Summer Gardens 2012

As I may have mentioned, I discovered my enthusiasm for gardening this past summer.  I dabbled while living in Connecticut, but I had limited time and space.  But I’ve always had the utmost respect for people capable of creating beautiful flower gardens – my particular favorites being the cottage gardens so prevalent in England and in New England.

Fortunately, life worked out in such a way last spring that I was able to take the summer off.  What a fabulous treat that was!  I fully expected to immerse myself in vegetable gardening, which I did.  But I was not prepared for the unbridled zeal with which I approached the expansion of the flower gardens. 

It began with the removal of the blemish on my land; the above-ground pool that sat a mere 5 feet from my back door.  It was ugly (to me).  It was an energy-hog. It required the constant use of toxic chemicals to keep it clean.  It blocked the view of our chicken area and our woods, and I hated it with an all-consuming passion!  Thankfully, some friends of ours feel more kindly toward pools than I do, and dismantled it and hauled it away for their own use. 

Its removal, however, left a rather large, sand-filled pit in the middle of my backyard. Just filling this hole with grass seemed so uninspired.  I sat out on the back steps with Nora one day, looking at the pit in the middle of our sparsely planted, roughly 3- acre backyard, and felt completely overwhelmed by it all.  But Nora, as she often does, talked me off the ledge.  She suggested that I view the yard in sections – potential garden rooms, if you will – rather than as one large, overwhelming expanse.      I followed her advice (which I so often do).  Within a month, the immediate space around the patio and off the back steps was transformed into a butterfly garden and our circular garden.  

That began a flurry of activity that continued well into October.  In addition to the new gardens in the backyard, I added numerous perennials to the front and side borders – probably planting well over 150 plants and at least 300 bulbs by late October.  My brother added to my artistic vision by building three beautiful arbors and a bench, all constructed from wood found on our land, in addition to a split-rail fence along the driveway, and a rustic fence built from discarded barn wood along the dog enclosure.  Overall, it was a productive summer/early fall.  But just the beginning…