A Corner of Tranquility

Anyone who has spent time at my house knows the state of my yard. A friend once described it as "wild". That's putting it nicely, to say the least. A less tactful person might say neglected, overgrown, weed-congested, or just downright offensive to the eye.

It's not that I don't like gardening, or being outside. Yes, life is busy with two little ones underfoot. But what has really stopped me from taming the yard in the past is my perfectionism. To understand, you also should know that I tend to be *a bit of* an underachiever. I will get an idea in my head but then I become paralyzed when I consider that it will not come out exactly as I imagine. So, I find something else to do, and the idea gets pushed to the wayside.

Well, this past year has been a lesson in abandon. I have decided to practice the art of Trying. This blog is an example of that. Learning to tile on the fly when we remodeled the bathroom is another. There are many more. I find that the more I try, the more I want to try, and the more inspired I become. It's an important step for me. Especially when I see this perfectionist streak echoed in my son. (Lately he has started saying "I can't", and I am forever telling him that he won't know unless he tries. But actions speak louder than words after all, and I need to show him that it's okay to make mistakes. Sometimes our mistakes turn out the be the best lessons right?) I definitely do not want him to go through life being afraid to take a chance. I want him to embrace life, missteps, bruises, and all.

So today I carved out a little niche of tranquility.

Actually it took me the better part of a week. I started by raking and pulling at a thick mat of weeds. I never knew how invasive the buttercup is! It was literally EVERYWHERE! It even outcompeted the dandelions! It had weaved itself so thoroughly about my one sad little hosta that I had to spend about two hours extricating it from vine's clutches. I succeeded, but the darn weed lives on in my lawn to see another day. I now have a new nemesis.

Once I had cleared my little patch of earth, Wyatt helped me design the plant layout. I got some new hostas and lady ferns off of craigslist. The gentleman that listed them was truly an inspiration for me. His yard also backs up to a greenbelt, but he had terraced it, and carved a path that weaved down into the trees! His yard was absolutely filled with beautiful plants of all sorts. He did say that he spends all his free time gardening, and one would have to with a yard like that! We ended up buying a butterfly plant and a new type of hydrangea from him as well, which we will put in the sunnier part of the yard next.

In the new shade garden I also transpanted a sad calathea that was failing in the house, and got two plants on clearance at the store - an elephant's ear and an orange begonia that I couldn't resist. Wyatt couldn't resist it today either! He's so cute. My little nature lover. He actually transplanted the begonia all by himself!

Penelope played happily in her rocker bouncer while we busied ourselves around her. She giggled, and gurgled, and babbled away in the dappled shade and seemed as happy as we were to be out in the garden on a summer afternoon. (I'm not going to be able to contain her so easily before long! Pepper is trying her darndest to crawl these days. She keeps accidentally flipping herself over though when she finally does get her leg up underneath herself. She voices her frustration too! Our little Pepper is aptly named - she's a spicy one!)

It's a modest little garden, but it brings me a measure of peace. I look at it and I think that with some initiative and a little toiling I can create something wonderful. It's not perfect, but it is definitely better than what was there before. That's progress, people. As Martha would say, "It's a good thing".