The Winds of Change - Progress Report

It didn't take long for the lot to the east of our house to be cleared. Strangely enough, I'm okay with it.


While in Hobby Lobby at the weekend, I picked up a free handout with instructions for some craft projects that use twigs and branches -- a lattice, some picture frames, a "Garden" sign and a couple of other things.  In addition, I found a plan for a rustic gazebo-style bird feeder that I thought would be a nice addition to the garden and my husband volunteered to make for me.


So before they started clearing, we got in there and lopped some saplings and some branches and stored them in our side yard until we get going on the craft projects.


Even though the lot is now cleared (see below) it's like the spirit of the trees will live on as we work on our craft projects and use the objects we make. (Yes, you can call me a tree-hugger)

 So today, they started clearing the lot on the other side.

I always liked the way the trees in this lot provided a backdrop for photos of our garden, such as this photo of a volunteer sunflower I took last weekend.

But I had to laugh as my husband told me how the Sweet Gum was fighting them every step of the way.

Apparently the plan was to dig around the roots and then push it over.

Well, that didn't work.

So they ended up using a chain saw to take the tree down, with my husband nervously watching and hoping it didn't land on our house.

And by the time I got home, they were taking a break, but there was plenty of evidence of the battle that had been raging all day.

It's now 9:30 pm, pitch black out there and they are still trying to heave it out of the ground!  I suspect that by this time, they are considering a small thermo-nuclear device.
  

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

The Winds of Change

We've been spoiled, I suppose you could say, since we moved into our house in 2008. For three years, ours has been the only house on our side of the street, comfortably tucked in between a majestic Liquidambar (Sweet Gum) tree on one side, and a rough but wildlife friendly thicket on the other.  The thicket was where the stray/dumped cat, Cali, raised her kittens last summer.  It's been home to a procession of squirrels, raccoons, skunks, snakes and other critters, many of which paid us visits on various occasions.

We knew things wouldn't stay like that forever but, since we moved in and the economy tanked, we hoped it would be many years before we lost what we looked on as our personal forest.

Recently though, there has been more activity in the neighborhood.  More homes have been going in, a new builder has moved in, (after our builder moved out) and a new model home is going up.

The writing was on the wall earlier this week, when two lots on the next street were cleared.

And today I came home to see this:

And this:

...indications that any day now, our little forest will be history :-(

I just hope they do all the ripping out of trees while I'm at work.  I don't think I could stand to be here while it's happening.  

On a brighter note, we've got tropical milkweed coming up all over the place, ensuring we'll have plenty to offer the Monarch butterflies when they come through on their migration.

Last year we had lots of Zinna "Profusion" that I hoped would self seed, but I hadn't seen any signs of that so I purchased some more seed which arrived from Park Seed today.

Now look at what I saw while out in the garden today.  One of last year's zinnias (and actually I saw two or three of them) has finally self-seeded and was being checked out by a couple of skippers!  I'll still go ahead and scatter some seed in the border and I think I'll share the rest with my neighbors.

 It's been fun living in Wild America for three years.  I can only hope that we still get birds, squirrels, butterflies and other wildlife visiting our garden when we have new homes on either side where once there was wildlife habitat. 


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Starting Over

The title of this post has a double meaning.  First, it refers to the fact that, although I have been maintaining a blog, Green and Serene, on HoustonGrows.com, the Houston Chronicle gardening community, I'm starting it up here on Blogger.com as well. 


Secondly, it refers to the fact that I am, once again, starting a new garden from scratch.


My husband and I moved to a new home in a new subdivision last summer. I knew the one thing I was going to miss most was the lovely cottage garden I had created at my previous house.  I really got emotional about leaving it behind but tried to look on the positive side.  

Our new home offers new opportunities to create a peaceful retreat for the two of us, where we can relax and I can enjoy my gardening. We selected the lot carefully, and chose this one because of the tree in the back garden.  I've never had a mature tree in my garden before!

When we moved in during the summer of 2008, there wasn't much there but a vast expanse of lawn, but eventually, I want to plant a multi-level shrubbery across the back wall and some island beds, to create a habitat for the many birds we get here.

Even though we've barely started, one of our favorite weekend pastimes is to sit in the shade on the patio and watch the birds, squirrels and butterflies as they go about their business.

My blog will document our progress, and also show you some of our regular feathered and furry visitors.