Aug 5, 2013 |
Y’all know my story. I have a yard and a house that I love-love-love, but sometimes need a little more love than I can provide.
Or so I think.
Y’all also know from my recent posts that I’m in this new mentality of “One”:
My Housing Project: Back to the Beginning was the start (no pun intended).
I followed that up with TGIF: One, being thankful for those first steps.
This week, I’ve been blessed with a new pantry shelf and a stack of pallets to get creative outside. Both are wonderful gifts from Grandpa, who does amazing cabinetry and wood-working. Just as soon as I can afford a new kitchen, guess who’s building it!
Pallets
Not a bad start to my collection, eh? Pretty soon I’ll be using those for a vertical garden, a tool storage center, a raised bed garden, and a walkway. Yes. I’m an overachiever when it comes to dreaming about my yard.
But first, I need to prep the yard. Let’s face it: I’m not laying a wooden walkway on unclean, uneven ground.
So my grand plans for the weekend didn’t go so well. There’s no walkway. No garden. No storage set up.
But there is a clean start.
Pine Needles along the Fence
The neighbor’s Pine tree continuously drops its needles wherever it can. Dot did a good job of starting the clean-up last week. It took me only ten minutes to finish up the roadside.
Roadside
Then I moved on to the driveway. Not too complicated to get from here:
Driveway Debris
to here:
Just needs a good sweep.
The worst part took me about half an hour under the low branches.
Inside Job
I raked up as much as I could. I didn’t get the rest of the yard done, but the front third is nice and clean. Yes, I know it’s dirt! But it’s clean dirt. And it’s mine. And now it’s ready to be more than dirt. It’s almost ready to be, well, a yard This Girl can be proud of.
What a Difference a Rake Makes
There’s a small pile of needles, leaves and debris in the fence corner.
Small debris pile. (BTW, check out my awesome red tennies!)
But that’s because there was no more room at the Bin.
No More Room at the Bin
This may not seem like a big project to you, but it’s the Little Things that make for a great foundation. Having minimal debris in my yard makes it easier to picture the plans in my head. The beauty is no longer competing with the brash.
I can also honestly say it was really hard for me focus on the simple task of raking. Once I was outside I envisioned how the yard will look with the tree branches trimmed, and I nearly pulled out my cutting tools. But I didn’t. Then I wanted to dig up the sprinkler system and make those necessary repairs. But I didn’t.
I stayed with the One Task. The start. The one I knew I could complete.
As soon as the trash bins are emptied this week, I’ll finish the rest of the front yard. Next week I’ll move on to the back. If all I do is rake for a month, at least I’m doing something. At least I’m taking a step toward making my yard into My Yard.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
You may also enjoy reading:
My Housing Project: 2013
There’s Hope for Bedford Manor
May 4, 2013 |
I had a beautiful Jade Plant. It started out very small. It was a housewarming gift from my mother over three years ago. The back story is, nearly all my life, my mom’s had jade plants of her own. They’ve come to be a symbol of our family. When we moved, the plant moved with us. So it was only natural for her to buy me my own when I got my first house.
Last summer, the beautiful plant grew bigger. I transplanted it to a larger pot. And it continued to grow. I was very excited. As we worked to beautify and fix Bedford Manor, my Jade plant planted its roots and grew. It was very symbolic.
This last winter was one of the coldest we’d had in many years. It stayed colder, longer. The temperatures dropped below freezing at night, for many nights. I decided the smart thing to do would be to bring my Jade plant in from the elements and protect it. I was wrong.
It sat, lovingly, on the counter between the refrigerator and kitchen sink. As I would do dishes at night, I would remember to water it. I’d talk to it. Take care of it. But after a few weeks I noticed it wasn’t so healthy any more. And then I noticed it. I thought it was a sort of water stain on the succulent leaves. But it wasn’t. It turned out to be what’s known as Powdry Mildew.
Now, Jade plants are hearty, resistant plants. Hardly anything can get to it. Except, of course, this Powdry Mildew. It infiltrates the plant and can even infect the soil. Since the days were now sunny and warmer, I’d placed the Jade back on the front porch. But it was too late.
The Jade Plant.
The desert sun wasn’t as sunny as I’d needed. The warmth wasn’t as warm. My plant began to crumble. The leaves dropped and fell like, well, like leaves. Like the dead leaves that they were. Was there a connection that during this time I was going through some strong struggles at home? Finances and health are always at the top of my Prayer List. And neither seemed to be going in my favor for quite some time.
I did an internet search. “Jade plant disease”. And discovered the nasty Powdry Mildew. Thankfully, since Jades are hearty, there was hope. But it would take an extreme cure. Especially not knowing if the soil itself was infected.
The simple start is to concoct a mixture of 1 gallon water, 1/2 tablespoon liquid soap, and 1 tablespoon baking soda. Pour the mixture into a spray bottle and use it. Every morning. Spray the leaves and plant and topsoil. A very simple, inexpensive remedy. For days I sprayed the Jade. I sprayed the leaves. The trunk. The soil. But nothing helped.
On to the not-so-simple Part Two: I had to cut it back. I had to prune back and remove all of the dead and infected growth, and hope the Jade would survive.
I cried as I cut stem after stem after stem. What was left was just a few inches of trunk, sticking up from the pot like… well, like this.
My Poor Pruned Jade Plant.
Nevertheless, I was hopeful because I could still see the moist green inside the trunk. After a few days, some of the cut ends shriveled up and dropped off. I was heartbroken. This plant that was once strong, big, beautiful, gorgeous… this plant was dying. And it’s possible I killed it by bringing it inside for the winter. Jades aren’t meant to thrive inside except for short periods of time.
I refused to give up. Day after day for the last three weeks, I watered it on alternate mornings. I sprayed every cut, every trunk, every grain of soil each morning and sometimes in the evenings.
It stayed green.
And something else was happening. My finances started to improve. My health started to improve. The anemia is fading. The eczema is manageable. I’m sleeping a little better at night. The bills are getting paid. I don’t know how. But through much prayer, the bills are getting paid.
Last week, I began to pray for my Jade. It’s not just a plant. It’s a symbol of Bedford Manor. Sure. I could get another Jade. But it wouldn’t be the same. It wouldn’t be the One that’s been here for all the improvements and changes. It wouldn’t be the One my mommy gave me out of love. Anything else would just be a replacement.
Please, God. Don’t give me a replacement plant. Heal the original one. It’s symbolic. It’s history. It’s mine. Heal the one I have. Please.
And as I went to spray the Jade this evening, I saw this.
Wonderful New Growth!
Wonderful new growth!
My Jade is coming back to life. There are not less than eleven new buds just beginning to bloom. My euphoria is understated. If my treasured plant can endure, so can I.
There is Hope for Bedford Manor.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Apr 20, 2013 |
I love Lowe’s Home Improvement Stores. I especially love their Garden Centers.
I Love Lowe’s
This morning, we drove over to get yard plants. There’s a feel to walking through Lowe’s Garden Centers. The sprinkler-induced humidity. The welcome birds being chased by feral cats. The families planning together. The newlyweds picking their first flower pot.
I love walking through Lowe’s. Away from computers and electronics. Away from televisions and radios and outside interferences. It’s a way to briefly reconnect with reality. Earth. Nature.
I love breathing in the pungent aroma of Privet followed by the fragrance of Jasmine. The color explosion on each display table brings together possibilities I wouldn’t think of on my own.
Garden Centers are my Happy Place.
And now, they’re my Nature Field Trip.
As we walked past tables of flowers I saw a small bird. Only it wasn’t a bird. But it could have been. I was confused. I’d never seen anything like it. I didn’t know they exist. It was like that scene in Jurassic Park when the gates first open and the scientists enter another world. A world they knew about, dreamed about, but the real experience was far beyond any expectations.
I. Saw. This.
Hummingbird Moth
It’s a Hummingbird Moth. And yes. It looks exactly like a Hummingbird. And exactly like a Moth. It captured my attention for a quarter of an hour as I watched it flit from bright flower to bright flower, sucking the nectar and pollen. It wasn’t afraid of the people walking by. It wasn’t distracted by my stretched-out hand. It had one job: to help pollenate the flowers and drink the nectar.
And while I enjoyed my morning at Lowe’s picking up Photinia to plant under the picture window, it’s the Hummingbird Moth I’ll always remember.
Hummingbird Moth
Next paycheck, I think red flowers are on the shopping list. My yard could use a Hummingbird Moth.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Mar 4, 2013 |
Look at those eyes!
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
Sep 2, 2012
When I first bought Bedford Manor, there were three trees in the front yard.
Before I moved in
Before moving in, I had the overgrown Juniper shrubs, Lily garden and miscellaneous items removed. The Fruitless Mulberry closest to the driveway grew so quickly, there were times driving into the garage felt like a trip on Disneyland’s Jungle Cruise. We made the decision last year to have it cut down [you can read about it here].
That resulted in the stump that I surrounded with scalloped brick and tried to utilize as a flower garden.
Stump Garden
Unfortunately, Southern California just went through one of the hottest heatwaves we’ve had in years. Which means that my potted flowers, the seeded flowers, and anything else that was supposed to grow, didn’t.
And in a hilarious turn of events, the tree stump began to reflourish. Even after two summer haircuts.
It Doesn’t Know It’s Dead.
Two days ago I decided it was time to stop playing pretend, and I made some drastic changes to the yard. First, I moved the scalloped brick to the side of the house. Then I cut all the new growth emitting from the stump.
I now have a stump. Not a garden. Not a pretend garden. Not a hedged-in dirt plot. A stump. It still needs a little more care to finish (drilling and salting). But thankfully it will cease to overrun my happy home.
Stump Growth
And I’m actually okay with that. Without the brick and the overgrowth, my yard is actually starting to look more like a yard again.
I’m so ready for Spring planting. My Italian Desert designs will come to life. I’m thankful that I have fall and winter to prepare the yard.
So much to do, so little time.
And Frankly, My Dear… that’s all she wrote!
