suck it up and deal with my sweet little house temporarily.
And so I have this one last year with my garden. One last growing season to watch things mature. One last summer to eat blackberries, strawberries, raspberries and cherries. One last chance to finish painting the darn fence and simplify the borders to make the house more sellable. One season in which to propagate my hypericums, dig up and containerize my blueberries, and move countless divisions and seedlings to the yard of my (thankfully amenable) future mother-in-law.
Just one more year. So I guess it's time to stop pouting, and start the planning!
13 comments:
I certainly have noticed your absence. I figured you were all involved with wedding preparations and all that goes with combining two adults lives. It does take some attentive work. I wish you the best of luck. I will be here when you return to more normal life. It will happen. I will look forward hearing all the details about you making your new garden.
Hmm... So you're probably looking for a place with a good amount of land- say about an acre? Interesting topography, a slope maybe, just as an example, and a good view wouldn't hurt. Maybe a cute brick house... 3-4 bedrooms? Convenient highway access, but a quiet neighborhood. Safe area. Good schools for down the road maybe. Close to work would be a big bonus. Not too expensive.
Could be tough.
Congratulations and best wishes. You'll love your new garden, too. Be sure and tell the eventual new owners of your current house that you'll be taking a lot of plants out of the garden...
Congratulations! Fresh starts can be so exciting & I'm sure once you find your new house & see your new garden spot you'll be excited about it. And what a sweet mother-in-law to hold your plants over for you. That will be a big help for you.
I would say you ARE mourning - it's a big deal to give up something you have put so much time & love into. So don't be too hard on yourself for taking the time to mourn. You're doing the right thing to pick up & move on too. I can't wait to see you build your new garden!
Greenbow Lisa, I HAVE been a little busy with that, too. Meetings with the church, lots of discussions with Steve about future plans--all kinds of stuff to make sure that we get started on the right foot--plus the dress buying and all of that!
Thanks for the support as well. It was very sweet of you to promise to continue to visit my blog... that made me smile. :-)
Meagan, you speak almost as if you know such a place! But you forgot to mention the neighbors... what if there are a couple of crazies living nearby? ;-)
Thanks, Carol! No worries: By the time people are looking at the house next year, I plan to have everything I want out of the gardens safely stashed in pots... or at my Mother-in-Law's. So what they see is what they'll get.
There are quite a few things that I probably won't be able to take with me, anyway, though. This yard is abnormally well drained, while most of the land in NE Ohio (like my first garden) is heavier clay. Unless we get into a place quickly enough to build up some good raised beds immediately, many of my plants here won't be happy enough to survive. More about that later, though!
Jenny, thank you. :-) You're probably right--I DID need a little time to mourn. Had I posted about this right away, I would have undoubtedly sounded much more whiney, because I would have let the sadness overwhelm the positives! And I know that I'll be excited about a new garden, too, in time. (There's just a lot to get done between now and that new garden... yikes! lol.)
Thanks for your concern Kim. All of the bad weather went either north or south of my area. Thank God. This was an awful storm.
You did seem unusually quiet, Blackswamp Girl! August is a very good month for a wedding.
The end of something focuses the mind, doesn't it? You'll have a year to savor the garden of now, but if you keep a clear eye and don't get too sentimental, you can also figure out what things in this place drive you nuts and avoid them in the next garden.
It's cool that you have somewhere to keep the divisions of plants. Happy Happy Days!
Annie at the Transplantable Rose
PS Yes - I'm also very glad Lisa commented so we know she is OK!
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding, Kim! I know you will create a new, wonderful garden when it's time to say goodbye to this one. I look forward to reading about it.
Crazies are good for you. Especially if they're the sort of crazies that have an adorable baby/toddler to play with and who will let you store your plants conveniently across the street from the hypothetical cute brick house.
Best wishes for continued growth and much happiness. I’m a long-time reader of your blog who grew up in the former black swamp in Henry County where the drainage ditches beside every road are deeper than the tallest basketball player. I love the foliage photos from your garden. Be well, be very happy.
Lois
Annie, it does focus the mind. As you said, there are a few things that I'm already keeping in mind for my next garden... I'm sure that I'll be talking about those as I deconstruct this one. :-)
Pam, thanks! I know it seems like you've been having an awful lot of fun with yours--and now, the neighbor's too, lol--so I'm hoping it will be a grand new adventure!
Meagan, that's a great point. And I'm excited to see said--er, hypothetical--cute baby/toddler tomorrow at craft night. :-D
Thank you for the good wishes, Lois! Your ditch analogy made me smile... ah, how different it is up here when someone says that their car went into a ditch, versus what it means "back home"! (My Dad's old GTO could tell you that ditches are often death sentences for automobiles... luckily, those old cars were built well enough that he escaped unharmed.) Hey, they had to be deep to drain that entire swamp, right?!
how blessed to have paradise blooms and love in your life. hope and peace during hectic times
Stratoz, thank you for the good wishes. I am indeed blessed... and I know how truly lucky I am. :-)
Post a Comment
One of my favorite things about blogging is the interaction--posts are often simply the beginning of an interesting conversation! So thanks for taking the time to join the discussion, and please know that I enjoy reading each and every comment left here. I try to answer as many as I can.