I USED TO HAVE BEAUTIFUL GARDENS

Still plugging away at the beach house, so I sorted through some old pictures for a post.  

The last house that Dan and I owned, before we moved into our condo, was a 2200 sq. ft. split level on a 1/2 acre of Red River property at 5454 Henderson Highway between Winnipeg's perimeter highway and Lockport. We had put our boat "Lindan" aside and we were concentrating on the new house.  The construction site that I started with was nothing but a barren clay mess.  The clay that is brought up to the surface during construction of a basement is the real heart breaker and back breaker for gardeners.  By the time we sold the house 10 years later, I had a beautifully landscaped property.  

The year after the construction, we put a nice big 20 X 32 ft deck on the back .  Then I started my gardening.  I never really got into vegetable gardening.  Everything that I grew was decorative, with the exception of a small Strawberry Patch behind the garage and some Raspberry Cane beside the composter.  

My first flower bed was around the septic tank, to block it from my view.  And a hammock overlooking the river, with morning glories climbing up each end of it.  That was the start of it. 

Then later, in front of that I even added a fish pond with 6 Koi, that of course we had to over winter in the basement.  A used Lobster tank from a restaurant that was closing, served that purpose.  

I bought two barrels and cut 1/3 off of one and flipped that over and put spouts on all three of them and added a circulating pump.  

The water was pumped into the tallest barrel and when that overfilled it spilled into the next and then the next and down into the pond and back to the circulating pump.  It worked great.

 

Then I moved on to the front and side yard.  We had a secondary driveway, for which I made a visual barrier with movable posts and rope, for the nautical look.  I planted a few trees.  A couple of Pines, a triple Birch and a Maple.  (We happened to pass there today and those trees are thriving.)  Then I filled in the beds with all perennials.  

Then I returned to the back yard again, to put in something to look at when sitting on the deck.  

This was one of my favourite gardens as it turned out so lush and colourful and easy to maintain.  I planted all perennials except for a stone planter that was built into our front step.  That I used to fill with annuals.  

I was constantly starting another flower bed.    I would say, "I need something over there that I can see from the dinning room windows", or "I need some colour behind the garage."

or "I need a bench overlooking the river, and some rose bushes and spring tulips that you can look passed when you're sitting there. "  And so it would go, and GROW. 

I enjoyed creating it, I even took a landscaping course, and learnt a lot.  But I just kept adding and adding more and more flower beds.  A lot more than I am showing here.  And that is a lot of work.  After two knee replacement surgeries, I think it was time to give it up. 

It was a very enjoyable hobby, while it lasted, but once we got back into boating and the big projects of restoring the "Thunderbird" my gardens were taking away from our new interest.  After a spring of working so hard on the boat and the gardens, once the boat was launched and we were enjoying living on board the boat, we had that pull of the garden and house maintenance that started to disrupt our new pleasures.  

That was when we decided to sell the house and move into an apartment, so that we could just lock the door and walk away, with no maintenance to have to worry about.  That is what has allowed us to boat all summer and winter down in Texas without worry about maintenance on a house or gardens.  




AND NOW WE ARE GETTING BACK INTO HOME OWNERSHIP  ????


(But I will never put that much work into gardens again, I will  plant a few perennials, but then they gotta make it on their own.  If they don't survive, boo hoo  :)