Hi! Welcome to my newest experience: blogging. I hope you will be patient as I figure this whole thing out as I go. Pretty much the same as what I did when I decided I wanted a garden!
I started my gardening quest over 15 years ago after having major back surgery. That was prior to 1 year 2 weeks and 3 days of 24/7 constant pain, but whose counting...My surgery was in the fall and after spending yet several more months of inactivity in my brace and "bone growth simulator" (I felt like robocop or something kinda similar)I often dreamed of what I was going to do when I was all better. When Spring graced us with her presence, I often sat on my porch looking across my tiny patch of grass to the woods. In truth, it seriously lacked anything worthy of my attention. Then one afternoon it hit me that I should try gardening just like my father did a few years earlier. Changing that boring space across the driveway into something beautiful sounded like a cool and easy idea.
It was very slow going since the doctors forbade me to do just about everything. But, like any other creative mind, I needed to do something productive. I could sit idle no longer. So I slowly and quite gingerly started clearing a little patch that I would turn into a marvel of wonders to behold.
Did I mention there was a big damn tree right in the middle of my little dream of awesomeness? Did I mention I had no experience in this field what-so-ever? Yup, not even vegetable gardening, those dreaded green things and stuff my parents made me eat. My first plants were some perennials from a catalog. Tigerlillies...HAH!!! Why do I laugh you ask? Because this bonehead lives in New Jersey where they grow all over the place like big weeds. So as I try to plant these "fans" one at a time, spaced just like the directions tell me, I realize I have a big problem. There is barely any soil around this tree, it is all dense with roots. Never mind that I really had no "plan" of what I was going to do, the wet clay soil, an exceptional lack of sunshine, and yes, the list goes on.
So, that's where it all began. I started paying more attention to what Dad was doing, borrowing his books and soaking up anything anyone could or would tell me. I had many trial and errors in which I tried to learn from my mistakes. Of course, sometimes I was just stubborn and would keep at something just because I liked it (I'll tell you about my butterfly bush another time!). We moved 3 years ago to a much larger property. The other major factor here: sunshine! Most of the property is in full sun ALL day. I started making gardens around the house, bordered with my absolute love: rock walls. I am such a stone addict!!!Have I actually completely finished any yet...nooooooo. Working with a big, new slate, there just isn't enough of me or time in a day to do everything I want to do. Guess it's a good thing I love my new home and plan on staying a very long time. Knowing me, my gardens will never be "done", they will always be a work in progress, just like my life.
I hope that you will join me, and share with your friends, my journeys in the garden and in the life of a 45 year old who is always learning new tricks!
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