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| 2011 |
I always wanted a small spot on our farm where I could be alone to read, to write, to read about writing, to write about reading, to plant, to weed, to count our wads of chicken egg money. A place full of color and the perfect amount of shade vs. sun. And thus The Secret Garden was born, or at least carved out of a small patch of weeds.
We enclosed the long rectangle with old hog panels and leftover gates covered in chicken wire (I swear when I get Alzheimers Keith will control me with the same technique) Friend Jay laid a brick path, all recycled from a chimney we tore out of our farm house, seeds were sown, chairs were placed.
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| 2014 |
In the spring of this year, the weeds were massive back there and I debated..."WHY?!" Speaking in regards to, why did I want to put any effort into this space if indeed we are selling the farm? The answer was clear.
BECAUSE YOU WILL NEVER SELL THIS FARM, YOU ARE GOING TO DIE HERE!!
So then, with that clarification made, I figured I might as well make my future burial spot attractive. It took several sessions to clear the weeds but slowly the joy of working in that area resumed and I was back in love with this narrowly minded zone.
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| Dingy chair cushions will go this year and the wood fence behind them will be painted. Blue? Purple? An ombre mix of this two? |
Of course the brick path has weed issues but as of today, I have many blooms shining through. Also a few rugs placed on the bricks to help kill the buggery creeping Charlie. Flowers that are blooming today are daisies, peteunias, hollyhocks, morning glories, dahlias, coreopsis, dianthus, hosta's, lavender and vincas. Soon to bloom are tall zinnias, marigolds, sunflowers and a butterfly bush.
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| I hate plastic chairs. This one will be replaced soon. |
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| For years I tried to grow Shasta Daisies on our farm. Only when planted in The Secret Garden did they ever thrive |
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| The wall to the right covered with morning glory vines, decorative gourd vines and sunflowers. |
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| The Entrance. The mailbox holds gardening tools , books, magazines and maybe a bag of nuts. I'm not sure. |
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| Definitely not a formal garden. The patch of grass in front of the daisies holds one pillow and one supine gardener. |
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| Black hollyhocks which are more blood red. |
Because this is their third year many of my perennials have taken off, spreading nicely. I still have a couple small areas where I will transplant more long termers like some lilies and phlox. The wire wall between the Secret Garden and our veggie garden is now thickly covered with sunflowers as well as unruly vining gourds. This barrier does indeed make the garden impossible to see from the outside and so I can, as plan, sit back there with a good Anita Shreve novel, and not be noted.
As long as I don't slurp my beer too loudly.
Holy cow! A heavenly bit of garden wrapped in cattle panels. That is just gorgeous, Donna. Your creative juices spilled all over that bit of Eden. So enjoy that beer - but go easy on the nuts. That's kinda cannibalistic, no? :-P
ReplyDeleteI understand that you strange Americans put whole houses on the back of huge trucks, to re-position them elsewhere. So why not re-locate your secret garden to The Poor Farm; a challenge to any trucking Co.
ReplyDeleteAs a matter of fact Cro...today I will digging up some of my perennials and moving them to the poor farm to start what I plan to be, a series of small gardens there. We will wander from lovely floral setting to lovely floral setting. Not quite the same as moving the whole garden but its a start. And yes we strange Americans do move whole houses by truck, we hope to do that with a barn and relocate it to the Poor Farm.
DeleteIt's gorgeous Donna, what temp is it with you at the mo? Looks a perfect spot for a beer after a long hot day tending to pigs and bees :)
ReplyDeleteHi Lorna! We have had a fab summer. Hottest days have only been in the 80's and evenings in the 60's. Very unusual and very perfect.
DeleteLove! Love! Love! Having a spot of one's own is soooooo writerly. You should come here in the fall and I will share some perennials with you.
ReplyDeleteOH Cathy, I must make that trip. THANK YOU!
DeletePaint the fence the color that looks best on you. Or, maybe not..lol. How about diluting the paint with water so it will be a subtle color.
ReplyDeleteTeal blue is my color or so my sisters always tell me. But I'm not sure how to do "subtle"
ReplyDeleteDonna, it's wonderful! I absolutely love it. We have an area next to the house I'd like to do something similar with (in all our spare time, LOL). We finally got the privacy fence up and it seems a perfect spot to read and relax. You've got me inspired! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteAs you know, we struggle with that time thing too but doing this secret garden was a requirement for my peace of mind and when mama is peaceful everyone is more peaceful.
Deletea most wonderful little escape place! love it!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tex. Now drop and by and take some GOOD pictures of my secret garden will ya?
DeleteWow! Hard to believe I have known you long enough to know when you put the garden in.
ReplyDeleteYup. you are one of the old timers D. I need to name some of my soap after you. "Black Squirrel Suds" sounds good does it not?
DeleteHow about Sastrugi?
DeleteSastrugi? Isn't that a Sicilian Martini?
DeletePretty area!! Love it.
ReplyDeleteWell hey thanks! But its mine and you can't have it.
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