We grow seedlings, plant them out into the garden, and before we know it, we are ripping it all out. We put it in, we take it out! This has to be the first year in my entire life where keeping up with it all has been overwhelming. Not just for myself, but my hubby has had a rough year between his knee and a shoulder, which both need surgery.
Needless to say, we are both feeling the pressure of clearing out all the gardens before his knee surgery in a few weeks.
Many of the zinnia plants that were hiding the butternut squash needed to be pulled. Of course, the squash and melons growing behind them were full of powdery mildew, so those got pulled too.
All the summer phlox was past peak as well. We cut all those in the front of the house back for the season. They need dividing before winter since they have literally taken over a large portion of the garden. Mika is on point, supervising the entire job. It isn't often that she gets to be out in the front yard.
All the vines have been removed, and I can see the border zinnias again.
All that is left is to pull the tall zinnia plants in two weeks. I want to save them for the bees and goldfinches, which are still actively enjoying the flowers.
For over 18 years, I have had Ostrich Ferns planted along the North side of the house, surrounding the back porch. I have truly loved the way they look all summer long, but when I feel like taking care of all the gardens is getting to be too much, I make radical decisions. Thus, I had hubby dig out every one of the ferns.
It took most of the morning to remove all of them. I don't know what I will do with all the empty space, but at least it is a lot less for us to cut back every fall.
We ended up filling up that barrel four times that day. There were others planted in shady spots that came out too. It was a hard choice for me to make, but less is better as we age, right?
A major decision was made to eliminate this enormous garden where all my lilac trees and shrubs have been growing for years. Neither of us can keep up with all the weeds that grow in there among the ground cover.
My husband had been working on digging out weeds for three weeks when I made the suggestion that having to do that every year was going to be too much going forward.
The first step was to clear away all the boulders surrounding the entire garden. We put them all in when we were younger and much stronger than now. See, we put it in, and we take it out.
At first, I thought I would keep the Korean Lilac and the bird post, making a small circular bed around them. The more we worked on removing everything, the more I realized that they had to go too. So sad.
It looks so strange now that all the trees and shrubs have been cut down. More rocks have to be removed; that will be done over the next two weeks.
I know I am going to miss the wonderful aroma from the lilacs when spring rolls around. Yet, I know we made the right decision to remove the entire garden. Now, we have to find a contractor to come in with a bobcat to remove all the soil and stumps. In the spring, we will sow grass seed and turn it back into a lawn.
I've been contemplating what I would be able to handle alone if and when my husband transitions. He is 10 years older than I am, and his physical strength has been diminishing for the past two years. I can see how hard it is for him to do so much gardening. Thus, we are both overwhelmed, emotionally, physically, and mentally too.
I am seeing clearly that "Less is More".
