Take it outside

As mentioned in an earlier post, I have gradually become an avid Zone 9b gardener. This new-found horticultural bent is quite a change from my younger days, when I seldom chose to be outdoors at all (unless there was a pool involved), much less elbow-deep in the dirt. Maybe as we get older we discover that the slow-but-sure pace of growing things starts to match the slow-but-sure pace of our lives. Whatever the reason, I’ve stopped questioning it and have happily resigned myself to enjoying the fruits of that avocational redefinition.

When I first bought the Lizard Lounge in 2000 the grounds could only be described as minimalist – and not in an avant garde, one-green-pear-on-a-platter-in-an-all-white-room sort of way, but in a the-former-owner-just-couldn’t-be-bothered-with-it sort of way. Other than the aforementioned row of bedraggled pittosporum shrubs planted in front of the house, there was nothing but weeds. Whereas that might have been a deal breaker to some would-be buyers, I, on the other hand, just saw a blank canvas – and an excuse to start building up my armada of gardening tools. Me and Home Depot? BFFs!

I’ve created lots of planting beds, some whose shapes were determined by how big the bare spot was they needed to fill and some created in obvious places that just begged for the type of enrichment that only growing things can provide (like the one below). Planting bed boundaries have grown and shrunk over the years, taking on new, amorphous shapes as I’ve honed my vision for the yard through reading, watching television, and researching the growing wealth of information available online.

Although I designated the landscaping as “minimalist” above, there were actually a couple of existing plants that have been repurposed and incorporated in my plans, providing a little adventure in the process.

The previous owner had erected a chain link fence on the south side of the back yard – a fence which, apparently, was actually erected on city property. Shortly after I moved in, the city of Winter Haven began doing some much-needed beautification along Cypress Gardens Blvd. (adjacent to the Lounge) and replaced the chain link with a black estate fence – a fence that was about 6 ft. closer in. Unfortunately, a lovely banana plant and a white bird of paradise, formerly residents of my yard, now lived on city property. Fortunately, I had a shovel and wheelbarrow and the cover of darkness on my side. All of the bananas in the photo below are decendants of that one banana plant dug up surreptitiously all those years ago.

I’ve learned a lot these past few years spent digging in the yard; here are some highlights:

• Never underestimate the power of fertilizer, moisture, compost, and mulch. Just like people, plants need food and water, vitamins and minerals, and protection from the elements.
• Many of the same principals of interior design also apply to exterior design, such as deciding upon a color pallette with one or two well-chosen accent colors, leveraging texture for visual interest, and adding accessories and decorative pieces to give your design a finished look. Oh, and lighting – don’t forget lighting.
• A sense of serenity and calm can be achieved in the methodical digging, watering, mulching, and pruning needed to maintain a personally pleasing landscape. Our ancestors definitely understood the importance of a connection with the earth, a relationship that I’ve found to be a rewarding one to re-establish.
• Most of all, I’ve learned patience. Although it’s well worth the wait, plants take time to grow and flourish, even under the best of circumstances. Hurricane Charlie blew the fence in the photo above down in 2004, destroying all but a couple of bananas in just a few moments. Five years later, those two bananas have rebounded, subsequently producing all of the plants in the lush stand seen above.

In summary: patience and passion have taken me from wasteland to garden in just a few short years. You’re right, Martha – it is a good thing…