As I sit at my computer gazing out onto my brown and barren backyard landscape I can’t help but dream about the lush backyard oasis that has been my goal since we moved into this house almost eight years ago.
Despite the fact that I have spent countless hours working on my landscape, I often feel that I am not even close to achieving the yard of my dreams. It is just not reflective of the hours that I have logged over the past several years.
Maybe not, but there is one thing that I know for sure: The last few years have been filled with valuable lessons that will undoubtedly pay off in the future.
When I started down this gardening journey, I started with a gardening reference point of plants that work in Zone 4a (Minnesota, where I grew up). Keller, Texas is in Zone 8a. It doesn’t take a Master Gardener to figure out that the two zones are worlds apart. It’s easy to see, then, why my gardening experience has led to a lot of trial and error, and sometimes more error than trial.
Many people would have given up by now. And, I daresay, that I have just about thrown in the towel myself on many occasions. (I will even admit to committing “planticide” in moments of frustration.) But, this year, I have a renewed sense of hope in my backyard oasis dream. Due in part to the fact that my husband and I have decided to have a pool built (which will require landscaping around it), and also because I am always wooed back by the sheer beauty of flowers.
There is something about nature’s beauty that makes me feel removed from the cares of this world; it connects me with nature, and thus, God himself. There really is nothing as beautiful as flowers and colorful foliage. It is intoxicating and awe inspiring. I am drawn in by it and I want to be surrounded by it.
So, in the next few weeks, I will be digging up several plants and shrubs that I want to save from all the pool construction. I will be putting pencil to paper and will be perusing garden centers and gardening web sites all in an effort to create my backyard oasis. It’s going to take a lot of back-breaking work on my part, but I’m actually looking forward to it. Because all of the labor involved means that I can get excited about my dream again. And this time, I am equipped with the knowledge from the trials of the past. Maybe now my dream will finally become reality.
Despite the fact that I have spent countless hours working on my landscape, I often feel that I am not even close to achieving the yard of my dreams. It is just not reflective of the hours that I have logged over the past several years.
Maybe not, but there is one thing that I know for sure: The last few years have been filled with valuable lessons that will undoubtedly pay off in the future.
When I started down this gardening journey, I started with a gardening reference point of plants that work in Zone 4a (Minnesota, where I grew up). Keller, Texas is in Zone 8a. It doesn’t take a Master Gardener to figure out that the two zones are worlds apart. It’s easy to see, then, why my gardening experience has led to a lot of trial and error, and sometimes more error than trial.
Many people would have given up by now. And, I daresay, that I have just about thrown in the towel myself on many occasions. (I will even admit to committing “planticide” in moments of frustration.) But, this year, I have a renewed sense of hope in my backyard oasis dream. Due in part to the fact that my husband and I have decided to have a pool built (which will require landscaping around it), and also because I am always wooed back by the sheer beauty of flowers.
There is something about nature’s beauty that makes me feel removed from the cares of this world; it connects me with nature, and thus, God himself. There really is nothing as beautiful as flowers and colorful foliage. It is intoxicating and awe inspiring. I am drawn in by it and I want to be surrounded by it.
So, in the next few weeks, I will be digging up several plants and shrubs that I want to save from all the pool construction. I will be putting pencil to paper and will be perusing garden centers and gardening web sites all in an effort to create my backyard oasis. It’s going to take a lot of back-breaking work on my part, but I’m actually looking forward to it. Because all of the labor involved means that I can get excited about my dream again. And this time, I am equipped with the knowledge from the trials of the past. Maybe now my dream will finally become reality.
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