Rethinking My Garden

If you asked me today what I would have done differently in my garden,  I would say:

"Build raised beds!"

If I had a do over I would build lovely raised planters that would be filled with loamy, rich, moist well draining soil.

'Peachie's Pick'  Stokesia from 2011

That's my fantasy soil. It's the complete opposite of Clay and Limestone's heavy clay soil that sits on a limestone bedrock that only blasting could remove. It's sticky wet all winter and concrete dry all summer.

Granted, good soil is only one of the many factors to be considered in the garden. But, let me have this moment, while I sink into the soft, loamy soil of my imagined raised bed.

Tennessee Coneflower

If you asked me today what's the second thing I would have done differently, I would say:

"Remove at least a dozen trees, maybe more!"

If I had a do over I would take down a few of the trees that make this garden entirely too shady and too dry. Rain rarely penetrates the canopy and the understory is dry from late Spring until the leaves drop in December.

Oakleaf Hydrangea

Granted, sunlight is only one of the many factors to be considered in a garden. But, let me have this moment to bask in the warmth of my fantasy sunny garden.

Hydrangea arborescens

If you asked me what else I have done differently in my garden, I would say:

"Have more hardscape and fewer planting beds"

If I had a do over I would have put in more paths, walls and created a gravely patio.  I would have planted fewer beds. Fewer beds means less maintenance and hardscape gives a garden more bones.

Granted, hardscape and planting beds are a few of the many factors to be considered in a garden.  But, let me contemplate my free time while sitting on the gravel patio of my fantasy.

The Waiting Bench will be a good spot to ponder changes

But, what I would have done differently way back then is not the question that needs to be asked! What I shall do differently in the near future is the real issue and that's the one I am pondering.  It took me some time to figure out how to garden here, and, I did manage to create a pretty fine place for wildflowers and critters.  But, change is afoot!  Weather patterns are changing;  our winters are warmer, our springs shorter, our summers hotter and dryer. The gardener is changing; she's looking down the road and  wonders how she can make the garden easier to maintain.

Time is ripe for change. I'll let you know what I decide.

xoxogail

PS I wrote about  my journey to become a wildflower gardener at C and L for State By State's online publication, you can go here to see On Becoming A Wildflower Gardener. 

Gail Eichelberger is a gardener and therapist in Middle Tennessee. She loves wildflowers and native plants and thoroughly enjoys writing about the ones she grows at Clay and Limestone." She reminds all that the words and images are the property of the author and cannot be used without written permission.