by Pamela Nollen

Created on: June 03, 2008   Last Updated: June 10, 2008

Invasion
Gardening was never really my thing no green thumb to brag about. Actually, until my children were born, I couldn't keep a plant alive. After my children were born, I really didn't have time to worry about plants. Gardening came about by accident. We bought a small house on a rocky acre of land almost out in the country. We built a large deck that cried out for plants and strategically placed rock borders to create flowerbeds amongst the Live oak trees. During our first spring here, we also planted a huge vegetable garden. Unfortunately, our well doesn't draw enough water to adequately supply a large garden, so I decided to nurture the flowerbeds. Along the way, I discovered that time spent in my yard reaps enormous rewards emotional, physical and spiritual as long as I can overcome the obstacles.

Our yard is home to an incredible number of many-legged critters - millipedes, tarantulas, centipedes, scorpions, etc. Scorpions and millipedes are still finding their way into the house. Chris tells me they're looking for water. I ask if we can't just put a bowl of water for them out in the yard! There have been moments when my desire to coexist with nature is overcome by a powerful urge to, as my mother would say, "Kill them quick, before they multiply". Did I mention the mosquitoes and chiggers? Deer and rabbits are also plentiful and seem to particularly relish the taste of the bright green new growth but are usually kept away with a little help from our dogs.

Seasons in South Central Texas do not exactly follow the calendar. Summer seems to come early and last forever sometimes the air-conditioner has to come on in April when the daytime temperatures soar into the high eighties, and by June the ground is dry and cracked. By August, the sweltering heat keeps most people indoors. There's little yard work to do; even the weeds are brown and crunch underfoot. Autumn is not the cool, crisp, colorful season of my youth in Ohio, but more a brief reprieve from summer that arrives sometime in October and leads to a generally mild winter. But winter always holds at least one serious freeze - serious enough to wipe out any of the unprotected houseplants (like my lovely, 15-year-old Ficus tree that froze to death in 2003) that reside on my deck. For me, the best thing about winter is that it leads to spring.

I love everything about my yard in the spring. Free time is spent there, watering, weeding, and contemplating the universe. I tell my mother that I go to church

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>