Time to look back at the garden with the 2015 mid-year review garden. Starting from the position of needing to remediate the wasteland we lived on, but knowing next to nothing about gardening, I wanted to develop a garden with lush flowers, abundant produce, weather protection and a mystical threshold.  It would have habitats for native and domesticated creatures, and would be a true reflection of our authentic selves. My plan was to:

• agree a garden vision with DB covering use, features and so on
• find out how to design a garden
• research native habitat requirements
• design the garden
• plant it out

The whole thing has been much more fluid than that, but DB and I have sort of agreed a colour scheme and overall bird and wildlife focus. There was lots of talking and pacing things out and a bit of arm waving and gesticulating. Then there were books and pamphlets and coloured highlighters and more talking and gesticulating. Then some weeding, pruning, transplanting and hoping for the best. Followed by a bit of shopping, planting and hoping for the best. And after the storms, some staking, propping up and hoping for the best. Thank goodness for the little garden gnome that comes in to help me keep on top of it all.

And the result is a thrilling and spilling mainly native front garden, with bird attracting plants in reds and yellows that are either indigenous to the area or are known to thrive without competing with the local plants. Our plantings should be well established by the time summer comes but I really need to get onto removing the pine tree to make sure they have the best possible chance once it starts getting really hot.

Of all my virtues, this is the one that I feel I have made the most progress in. I might even go so far as to say that I am proud of what we have achieved, though we probably won’t see the full benefit until summer.

Rating: 

And that’s the front done. There are still two sides and a tiny back yard to do too. I haven’t yet got a plan together for those, but it will be more of the same though possibly with more of a shade focus given that summer is coming.

Is it wrong to be proud of myself for developing a little excellence?

Recap

Reviewing the virtues of:

• beauty – (body, presence, home, and garden)
• friendship – (creatures, friends/family/contribution)
• pleasure – agreeing to seek out new experiences as well as make time to do unproductive things.
• wisdom – understanding ourselves and making choices based on the things we value
• wealth – having sufficient income to meet our needs and spending it wisely

Planning for the virtues of:

• beauty – living authentically and taking care of our physical well-being and surroundings (body, presence, home, and garden)
• friendship – treating the planet and other beings as well as we want to be treated (creatures, friends, family, contribution)
• pleasure – agreeing to seek out new experiences as well as make time to do unproductive things.
• wisdom – understanding ourselves and making choices based on the things we value
• wealth – having sufficient income to meet our needs and spending it wisely