I am savoring a rare moment of happiness.
I had a great workout and though I know pain is in my future, my present is flooded with endorphins, and poppies.
And I've been taking care of business lately which gives me that fabulous tho probably false sense of being in charge of my day to day affairs.
Does anyone remember my backyard berm that used to hold 8 30' Leyland Cypress?
They may have sucked every drop of moisture out of that berm thus condemning any other plant to a swift death.
They may have swayed scarily in every high wind we had and threatened to topple over onto a neighbor's house whenever a little hurricane passed our way.
But they shielded the house from an alley, the people who congregate in said alley and help to block out a hotel one street away.
Now they are gone and all that remains are 8 stumps, a nasty chainlink fence, people in the alley at night smoking cigarettes I hope, and that hulking hotel.
It is not pretty. I have stared out the window and fretted. I have stomped around the backyard, phone in hand and bitched about the stumps and the ugliness that remains. I have worried and refused to look any longer.
And then I finally called a bunch of tree services and got several estimates for stump grinding and removal. And it appears to be an affordable service.
Once they are gone? Then I can think of what to plant where and how to regain my garden and my serenity.
I'm gonna get my pretty back. As God is my witness.
Stay tuned.
We have every confidence that your pretty isn't too far away...chain link and all.
ReplyDeleteGood to see a blog post from you. What strikes me is how you remain positive. Even in the face of heartache, you have a sunshine-like feeling about you.
ReplyDeleteAs far as your privacy, we used portuguese laurels, a nice L shaped row to hide our front yard from the street. They grow fast and steady, stay green and create a great fence/backdrop to the other plants. They do take a couple of years before you see benefit unless you can find them good sized. Hope you find something you like. I presume with your hot summers you need to get them in now (or soon) or have to wait until Fall. You might have to amend the mound dirt due to the cypress acidity. We had to when we cut down dangerous cedars in our yard for the more delicate stuff but the laurels didn't care. Good Luck.
Thank you. I am getting such good suggestions here. xo
DeleteI do remember. Now you can have some fun dreaming and planning. A giant trellis covered with morning glories, trumpet vines, and all the rest. Or a large flock of pink flamingos. Maybe both.
ReplyDeleteI love poppies.
Now that sounds lovely and lush.
DeleteGo for it! You deserve your pretty, Jane.
ReplyDeleteI love that, when you tackle a problem you have been putting off and then it doesn't turn out to be as daunting as you thought. Have fun planning your new screen x
ReplyDeleteGood progress, Girl. Nothing like a project to get the gardening juices flowing. Leylands do provide a great barrier (and fast), but at too great a price, i think. Don't really have a suggestion for you. My first choice is always 'Emerald' arborvitae, but they are way too slow growing for your site. And, I really don't think any of the other arborvitaes are as pretty.
ReplyDeleteLooked up Kitty's Prunus Lusitanica and am not familiar with it. Appears to grow well on the west coast, so it might not like our summers. I would ask Marie for a suggestion.
Keep us posted on progress. You did take pictures? right? xoxo
I WILL take pics. I was too disheartened before:-)
DeleteOn the bright side, the stump grinding will provide profuse amounts of mulch. Chainlink? How about a bit of willow fencing attached to the chainlink to provide privacy in the short term?
ReplyDeletehmmm good idea, the chain link is covered halfway by the berm but I bet i could still attach the fencing. Great idea!
DeleteSaying goodbye is so hard, but new beginnings will surely bring happy surprises! Hope you keep us updated on your/hedge progress.
ReplyDeleteTaking care of my garden and my flora are some of the most important, after my kids! I feel your pain.
ReplyDelete-Samudaworth Tree Service
I remember that day, with GG coming to the rescue. I agree with Jen get some fast growing climbers on that fence as a temp fix. That gives you a little extra time to plan your ideal if you want something more statuesque. New project, how exciting!
ReplyDeleteThat sudden open-to-the-alley backyard can be a bit of shock, no doubt. Once you get those stumps ground, though, you'll have an excellent planting bed. I'm not sure, but cypress could be a bit acidifying. It would be a good idea to test the soil before deciding what to plant there, so you know what will most likely thrive.
ReplyDeleteAround here we can always find a volunteer wild grape vine or Virginia creeper to clamber over a chain link fence. Nothing like that where you are?
Get your Pretty Back? Did you read That Book!? :-)
ReplyDeleteIt will be great project. After it's over. I wonder if one can smoke fish over cypress wood chips?