Lemonade
When you visit my garden you’ll notice the common appearance of rocks among the landscape. They are readily used as borders and accents, and in one spot have gathered to form a wall that didn’t previously exist. Now, like many of my generation I loved The Flintstones, but never imagined I’d be dealing with my own Bedrock when I attempted to turn that first bit of soil over twelve years ago. The clinking sound of my shovel hitting the ground in the first, the second, and many times even the third desired location became an ongoing battle of wills. As the rock wall in my garden now testifies, there are many times that I won. There are also a few times I didn’t.
Making lemons into lemonade is a commonly expressed metaphor, but until I got to work in my yard, I didn’t fully understand how much effort, time or patience is sometimes required to produce a full glass. I never seem to reach the finish line, as just over yonder there is inevitably another patch of grass crying out to be something more. On several occasions I have declared to my husband that I have just put in my very last bed, only to be greeted with a smile that suggests we both know I am likely already planning the next one.
Let nature be your guide. Each garden is its own entity, so use features that already exist to set the tone for your design. Before you start chopping trees, for instance, you might consider creating a woodland garden theme by choosing additional plants suitable to that environment. Obstacles are opportunities lying in wait.
