A Year Later

Pinch me. I think I blinked and an entire year has passed.  June marks a year since I've been gardening in my new garden. What a year of gardening it has been!

Grass has diminished, gardens have increased, root cuttings became plants, transplants settled in, divisions have grown, structures have been built, and newly purchased plants continue to find their way to this new garden.

This was the first bit of grass that needed to be removed to make room for plants I couldn't live without from my other garden.

On June 1, 2014 we signed a contract to sell our previous home andgarden of 30 years. Before I could even begin to think about packing the house my mind raced with gardening plans. How was I going to keep my most beloved plants? Plants that loved ones and friends had generously shared with me over the years. How could I make enough space in my new garden quickly to at least start slips and divisions that I knew I couldn't afford to replace? I hired a couple of teenage helper-boys to start digging out grass on June 6, 2014. For the next 5 weeks I was on an Adrenalin high until we officially closed on the deal. The boys (usually one at a time) dug grass and moved the heavy pots and stones and garden furniture while I planted plants, mulched, and started root cuttings. If my amazing mom had not steadfastly urged me to start packing also (and helped me packed - along with so many family members) I'm not sure I would have ever made it inside the house to get our household stuff moved also. I would have been happy to just get the garden moved.

One of the stipulations when we signed the sale contract was that I could take my gardening accessories with me.The birdhouses in the Birdhouse Garden were moved over late June to their new home. You may remember that I had only had them for a year.  This scene remains one of my favorite spots in the garden. 

I picked that spot because it can be viewed from the open back deck and from the inside dining room as well as from so many vantage points in the garden. 

The opposite viewpoint. From the east looking back toward our open deck.

I'm surprisingly content and happy with the way this garden is coming along. Surprised because I cried a thousand tears at the decision to leave my old garden. This garden had some great bones to start with! There are always more projects to finish. Visions dance in my head with new ideas. That's what gardening is all about though. It's a journey. A working garden is never finished.

The Birdhouse Garden is on our south lot line and runs perpendicular to our house.  Our lot line ends about 30' beyond the chairs you see. The large banana trees you see in the background are my south neighbor's. The cypress hammock and water conservation to the south of us keeps our property filled with wildlife and visually adds to the width of our property. 

Thank you ALL for being so encouraging along the way and for following this journey. You have each been a huge source of inspiration every step of the way. Some of you have had to make much harder decisions and it was your stories of leaving your beloved gardens that comforted and consoled me when I couldn't imagine ever loving another garden. All is well. I do love my new garden. God knows me better than I know myself. He gave me the strength I needed when I needed it. 

More before and after photos to come...




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If you've just arrived to this page as a new gardening friend or perhaps missed the back story about how we moved from our home and garden of 30 years to the house next door you can catch up here... http://www.hoeandshovel.com/2014/07/a-new-journey-bitter-and-sweet.html

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