Last year in August, we headed off to do what we call our Midwest Tour. We head to Stitches Midwest in Schaumburg, Il and then a week later we are at Michigan Fiber Festival in Allegan, MI.
When we left, I knew that some drainage work was going to be done which would include needing to dig across one of the four tiers of my flower garden. When I came home, three of the four tiers was covered up by clay dirt and to nicely finish it off, a layer of gravel. Oh, the tears that fell. We built the garden before we built the house. Gardening always was something I did with my mother, and that garden in particular was a way to connect with her, even though she died over 20 years ago.
It also makes it clear to me that different people see things differently. The fellow doing the grading saw my gardens as an impediment, and saw the work he did as nicely finished off. I see the unruliness of gardens as something positive. I don't like to prune things within an inch of their life - I love to see things grow as they will.
A day or two after we got home, Jen and I dug the dirt off the tier that had my daylilies. They were a bit worse for wear, but still alive. And this year they are thriving. Friends gave me other plants and roots and my garden has changed, and is in many ways better than before. I love how life's thorns can turn into roses.
Here's my garden this year. The daylilies are about to pop open and the echinacea is setting buds.
The flower garden is right across the driveway from the studio, so it is wonderful to see all the colors as we come out from the studio, or sit on the dock and have a cup of coffee.
As you can imagine, there is more work to be done, I will be dressing it with a layer of compost this week, and maybe adding a new daylily.
