Home Sweet Home

Now that I have a digital camera, I figured I should take some pics of stuff I talk about, so above are photos of my house and yard. I should have done an April photo so you could see all the tulips and daffodils, but I missed that boat, so we will begin with May, and then I'll give you a digital "tour" at least once a month as all the flowers begin to do their thing.

The house "came with" the Colorado Blue Spruce trees (one of which I had removed to make way for more flowers) and the shrub border next to the house. The front of the house faces East (is that Feng Shui?). On its south facing side, there is another shrub border, and there were perennial beds on the north-facing side as well as next to a privacy fence that attaches to the garage (not shown in this series). There was a 2-foot diameter circle around the lamp post. Everything else was added by me (I had help from my ex-husband for some of the front borders).

The photos as lined up are of: the back border that continues on in both directions, connecting to the one behind the garage as well as along the entire west-facing side of the back yard; the back of the garage; the front (and yes, the flower beds go right out to the street with maybe a 3-foot area that is taken up by a drainage culvert, and there's a sidewalk through it since 2 years ago); and a close-up of one of my Japanese tree peonies (which are woody perennials that take many years to get to the size of this one, which is about 3 feet tall).

As much as I enjoyed being in Colorado Springs last week, I truly love what I've done to my yard, and it brings me great joy. The front beds include 10 rose bushes, way too much phlox, lots of day lilies, a good amount of oriental lilies, wandering Echinacea (coneflowers, for those of you lacking Latin skills), tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, columbine, bee balm, and gosh, I can't even remember them all. At one time I catalogued all the perennials that I have, and it's well over 100 different types across the entire yard. I used to also plant about 20 hanging baskets which adorned my garage and various hanging devices, plus another 10 patio pots. While I have the time to do the planting still, I don't have the patience or energy to water all of them every day, and you absolutely must water potted annuals pretty much daily. But I still do 3 hanging baskets of geraniums as a sort of "tradition," and this year I've got tuberose bulbs that will fill some patio containers as well as some heliotrope. Tuberose and heliotrope both have the most delicious smells, and that's why I planted about 60 oriental lilies 2 years ago. Unfortunately, the damn rabbits have nibbled many of them down this year, but I should still get at least 1/2 of them. And then we are scheduled for 17-year cicadas any day now, so who knows what the actual bloom output of my yard will be this year?

Right now, the perennials are mostly 1.5 feet tall, but some of them are going to top out at 6 feet! It's this time of year that makes working at home a bit more difficult, since my office looks out on my back yard, and it's easy to pop outdoors for a little weed this, pick that. But I suppose gardening is one of the things that balances me against all the frenetic training and racing activity that I also love so much, and I also enjoy the fact that anyone who walks in front of my house gets a little slice of my paradise, and they typically let me know how much they appreciate it! I may enter my home into a local garden walk--plus, I only need to provide a winter heated water source and a nut-bearing tree or shrub, and I would easily be able to have my yard certified by the National Wildlife Society as a backyard wildlife habitat!

Spring, glorious spring! I am so grateful for all the natural beauty around me and the pleasure it gives to the local wildlife (even the damn rabbits) and passers by. The hardest thing for me to give up should I move away would be the gardens. I need to stick my hands into dirt (at least 1/2 the time I don't wear gloves--who cares?). I need to see the struggle that is nature in a suburban area--bees, bugs, birds, rodents (I have a chipmunk that lives in my yard). I need to feel that I am improving a small piece of Earth. That in and of itself, would be enough for most people, and I know this is something I will have no matter my physical condition.

Now maybe you can understand why I am not so concerned as to the interior condition of my house (which I could easily spend $75K on remodelling)--I get a whole lot more satisfaction and pleasure from the grounds and then running and biking outdoors!

Namaste!