Just thinkin about gardening

It is a Saturday. The wind is not blowing, the sun is shining and all things outdoors are coming alive. Except my yard.

We do have some green grass only it is patchwork in nature. Brown and green would be the colors. The blown about sticks and garbage decorated along the fence line, add a nice touch. Pugsley has helped add his own "stuff" as well. And the next best thing to celebrating the sights and sounds of spring would be the sight of pigeons on my porch roof. Such class!

What makes this all so difficult for me is that, I really am a person of order. Once you get beyond my front door, things are in place, my decorations are just the way I like (Well, for now. I do have a tendency to change my mind about this) and for the most part it feels quite homey. But my yard...mmmm....I don't know how to make it right.

Some of my lack of yard beautification could be blamed on my parents. Somehow, that makes me feel better to blame someone. They are the ones who raised me in the frigid, never grow anything, climate of Montana. I don't remember one time growing one thing. But that could be a slight exageration since I don't have a very good memory of anything from my childhood. Now that I think about it, I do remember one garden with carrots and potatoes and four pine trees that my dad planted in honor of his four daughters. Just a side note...the four pine trees grew as if they knew they represented four daughters. They actually grew to be four different, descending heights. Last time I checked, they were still four different heights and still in front of the house we grew up in. Anyway, I am working through this dilemma of mine. I just can't take it anymore. I want my yard to reflect more of who I really am.

So, I went to the library to find some help. The way I figure, if I can "design my house on a dime," I can certainly figure this yard thing out too. Thank goodness for all the great books at the library. Can I make one more side note? I love the library. It should be a blog all to itself. Something comes over me when I stand in front of all those books. I am not a good library patron though. I want to check out all the books I want and they only allow ten. I also love the smell of book pages and prefer to do this in the privacy of my own home. Otherwise, people stare. Ok, so anyway, I found myself some great books on landscaping and gardening. Both of which I want to do.

What has me really compelled to tackle this area of trouble in my life though, is the upcoming, exterior remodeling that will begin in just a couple of weeks. For ten long years, I have waited for this. So have my neighbors. They will probably provide food and drinks for the contractors just to keep them going. But they have no idea what might just transform before their eyes because I have books. And soon I will have a plan. And hopefully, I will have the will to persevere.

There is one big obstacle for me to overcome though. My neighbors to the North, for whatever earthly reason, decided to divide our front yards, yes I did say front, with a chain link fence. I was so embarrassed. I think Corbin had one too many baseballs roll into their yard. And to top it all off, the wife of the house to the North, thinks she can landscape (she must not know there are really good books at the library) and she put flowers along the chain link fence, dividing our front yards. When I finish with my "beautification at 318 S. Congress St. project," the fence will really not go well with the look I am looking for. I so want to put up a cute, very cottagey (not sure that is a word...it has nothing to do with cottage cheese though just in case you were wondering ), white picket fence. I am not sure how I do that with chain link. Then my other obstacle is that I want privacy. I just realized for the first time today, as I looked down our block at all the backyards, that no one has a privacy fence. Of course, my neighbors to the North do have chain link. They must like chain link, along with squirrel feeders by the dozen, plastic bags filled with empty coffee cans hanging on their almost dilapatated garage, and sinks. That is why I need a very tall, very private fence. How do you tell your neighbors that you don't want to look at them or their stuff anymore, thank you very much, and so we will be placing a 10 foot high wall between us? I guess they didn't explain the chain link down the front yard though. So, maybe it won't matter. I'll send Joe.

Now I must quit writing and get to planning. Maybe next time I take to the outdoors to write, I will be in the privacy of my own, welcoming, well kept back yard, instead of sitting on my front porch with a fold up table and stares from passers by.

Happy Spring to all of you.