We've got this itch to start on stuff now that I am home to help equally. I'm a little more itchy than the Hubs with me being the freshest retiree, but still.
Our land is mostly dirt except for the amazing trees that have been here since the early 1900s, when the house was built. Other than the house, the garage, a 50 foot gravel drive and the trees that have been here forever and the little sculpted areas for garden and herbs, and the Kalamata olives, Pomegranates and Mission Fig trees, the space is woefully underutilized.
The problem is how to take what I'm imagining and make it real.
A few years back we tried and failed. I had this great vision of a rock and tanbark front space with a walking trail and benches and an open space for wildflowers. It would have plantings and little funky decorations like a vintage metal headboard and yard art. The bees and butterflies would come and we'd sit on our little bench and enjoy them with the ferals Bob, Rook and Smudge.
I had internet pictures. I had a crew. We had the Hubs with a tractor and a big load of rock. Let's just say it didn't exactly go as planned.
So after licking my wounds for lack of preparation, needless effort and expense - not to mention creating a whole big mess to clean up - it has stayed that way a long time. The Hubs and a friend made some progress but the yard is a wreck. And working FT, I couldn't find the energy to get out there and make a dent.
Failure has a way of sparking new ideas, though.
Like, we need a design. On paper. By someone who knows this stuff. A design we can understand and achieve. And someone to design the irrigation so everything stays alive. Something to follow.
So this is our dream space.
Leave about 30% of the untamed space in back alone. The target range stays and we'll add an activity course for the dogs. It should blend with our homestead and the community: simple, purposeful, and casually containable. We'll need space in back for entertaining and plant a stand of fruit trees to give us more fruit varieties since I'm so into canning.
We definitely need some grass to romp and play and lots of indigenous plants with room to nestle seasonal garden veggies around. My herb garden stays. I guess in the end we want things we can eat and purposeful plantings and butterfly/bee/hummingbird loving trellised vines - plus lemongrass, citronella, and lemon for the natural mosquito repellant we make.
Oh, is that all.
So on Monday, Kimberly the Visionary will be here. She specializes in natural and functional designs for our zone. I'm excited.
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