My Garden

When my children were little girls they used to call the yard the "yarden". I have spent most of my adult life gardening in my free time. I lived and worked on a large nursery in CT for several years. http://www.ctgrown.com/index.cfm I was in the landscaping business upon moving back to Sewanee.

When I moved into my house about 13 years ago most of the back yard was covered in underbrush. There was a little overgrown rock garden in the back covered in privet that we used to call the "Secret Garden". No one (including the former owner) thought that grass could grow in the front yard. My awkward shaped, narrow, just under an acre yard has been reclaimed for years now, but like any gardener knows, it is always growing, evolving and changing.

All the gravel, mulch, rocks, soil and plants were placed where they are by me. Until 2 years ago when I got tendinitis, I had an annual dump truck of mulch delivered. It had to be dumped in front of my carport because the truck couldn't get through to the back yard. Over the course of several weeks I would wheelbarrow it to all the flowerbeds in the yard. I don't know why, but I enjoy this.

I've always grown flowers. I dabble at vegetables, but haven't had much success. Luckily many of my friends have beautiful vegetable gardens and are very generous. My garden is ornamental, not practical. It's a lovely place to have dinner parties on summer nights.