For the first time in 10 years, I’m living in a new house. When we moved in last fall, I didn’t pay that much attention to the yard. I noticed that there were trees and grass, but I don’t remember seeing any plants or flowers. Since it was October, most of the vegetation was probably dead or dying. And I wasn’t thinking about the yard; we bought the house for its amazing location, its slightly bigger size and its second bathroom.
So I’ve been pleasantly surprised this spring to witness the re-emergence of gardens in our yard. All sorts of bushes are appearing. And the leaves on the trees are flowering. We even have a pussy willow tree!
The gardens, on the boulevard and in the back, front and both sides of our house, are a mystery to me. I know so little about plants and flowers and I have difficulty retaining any information that I’ve encountered. I have uttered, “Is that a weed?” and “Should I pull it or keep it?” a lot this past month. But, even though I sometimes feel overwhelmed and intimidated, I’m delighted to watch these unfamiliar plants grow and to speculate on what they will become as the summer progresses. Will they flower? Are they a weed that will take over? Do they stay all summer? Will they attract butterflies? Will the bunnies devour them?
Sometime soon I hope to craft a digital story about our yard. I envision it as a follow-up to a story about (not) gardening in the yard of my old house: