My garden designs have been almost exclusively determined by the wacky yard we bought which came with the house we live in. I just this year found out that our piece of the pie, which I thought was roughly the shape of a pie slice, was actually some strange version of a polygon – lines, angles and one curve. Add the rain water which has come down a gentle slope at flash flood speed from houses up the street, an encroaching neighbor, neighborhood folklore about the use of my yard, more folklore about the property line at the back and lastly the microclimates that existed around the house – near desert conditions in front, water park conditions in back. Why didn’t I see this before we bought the house?
No matter - gardening has been a source of peace, very hands on way to be in and with nature and a serious challenge to my creativity. It has excited me, frustrated me. I haven’t been able to sleep at night trying to figure out what to do. Gardening problems made me wake up in the morning early/ready to get to my solutions! As our family celebrates ten years in this house, the yard has started to look settled in some areas – finally found something that worked in the microclimates and fit in with the rest of the yard. A small collection of problems solved. There’s more to be solved.
