"Move? But we just agreed that we love this and want to stay! We just planted all of those crape myrtles! I haven't divided all of the lilies yet! I have no rose cuttings! Are you serious?"
I looked at my husband and I saw that he was. More than that, he was tired. Between his business, a large extended family, a full social life (blessings, all) and a four-acre lot to maintain according to somewhat stringent deed restrictions, he was drained. If I were honest, I was, too. I knew that we were not giving anyone or anything the attention they deserved and that we were missing much. We are not getting any younger. Once thoroughly considered, the idea of living closer to family and friends became a tantalizing one. While the moving process was exhausting and perhaps we made some hasty decisions, I am convinced that it's all for the best.
Once we sold our house, we did not want to keep our belongings in storage until Spring; we determined to choose a house from whatever was available and came closest to meeting our requirements at the time. My husband was moving his office, too. Everything happened quickly and all at once. It is the settling down and adjusting that has taken some time.
Moving from four acres in a quiet, rural subdivision to a house on a golf course, zero lot-line, has been an adventure we will not forget any time soon. But I am not here to talk about life in the fast lane. I am here to talk about my garden, our drastically ever-changing landscape.
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I do not have access to all of my photos at present, unfortunately. < I am not at all sure I like external hard drives at this moment.> To compare the front and back yards in the same season isn't possible today and to use what photos I have access to really is terribly unfair to the new property. For now, I shall limit myself to a short, one-paragraph comparison.
Between the properties, there are two major differences that will affect my gardening. One, of course, is that the old garden was expansive in all directions and the new garden is tiny in all directions. The other is the configuration of the house. Our former house was situated east/west while our new one is north/south. All of this means that I will have to be very choosy about what to plant, whatever I plant will have more protection from the elements, and suddenly I have a tall, north-facing wall and very little "full sun". A difference that will affect my garden, if not my gardening style, is the fact that I will have much less control of what surrounds my plantings (neighbor's yards). It will be an entirely different gardening situation and I admit that I'm looking forward to the challenge. I've already decided what plants must go to make way for plants I want. There is so much to do!
But not today. We have an unusual day of snow and sleet. Yesterday, the temps were in the 60's and they will return to them later this week. I hope that you are all warm and well and that 2014 has been good to you so far.
Oh! There is one rather amusing difference! We are now the caretakers of three very tall, hardy palms. They sound lovely in the wind.
I'll be back soon!
Awww...aren't you feeling restricted from moving from so much space to small space? 4 acres mean you do not have to plan a much -- you can just flow with imagination and make a kid's garden, a rose garden, a fragrant-garden and etc, etc, here and there, wherever I want. But, now you have to constantly plan. So, I am looking forward to reading all your challenges and how you are handling those. You can keep all the records and perhaps a publish a book on the experience.
ReplyDeleteWhat's a zero lot-line?
Hi, KL! Thank you for stopping by and not forgetting about me! It's been a big adjustment, but I am actually relishing the opportunity to garden on a small scale. I will address it all soon and hope readers will find me, again. Thank you so much for your encouragement and for your suggestion that I journal about the transition and perhaps even write a book about it. I do plan to write about my experiences, but I will have to really step it up to write a book. Again, thank you for the encouragement/inspiration. Your students are most fortunate.
DeleteI am now going to treat myself and check out your blog! All the best.