Day two, another beautiful hot day. I cannot believe this is April. I need to move the rest of the plants but I am out of pots. I am soon putting plants in canvas bags, a laundry basket, and anything else I can find that will hold a plant and its soil for the duration of the project. I can leave the plants on the top level of the garden for now. I can probably build around them with minimal disturbance and move them later when there is some space to plant them. My partner cannot just sit there letting me have all of the fun. He joins in and is soon building a pool out of a tarp and some 2x4s to hold all of the soil. It feels good to shovel the soil. To be outside working with the earth.
When the tiers of the garden were built, before our time here, plastic grocery bags had been filled with soil and used as sandbags to stabilize the slope. We think this is one of the problems causing the poor plant growth in some spots of the garden. It is satisfying to finally access them to pull them all out. There are a lot. They are twisted around plant roots and some are shred into small pieces. There are also a lot of rocks in the garden. We can use them as river rock around and in our pond. We now have piles of boulders, small rocks, soil, sticks and plastic. Our small back yard is filling up fast.
Our youngest is excited to help out. The older teens…. well not so much. They did shovel a bit of soil and moved a few rocks. I am just happy to have them around, even if it is only a short while before they are off to hang out with friends and girlfriends. The teenage years can be difficult. They are breaking free, becoming independent, while I am holding on, trying to influence and parent just a little bit longer. It is perfect to have a project like a great garden renovation to keep my mind occupied. During the most difficult times, which are difficult because they are scary (especially for those who catastrosize everything), I completely renovated the bathrooms! The more stressed or upset I am, the nicer our home gets.
Day three is another day of shoveling soil and picking rocks, sticks and plastic bags. The backyard is over flowing. There is just a path in between everything to get from the door to the garden. We moved a rose bush and a grape vine and planted them in the big pile of soil we are shoveling out. I have a tulip in a cloth grocery bag and my azalea is in a blue reusable Ikea bag. It is full of buds, ready to bloom. It doesn’t seem to mind the Ikea bag at all.
For now, it is time to call it a day. We are dirty and tired and ready for a hot shower. Tomorrow, we are ready to start building the top rock wall.
