...gardening haunts your dreams and brings you to tears.
I have always loved to garden. But being a full time employee and a mom has limited the time I could spend in the dirt. Late every winter I would pour over seed catalogs and try to start seeds at night on the dining room table. Oh, the joy of the seedlings! But by the time I could get them in the ground, they were leggy and pale. They never survived.
There have been many heartaches. Over the years, so many attempts at a garden have been lost to lack of time -- or to the over-zealous mower of the lawn. My poor peonies were mowed down every year for the first 3 years - even when clearly marked.
This year, my goals were more realistic. I didn't start seeds indoors. I was only going to focus on the border and rock garden and only with perennials (plants that come back every year, for those non-gardeners reading this.)
Then I was thrown for an unexpected loop. I had to go out of work on short term disability. My doctor actually encouraged me to do low-impact exercise...like gardening. Instead of being an occasionaly weekend warrior, I could spend a few minutes in the garden any day I felt up to it. And my garden flourished.
My perennials came from last year came back...carnations, pinks, lavender, violas, peonies, strawberries, snow-in-summer, phlox, strawberries. I even had some petunias that self-seeded and a hollyhock that I planted last year start to grow!
I added vinca, stock, and pansy plants for some instant color. I planted some dahlias, one of my favorites that I never had luck with. I also tried direct sowing zinnia, moonflower, sweetpeas and more hollyhocks. They were all growing and I was so pleased with my little garden.
Then the house, which belongs to my mother, was put on the market. This morning, the landscapers came. I knew they were coming. I never realized how attached I was to those little plants until I faced losing them. I was told they were going to plant shrubs. You know, those ugly blob like green things in front of EVERY house in suburbia?
In my dreams, they cut down the lilacs I planted for my mother 10 years ago for Mother's Day. The peonies I waited four years to bloom, and were about to burst with lush pink flowers. Everything. It was heartbreaking and I cried.
Finally, I woke and ran outside to see the damage. It was clear that there were two landscapers. One who knew at least a little about plants, and one who knew nothing. They basically dumped 2" - 4" of mulch everywhere.
My peonies, stock and blueberries were safe. A few vincas were saved by the landscaper who recognized them. There were a few pansies still smiling. Everything else seemed lost. I started gently going through the mulch to see if anything was hidden below. Luckily, much was still there.
In all, I lost my zinnias, moonflowers, hollyhocks, sweetpeas, some violas, petunias and a couple of strawberries. Just a few dollars worth of plants and seeds.
I never realized just how important my little garden was to me. My husband and I are looking for a place to live once the house is sold. Our highest priority is getting our son into a good school system. I was almost ready to accept that a condo would be good enough. Now I know better. I need a garden.
I have always loved to garden. But being a full time employee and a mom has limited the time I could spend in the dirt. Late every winter I would pour over seed catalogs and try to start seeds at night on the dining room table. Oh, the joy of the seedlings! But by the time I could get them in the ground, they were leggy and pale. They never survived.
There have been many heartaches. Over the years, so many attempts at a garden have been lost to lack of time -- or to the over-zealous mower of the lawn. My poor peonies were mowed down every year for the first 3 years - even when clearly marked.
This year, my goals were more realistic. I didn't start seeds indoors. I was only going to focus on the border and rock garden and only with perennials (plants that come back every year, for those non-gardeners reading this.)
Then I was thrown for an unexpected loop. I had to go out of work on short term disability. My doctor actually encouraged me to do low-impact exercise...like gardening. Instead of being an occasionaly weekend warrior, I could spend a few minutes in the garden any day I felt up to it. And my garden flourished.
My perennials came from last year came back...carnations, pinks, lavender, violas, peonies, strawberries, snow-in-summer, phlox, strawberries. I even had some petunias that self-seeded and a hollyhock that I planted last year start to grow!
I added vinca, stock, and pansy plants for some instant color. I planted some dahlias, one of my favorites that I never had luck with. I also tried direct sowing zinnia, moonflower, sweetpeas and more hollyhocks. They were all growing and I was so pleased with my little garden.
Then the house, which belongs to my mother, was put on the market. This morning, the landscapers came. I knew they were coming. I never realized how attached I was to those little plants until I faced losing them. I was told they were going to plant shrubs. You know, those ugly blob like green things in front of EVERY house in suburbia?
In my dreams, they cut down the lilacs I planted for my mother 10 years ago for Mother's Day. The peonies I waited four years to bloom, and were about to burst with lush pink flowers. Everything. It was heartbreaking and I cried.
Finally, I woke and ran outside to see the damage. It was clear that there were two landscapers. One who knew at least a little about plants, and one who knew nothing. They basically dumped 2" - 4" of mulch everywhere.
My peonies, stock and blueberries were safe. A few vincas were saved by the landscaper who recognized them. There were a few pansies still smiling. Everything else seemed lost. I started gently going through the mulch to see if anything was hidden below. Luckily, much was still there.
In all, I lost my zinnias, moonflowers, hollyhocks, sweetpeas, some violas, petunias and a couple of strawberries. Just a few dollars worth of plants and seeds.
I never realized just how important my little garden was to me. My husband and I are looking for a place to live once the house is sold. Our highest priority is getting our son into a good school system. I was almost ready to accept that a condo would be good enough. Now I know better. I need a garden.
Having a condo doesn't mean you can't have a garden. I work with someone who has a garden on their deck (They also have a roof garden, but those are in pricier areas - they live on Beacon Hill). There were plenty of people in NYC that had deck gardens. Maybe it isn't ideal, but you learn to make do with what you can afford/ what will have a good school system.