Finally, the rain has stopped and the sun has managed to poke
its head out of the clouds, blessing us with rays of golden
sunshine.
Finally, the rain has stopped and the sun has managed to poke its head out of the clouds, blessing us with rays of golden sunshine. Like many other Californians, I’ve spent these first few days of blissful sunshine running down to the nearest store in search of plants. It’s spring! Planting time!
Raised in the city with a postage stamp-sized yard and two parents who were also city-raised, spring usually meant nothing more than trying to pull as many weeds out of the lawn as possible. There was no room for new bushes or trees to be planted. Once, my brother and his wife cleared out a small spot in the backyard (about 4 feet by 4 feet) and attempted to plant a vegetable garden. They planted enough seeds in that little patch to feed hundreds of hungry families. But when weeding became a bore and watering became a chore, the garden was deserted. Eventually, the weeds took over and the vegetable garden was nothing more than a distant memory.
My husband spent his early years in a farming community. Year-round the land was either cleared or planted. He approaches our yard the same way. I tend to plant shrubs, bushes, trees and flowers, then as summer stretches out and weeding and watering become a chore, the yard gets that neglected look. That’s when my husband takes out the weedeater, hoe or rototiller and brings the land back to its barren look. Soon the shrubs, trees and flowers I’ve planted are a thing of the past. He prefers the clean look of plain dirt to weeds and flowers. Our neighbors have learned to guard their yards when my husband has the weedeater out.
Thankfully, some of the heartier shrubs have managed to survive the cut. We have a line of Italian cypress trees gracing our yard. These trees badly need a haircut. When they were shorter and we owned a van, we’d park the van on the lawn and cut the trees. But after a few years of missing their haircuts, the trees are way too tall for us. I suppose one of these years we’ll call in a tree trimmer. For the time being, the birds are having a blast building nests and making mini-condos in our trees.
A few other shrubs have lasted through the years including a star jasmine planted years ago. It’s a hardy plant that’s managed to choke out any weeds that have dared to grow in its midst. Recently, noting the success of this particular plant variety, we decided to put a hedge in the front yard by the street. Our plant of choice was star jasmine.
Eleven back-breaking holes later, we were ready for planting. All I can say is, with this clay soil, I know why the mission in San Juan is still standing after all these years. When I took breaks from digging, I’d stop and fashion pottery from the clay. I plan to bury these pots in the back yard where they’ll probably be discovered by archaeologists in years to come.
Once the rocks were weeded from the soil (how can so little ground have so many rocks?) and the soil was mixed with a soil conditioner, we planted our hedge. But now the planting bug has bitten me hard. We own an acre of almost bare land. I want green! I want flowers! I want fruit trees! I don’t want weeds!
Only time will tell if what I plant survives to maturity. Right now, with the beginning (I hope) of our warm season, I’m ready to get out in the sunshine, do the back-breaking work, weed those flowers, hoe that row and dig that hole. But in a month or so when the honeymoon period has worn off, will I still have the tenacity to follow through? Will weeding the flowers be a priority? Will dragging the hose around to water these fledging newcomers be part of my daily routine? Or will I simply give up and wait for the impending sound of the weedeater?
Maybe it’s a good thing I can’t see into the future. Until time proves otherwise, I’m off to the store to buy more plants, ready to make my dream yard come true.
