Projects: Part Two (What did I get myself into?)
In my last blog post, I wrote about a summer project and how it inspired me to potentially do more. And that ‘more’ was most likely to have happened next spring. It was something that I was thinking about. Well, so much for thinking - it suddenly seems to be the time for doing! The more and more that I thought about what I wanted to do - remove the rest of the grass in my front yard to create more pathways and more garden - the more I knew that I had to do it sooner than later. Even late in the gardening season, projects are still viable options - in fact the weather is lovely for working outside now - and so I thought that now should be the moment for me to begin; why wait until April? As I always say - there is no better time than the present.
So, what exactly am I doing? I am removing the remaining grass - or what amounts to a lawn - in my front yard. I am going to put in gravel pathways and additional plantings. This will mimic what I already have throughout the rest of my property. All of my ‘yard’ will now be garden. And this is something that I have been thinking about for many years now. It actually was my original plan when I started to design my garden ten years ago. I never wanted grass or a front lawn; I wanted a garden! So now, all these years later, the initial design concept that I had in my mind - of a house surrounded by a garden - will finally be fully realized.
And as it is still a ‘project’ - that means things can change. I don’t have the entire layout planned on paper. I like to work both visually and physically in the garden at the same time. I start with an idea, but I need to be in the space to see it through. It really is all about digging up the grass and laying down the paths and rocks and moving plants - all in real time - as opposed to some grand blueprint ideal. I have my own ideas - and then I just go outside and get dirty. And before you know it, I have more garden. That is the way I have always worked; the method that I have always used. All of which has served me well so far in my gardening life. So I will certainly be utilizing those same techniques as I go forward with this new project.
And since we are now stumbling into October, the chances that all of my ‘perfect garden ideas’ come to full fruition are fairly slim. I am an idealist at times, but ultmately realize that things do not, and perhaps should not, happen over night. If my new project does not fully come together before the gardening season ends, then I will have the ‘finishing’ to look forward to come spring, which is not a bad thing at all - just something exciting to anticipate. I am sure that I will do as much as I possibly can right away - because part of me is impatient, but I do understand that this will most likely be an ongoing project - to be continued, as they say. And that gives me the winter months to look through my favorite plant catalogs to plan, and perhaps purchase a few new things.
All good projects take time. Good garden design is something that evolves over the years. Personally, I am ten years into this, and my own garden is still changing every day. I keep finding new projects to make the garden better, which is always the ultimate purpose. And not better as in to be ‘better than yours’, but better in a sense of improving the beauty, aesthetics, functionality and sustainability - to be a better gardener in general, and to improve the little plot of land that I am so fortunate to tend. Little by little, project by project, year after year, I am trying. And I will always be trying…
Until next time…
