Some of you have made comments that my place must look like a botanical garden and be full of flowers all the time. What’s really true is my yard is mostly green, most of the time. The flowers that occur, occur at least (but mostly) once a year. They do not in any way change the over-all look of the place. To see them, you have to walk around, pay attention, almost let them surprise you.
This picture was taken close to the road with the pond on my right. When I moved in 12+ years ago, you couldn’t see the house from this position. It was overgrown with Brazilian Pepper, Melaleuca, and Slash Pines. The house itself had been abandoned and in severe disrepair. That’s the only reason I could afford it. Over the years, everything in the house has been replaced; windows, doors, siding, electrical, plumbing (pipes and fixtures), floors, appliances, etc. I added a new room on the ground floor, stairs to the back of the house, and a half bath to the second floor. The house wasn’t air conditioned when I moved in. It is now. It also got a new septic field. Every time the appraisal on the house went up, I repaired and replaced. It was a great investment until the housing crash. It’s still a great investment from the point of view of the joy I have had and still have living here.
So back to the view you are seeing in this picture. How did that happen? Well, as a friend said to me today, I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. First a rancher down the road showed up with a front end loader full of smashed up roof tile. He said, “I hear you gals are here by yourselves (my mother was with me back then) and I know you can’t get up this driveway because of the pot holes. If you don’t mind, I’ll drop this tile and smash it on the driveway.” We didn’t mind, so he did. That’s a good neighbor! That tile made an excellent base for the driveway. When I got my first tax refund, I had crushed shell put on the driveway. The shell needs replacing every few years and you can’t see it in this picture. But on a full moon night that driveway shines like the ocean.
The rest of the yard was done the same way…a little at a time. When anyone would visit who could use a chain saw, out would come noxious trees. Even two hurricanes helped in the process by felling most of the pines. Now the property has an abundance of oak trees that are much better for planting bromeliads and other lower plants.
The plants you see along the left and rear of this picture border my pond and were planted by me. I liberated all of them from drainage ditches. Most of the plants in my yard were given to me or liberated by me, including the oaks.
There doesn’t appear to be any rhyme or reason to my gardens and that is because of two reasons. One, I plant things in places that are most like where they came from, so that leads to a random look on a large scale. Two, I figured I had as much need to control as the botanical world had. Left up to only me, I would create gardens that look like any gated community in south Florida. Left up to nature, the place would be a mess like it was when I moved in and was overgrown with exotics. My compromise was to find a balance between my need for order (and walking and viewing room) and the inhospitable suffocation I found when I arrived. The result is a random but happy garden.
I’ll be taking a few weeks off from Friday flowers. There is really too much to do at home and for the holidays. See you next year!
So from my house to yours, may you always have a random and happy garden.
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