Life Simple: Backyard / Flower Gardens

I do enjoy our  backyard and my flower gardens in the summer / spring and even into fall. But they had become a burden. It takes a lot of energy out of me to plant, rake, dig, trim, water.... etc. I enjoyed the rewards , but I knew changes needed to be made when I started dreading it. Dread is a way that I know something needs to be simplified or chopped into several activities. 

I am learning that DREAD can keep me gridlocked and keep me from ever approaching a task. Then follows guilt, ... laziness, procrastination... and them full blown feels of drowning. Ugh. 

This summer I approached my flower gardening different. 

1. I purchaed only perrineals to put in my flower bed with the acception of a six pack of petunias (and that's bc they were on sale). I purchased only as soon as the threat of frost was over and there were already little plants on the "Please Save Me" rack at the store... so I bought them. The cost was low. 

I have a little "Fairy Garden" on the porch and 5 pots on the front porch. They are medium sized and look very inviting. I used to have many more, but I threw them out and sent the ones that were not cracked to Goodwill. I now had very little space to fill. I have only one flower garden and that is in the front yard. I have a short hose that I quickly turn on and spray down my 5 pots and my little garden. Everything that is in the front flower bed is perrineal. Everything. 

I could easily set up a soaker hose, but I have found that getting out once a day in the morning or evening, and turning on the hose and spraying my flowers, vine and small plants gives me GREAT pleasure. It takes less than 5 minutes. And I do this task with great job. I think because I actually talk to my plants. I tell them how beautiful they are and I tell them that I am thankful for them. I am happy to give them the "drinks" that they need daily and once a week I put Miracle Grow on them. I feel a connection to nature which makes me feel extremely peaceful and calm. So, I WANT and chose to do this task daily. I can see my front flower bed from my kitchen window. And it brings me happiness every time I am doing dishes or cooking. 

My backyard has changed as well. 

We have a brick patio with a frame around it. The canvas top is long gone, rotted and had to be discarded. So my husband put 3 strands of tiny, white solar lights around the frame and it lights up very nicely at dusk. I used to have a large patio table, 4 chairs, a glider, 2 small tables and many potted plants on the patio. But It was just... crowded. We had had it this way for 13 years. We had maybe 3 cookouts with other people in those years.... WHY did I still have that table? My husband does not like eating outside. He used to not even enjoy being outside on the patio. It was for many years... just me sitting alone. 

So, I thought... This table needs to go. It can be repurposed somewhere else. So I got rid of everything on the patio but 2 chairs and a small table between them and my small glider with a small table for drinks on it. My husband does enjoy his hammock and it is right off the patio between 2 trees. That is all we need. Really. Because we do not have large gatherings in our home and we eat at the dining room table if we do. We are not hosts to large groups. Neither one of us like that role. So, I quit pretending that the whole family was one day going to come over and all eat out on my patio table. I have enjoyed the look of declutter and simpleness that is now in my backyard. I have a comfortable place to sit and so does hubby. And if we have 1 or 2 guests, it will accomodate them easily. 

I also had bought a small firepit that we used maybe 3 times in the last 5 years. We bought a small pile of wood that just got termites in it and we would up having to have our whole house sprayed outside and under. Ugh. I was not happy about that. So, the commercial creations of family sitting around a firepit, smiling and laughing and eating S'Mores had to GO... It was not something I really used. The thought of it was nice, but something I rarely used. So, regift it. Let that firepit move on... And I was glad to get rid of the woodpile.... 

I also have nothing but perrineals in the backyard. I have a grapevine that I trim back in the fall and hollyhocks. I harvest the hollyhock seed in the fall and that's all I put out. Hubby mows and weedeats. And I spray down the grass every few days. I enjoy doing that as well. No plants to water. No pots to fill. And it is very very peaceful. I have stopped worrying about every little twig that falls on the ground. I have stopped worrying about weeds. I let hubby take care of them with the mower. I have just sat and enjoyed. 

I have also learning that I can hire help if I do not have the energy or if the project is too big. 

A huge load was taken off when I realized that Better Homes and Gardens is not going to show up and my space is for me to relax in... not stress over. 

So, I Keep it Simple by

1. planting perrineals

2. taking out outdoor furniture that I do not use

3. letting hubby take care of the weeds. 

KISS