We spent some time in the garden this weekend, beginning the spring cleanup after the winter. The frost has ripped the ground apart and our driveway is unfortunately, undrivable at the moment, despite me trying to level it. We can't afford to actually construct a paved drive yet, so we will dump more crushed stone to level it out and hope it will survive a couple more years, until we either have the money to do it properly, or dump more stone on it.
Do it properly.
The cost is enormous.
The problem area is the lowest point of our yard and has the the back and side neighbor yards drain into it. It requires trenches to be dug, sunken drainage to be installed and then the land lifted about half a meter in order to bring it near level with the road. It isn't going to be fun and requires some heavier machinery to get it done. And, if we are going to do that, we are also going to have to fell three or four large birch trees also - another expensive exercise here - though we will have firewood for a few years.
Gardens are difficult in Finland I think, because the season for them is so incredibly short, that it makes it almost not worth doing. Yet, during that short period, it really can be very beautiful and having at least a well ordered garden, can make a difference for a long summer break, especially if not travelling. And obviously, if we are ever going to sell, having a neat and well-maintained garden will make a bit of a difference. Not that we are planning on selling any time soon.
I was looking forward to getting into doing the garden once the inside of the house was done, but since the stroke almost two years ago, I am far less enthusiastic. I just don't have the physical stamina that I had earlier and my motivation is quite a lot lower. When we bought the house, people didn't think we had it in us and now, perhaps they were right. The amount of work didn't phase me at the time, but I had no idea that I was going to have these kinds of health issues arise so soon.
It is impossible to tell what is going to happen in the future and all the best plans can come crashing down quickly, due to unforeseen events. It is much rarer to have it go the other way, where things go incredibly well very quickly - it seems unfair.
Generally, for things to go well, it take a a lot of diligent work consistently over time, with small gains here and there that mount up to make a large change down the road. However, even then, those pesky surprise events can destroy all the hard work in an instant, cutting down all the plants in a fell swoop. I have often used growing a garden as an analogy for building a Hive account, because it takes planning, care, planting and nurturing to get it to thrive and even then, it isn't secure.
Patience.
It is something that I have been preaching to my daughter since she was young and for a six year old, she is not too bad with it, but patience isn't enough. Good things don't come to those who wait, good things come to those who do the work to get it. There are plenty of shortcuts that some try, but most don't work and those who try usually end up worse off than if they had just done a little work each day instead.
The garden is like that. If we diligently put the work in to change it, slowly it will take shape. This doesn't change having to pay for major earth moving work, but it does give us a better understanding of the space and how we want to use it. My wife wants to do a lot of the aesthetic stuff like creating flower beds, but if we don't at least plan the structural things, it is likely we will have to tear them out again anyway. I don't have the energy for double work. Ideally, I would draw up the plans, have a landscaper make the necessary adjustments for what I have missed and then, pay someone to do all the major stuff.
But, when are things ever ideal?
Well, with all the "little" things we have to do, at least I don't have to think about what I will be getting up to on the weekends for the next few months. There is still patches of snow on the ground, yet there are also flowers starting to bloom and there are the start of the buds on the trees. If the weather stays warm, the growing spring is going to arrive very fast and I am hoping that at least for a few weeks during the summer, I can just sit outside and enjoy the weather a bit.
And take some photos.
I hadn't planned on a garden life.
But here I am.
Taraz
[ Gen1: Hive ]
