When I was growing up I loved playing outside. I would roam around and play in the woods. I remember we had a peach tree growing in the back yard that was so big the peaches would cause the limbs to hang down to the ground. We also had a apple tree and a garden. And my mom would have a small flower bed out front. Which at that time I had no interest in planting anything really. I would help my dad pick off vegtables on the vines. And that was about it.
Until when I was 20. When my ex and I had moved into a house that we was buying and started to make it our home. He's brother at the time got a divorce and we took it over. The house was lefted in ruined. And the yard, it was a total mess. So little by little I worked in the yard just removing items. Junk everywhere. It took a while but I had the drive that this was my yard now and I want it my way..lol
When I met his aunt and great aunt, which are very good friends of mine now, nothing more said, "WOW",than their yards. I was amazed. What such beauty makes a home than the art and creation of a yard. They had flowers, planters, hanging baskets, stepping stones, water fountins, fish ponds, water lilies, garden statues, trees of many flowering blooms, bird houses, vines of all sorts. And all this color of it all was so inviting. It makes you want to stay outside forever. I wanted it all. And at the time I had no clue where to start. So they dug me up some bulbs and told me to take it home and plant them. So I went home and sat on the front porch. I started thinking, "I need a flower bed". I was pregnant at the time and we went up on the mountain and gather the biggest rocks you can imagine. Some people couldnt believe we got them in truck. Got home and made my first flower bed almost around the whole house.
The first year was just setting my ideas of what I wanted. I learned everything I know about plants from the two aunts. Took years to remember what everything was called. And if they was annuals or perennials. Every saturday we would get up and go yardselling, which I will talk about in hobbies #3. After we was done yardselling we would go to the lowes in chattanooga. They would have a clearance rack in the back that most people didnt know about. I would buy plants that would normally cost lots of money, varies, for .25 cents. No Joke. It was hard to believe that I was saving tons of money on these plants that normally these companies would just toss away due to them being root bound,ect. I was hooked. Buying plants was what I spent my hard working money on. Making my yard my sanctuary.
Over the few years my yard became my masterpiece. When I got off work and came home I was outside. People would come over and I would show them around to look at all my flowers and plants. They would be amazed. My yard grew and grew as so did I with the knowledge of landscaping. I want to be a landscaper, not a doctor or lawyer, something I truely love doing. Now there was times I would put hard work and money into plants and they wouldnt make it. So I learned what not to do. I would also go to friends houses and help them out with their yards. It made me feel good knowing I had learned a crafted in growing things and talking to people about it. You can have the finest house but if you dont have a yard to go with it, your house can turn out to be the ugly. I would ride around and just look at other people houses just to see what they was planting or doing to their yards.
As my relationship had ended. I didnt want to leave, not because of the house, it was my landscape I had created. So I went crazy..lol...For two weeks, I came home from work and dug up everything, plants, trees that wasnt to big, I couldnt leave my hard earned, back laboring items behind. I gave it all away to my friends who helped me out in my hard time in life and planted some at my moms house so I could still look at the many things I loved. I love digging in dirt and watching something I plant grow. This is my passion. So now I rent a house and I do not plant anything but in containers, which sucks. I miss my own yard. I know oneday I will have my own yard and have to start all over again. And I cant wait. I got a green thumb that is throbbing to plant again. That is a need that needs to be filled.
And if any of my friends read this and needs help in the vision of there yards, I will be gladly to lend a hand...
