Thursday, April 21, 2022

Hacking it Back: Julia in the garden

Back yard? Property? The landscape?

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I really need to find a better name to describe the 3 acres around my old Maine farmhouse, because "garden" conjures up the wrong vibe (as the kids say.) It's not really landscaping, because, well, so much of it is overgrown. There are the bones of previous decades landscaping  - Ross's many, many bulbs, the other flowers he's planted in beds that were once nice and round but now seem to have melted slightly, the initial three forsythia that have become 300 forsythia, etc, etc.

 

 

The garden enthusiast in my marriage was Ross; my job was to help pull and prune where he told me and to have a cold beer waiting for him when he came in from mowing. So it's been a steep learning curve, now the whole she-bang in my responsibility. The last time he was able to work on it was the summer of  '15, and I was, shall we say, taken aback at just how quickly my nicely maintained grounds were determined to become Longfellow's forest primeval.

 

Can you spot the apple tree?

I decided to rally my forces and tackle one or two important tasks each year to push back the jungle. I really don't want visitors to expect me to come to the door in a head scarf and fur coat. Two summers ago, when the Guest Son was living here, he took down and chopped a whole lot of deadfall wood, made me a compost pile and several garden bed containers, and killed 90% of the Japanese knotweed infesting the back with Roundup. (I've always tried to keep it organic, but sometimes, you need to hire an assassin.)

 

 

Last summer, one of my young friends helped revitalize my front porch flowerbed, my cousins chainsawed the Yews of Doom that were literally darkening my front door, and we kept all the grassy areas - one half to three quarters of an acre - well mowed.

 

This year, my goal is to get rid of my foul nemeses, the Asian invasives. I have oriental bittersweet. I have multiflora roses. I have non-native honeysuckle. And, native but oh-so-annoying, the forsythia that's rooted itself everywhere and the sumac saplings that must have been spread by seed to different zones in the back, as the ONE parent tree I want to live is next to the shed in the front yard.

 

My enemy, the bittersweet

Every non-rainy morning this month, after doggie breakfast, I head out back with the pups, my deerskin working gloves, and my lopper. I've pulled bittersweet vines out of the ground. I've cut out raspberry canes (they also spread everywhere.) I've taken out multiflora roses that have grown fifteen feet up into the apple trees. 

 

This is neither glamorous or creative work, but it is deeply satisfying. Unlike, say, writing a book, where a good day's work is 1/120th of the whole, when I've clipped my way through a tangle of thorny vines that look like the defenses around Sleeping Beauty's castle, I can see the tangible results in a pile on the ground and in a path through the briars. 

 

 

 

Cleared! Well, partly.

There are still real roses and wanted forsythia to prune, grape vines to rehang, flower beds to mulch and daffodils to divide and replant. Non of that is going to happen this year, and that's okay! 

 

Dear readers, what are the long-focus, dirty jobs that you find yourself enjoying?

 

 

61 comments:

  1. Goodness, that’s a LOT to tackle . . . something akin to pulling up all the newly-sprouting pine trees while they’re still little enough to yank out of the ground because they’re determined to sprout up everywhere.

    My gardening [which I sort of enjoy] consists mainly of making sure the deer don’t eat the daffodils and begging the lilacs to please, grow, just a little [or, at least, don’t die]. The daffodils continue to spread; the lilacs just ignore me. It’s enough to make me consider an alternative form of springtime torture . . . .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Everything seems to grow well in my ground, Joan, which is a blessing and a curse, as you can see.

      Delete
    2. Joan, if it helps, deer avoid daffodils, because they're poisonous, even to deer.

      Can't help with those stubborn lilacs, though.

      Delete
  2. Good for you! And it's a gym workout in the bargain, right? I find the spring raking and cleanup so satisfying.

    I have a much smaller property than you these days. The taming is mostly making sure the weeds doesn't choke out the blueberries or the vegetable garden. I've given up on the back perennial row, but that's because of the invasive goutweed, which is low and sneaky. We do have knotweed but I refuse to apply Roundup. It's all cut down right now and I plan to mow and smother until it's mostly gone.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Edith, I just didn't have the patience to do a multi-year project with the knotweed (which is apparently STILL available in some nurseries as a decorative bamboo!!!!)

      I am thinking of it as a two-fer, since I still haven't gone back to the gym. ;-)

      Delete
    2. Our former neighbors in the house right behind us planted bamboo!!! How could anyone be crazy enough to actually plant the stuff?? So for years now it's just been part of our ongoing maintenance to cut down the bamboo shoots that come up on our side of the fence. The current owners of the house are the people who cut down the elm tree that shaded our whole backyard. I think there is a curse here somewhere...

      Delete
    3. Is it clumping or spreading bamboo? Of course it may not matter. I curse the day we put in nandina (heavenly bamboo). That stuff keeps coming up where it's not wanted.

      Delete
    4. The least they could do is let us import pandas to eat the damn things.

      Delete
    5. When I moved into my house, I had a huge wall of bamboo on the south side of my backyard. I understand why it was there, as the next door neighbor hosted a bunch of sketchy people and drug activity. After someone who was hanging out there committed a robbery, police did surveillance and then a felony stop on a vehicle (I was still working at 9-1-1 and had some inside knowledge) everyone seemed to be gone. The house was eventually cleaned up, re-habbed, and sold and I've had two sets of great neighbors. Unfortunately, my bamboo spread south into their yard (and not north into my yard. I wonder if whoever planted it put down a barrier to keep it from spreading into my yard?). I hired my neighbor on the other side to help me rip and dig it out, but for several years had to watch for it to sprout and dig it up. Bamboo is a menace!

      Delete
  3. JULIA: Yikes, that was a lot of work to tame that property with help! Will you be able to maintain it now without assistance? Fortunately for me, balcony gardening does not require a lot of spring cleanup. The main focus was to setup a new netting system to thwart Satan the squirrel from digging up my baby root veggies (radishes, beets) and leafy greens. We have had a cold, late spring in Ottawa. I have not setup all my balcony planters with amended soil and my new seedlings are still under grow lights indoors.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Grace, we want regular updates on the balcony planters and Satan the Squirrel!

      It is a lot of work, and for the past two years I've had help. Victoria is willing to pitch in - she's hauling all the stuff I've cut so far to the brushpile while I'm away at Malice - but I suspect eventually I'm going to have to hire help, at least for the spring and fall cleanups.

      Delete
    2. HA HA, will do so!
      Current 2022 Gardening season score is: Grace 7, Satan 1.
      But I suspect Satan will get a few more "wins" as I put out more tempting goodies for him to eat/dig up!

      Delete
    3. I love the fact that you named your squirrel "Satan." I wish I had thought of that everytime he dug up a tulip bulb and brought to the tree limb just outside of my kitchen window to eat like is was a corn cob. I can still see him now spinning those bulbs, nibbling away and smirking at me! Well a sweet young thing moved in next door and started feeding him and his brothers everyday although I had warned her not to because of a hawk in the area. Well ... you know the rest but I still hesitate to plant tulips.

      Delete
  4. Oh my Julia, you are a trooper! I'm afraid if it was left to me, we'd be completely overgrown by weeds...

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I saw Grey Gardens at an impressionable age, Lucy, and am trying my best to avoid that fate...

      Delete
  5. We have a very small urban property, with a still-in-progress back yard and a large perennial bed in the front yard. Every year I am amazed at how long it can take to tidy up from the winter and rake away the detritus so the new growth can find its way up and out. While I fantasize about having acres of land, that fantasy stops short of the maintenance of it! A wise friend once told me that any big job is best tackled in short bursts of time and energy, and I try to follow that advice in order to keep the joy of gardening alive in my heart (and body).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's what I'm trying to do, Amanda. Being out in the morning for forty minutes to an hour is a great way to start the day (and the dogs love it.) Sunshine, fresh air and some exercise makes me feel better when I sit down at my laptop to start working.

      Delete
  6. Oh Julia! If only I had your youth and energy! Last week before the big snow here I finally cut down 5 beach rose bushes that were horrible and not at all productive. I admit it wore me out. Later that day I realized I couldn't just leave all those twigs and branches there so I went back out with the rake and took care of that problem, which I admit, did feel satisfying.

    I think you are wise knowing not all jobs will be taken care of this year. Do what you can when the spirit moves you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I had to come up with a five year plan, Judi, because this is a space that used to be managed by my husband, with the help of at least two teens! A little bit every (non-rainy) day is the way through for me.

      Delete
  7. I'm behind on my weeding, mindful of the chigger mites that will plague me by June, and the four foot black snake which spent last summer in my front foundation bed hunting moles, chipmunks, and birds. Not forgetting the crabby neighbor who turns me into the village every year. One person's weed is another person's wildflower.

    You spend an hour a day weeding and whacking?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not the finicky weeding, Margaret - this is slash-and-burn vegetation removal! This is the earliest I've ever gotten started, and I'm pushing to get the bulk of the invasives down before everything begins leafing out, Right now, it's perfect; I can clearly see what I need to remove, don't have to worry about berries or seeds, and the ground is soft enough for root-pulling.

      Delete
  8. JULIA:

    Trying to remember if there is anything like that. Though I do not enjoy having to bring stuff to Recycling, it is always a good feeling to clear out space and have room to move around.

    Great post today. Great photos too!

    Diana

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Diane, one of the nice things about having three acres is that I have my own brush pile at the back of the property, out of sight!

      Delete
  9. Wow, I'm impressed. I *should* like yard work, considering my outdoorsy inclinations. But whenever my husband suits up for a morning of raking or mowing or whatever, I always seem to be too busy with inside chores to lend him a hand!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Alicia, that was 100% me before I became a widow. Even then, I dragged my feet for a couple of years. I only started when I realized my choices were 1) get out there and work or 2) learn to love the Spooky Abandoned House vibe.

      Delete
  10. Irwin is the gardener. If he does it, it gets done. I plant herbs in pots. My inside plants are lovely, especially the African violets. That's the story here. I cook. I bake. I do laundry. It's all good.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Judy, I'm making up my gardening time by the fact I only cook about three times a week now!

      Delete
    2. Good Luck pulling the Bitter Sweet. I too am fighting, pulling and swearing quite a bit this spring. I have a much smaller yard but I let the backyard go and am paying for it now by amusing my neighbors with some very interesting bent over maneuvers as I pull this invasives out while utilizing some very colorful language in both English and Portuguese, plus barely remembered high school French.

      Delete
  11. Just a word of caution: getting rid of 90% of Japanese knotweed is not enough. It takes constant vigilance and 100% elimination which I am sorry to say is very difficult to achieve. My hubby has been working on a small patch for years and just found 2 new shoots.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. We have the hyper-invasive Lesser Celandine here, and it has exploded. The deer drag it around the world in their hooves, so it's utterly everywhere. And impossible to kill because these tiny little plants have tubers at the end of deep roots.

      I'm thinking fire.

      Delete
    2. Jackie, I still have a few small spots nearer to the front of the house that I'm going to spray this year. In the back, where it's died, I've been very careful - I'm not stirring up the soil at all. I'm going to let the grass and goldenrod grow right over it.

      Delete
    3. Karen, you could get one of those portable flamethrower thingies!

      Delete
    4. Wouldn't that be more fun than digging, Debs?

      Delete
  12. I am not able to do any gardening except in pots, and Julie is having a knee replacement. Therefore we have Erin for beds and planting and general landscaping and Mr. Guck for mowing and trimming big stuff.

    Not about gardening, therefore. That's handled. We have a finished third floor, up which I've not been in years. But with my daughter's entire family coming the first of May, we have need of the space, including the bathroom that's up there. So yesterday was turn out the attic day. Our perfectly marvelous Janette did all the work, and Julie and I supervised. We opened the side window over the driveway and started pitching crap out. The Augean Stables had nothing on our attic. The solution seemed to be redirecting both the Genesee and Niagara Rivers.

    All the Christmas stuff is stored in the box room. All the artwork that we haven't got around to hanging is in there too. All the Julie papers that she will save forever and all the luggage in is the eaves closets. All the DME is somewhere that I can't see. All the detritus is on the curb.

    Five hours and $$ later it was done. It looks gorgeous. Vacuumed, mopped, dusted, sorted, polished and arranged, and finished with a spritz of Mighty Mint -- scares spidies away -- it is a suite fit for a princess.

    All that's left is to install the blow up beds and make them up. And Janette will do that next week.

    I would wish a Janette and an Erin and a Mr. Guck on each of you. The older we get, the better we need to develop our supervision skills.

    N.B. Might Mint. It's amazing stuff, peppermint out base, safe for people and pets, and scares creepy crawlers away. Use sparingly, spritz around, and your world will smell like Wrigley's.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ann, I love your process, and I fully expect to have a Janette and Erin and Mr. Guck in the future. (Mr. Guck sounds like a great character name in a children's book!)

      Thank you for the tip about Mighty Mint! I hate hate hate creepy crawlers, and have pets about, so I'll give it a try.

      Delete
  13. Yes, so satisfying, and a good workout, too.

    We live on just under 4 1/2 acres, but not quite two acres of it is yard, the rest is woods that are largely vertical. Before we built the house here it was already horribly overgrown; Steve let it get that way because 1. he didn't have time to work and maintain the property, and the kids he used to hire are all grown up with property of their own. 2. it was "habitat" for his photography. (Insert eyeroll here.) Once we decided to tear down the old house--a two-year project--further neglect of the yard let vines grow up into the trees and blackberry and porcelainberry vine took over the once lovely garden areas that Steve's dad had planted decades ago.

    It's been a long process, and there is still a lot to do, but this year the crabapple tree I discovered choked with vines got to bloom gloriously, free of excess vegetation. Steve now has a riding mower and he can whip the grass into shape quickly. I do most of the rest.

    My Pollyanna takeaway from all this lush overgrowth is at least we have enough water and rich dirt to sustain such life. So many don't.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Amen to that, Karen! And yes, of my three acres, one is overgrown field, and the rest is split between a copse of trees and the yard. One of the things I love is how bird and butterfly friendly our land is - another reason to get rid of the Asian invasive plants, which take up nutrition and space and return no nourishment to our flying friends.

      Delete
    2. I love your last paragraph!

      DebRo

      Delete
    3. Julia, I've been trying to create a balance between native and deer-proof plants. So far, it's working pretty well. Native plants are often the ones deer don't like, too. I have always chosen plants that attract birds, since I'm married to a bird photographer. They also happen to like natives!

      Delete
  14. Actually forsythia *is" a non-native and has invasive tendencies, so hack away without guilt!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Sandra, I've always said that anyone who doesn't live in the frigid north would treat forsythia as a noxious weed. It's just that we're so starved for color after five months of winter...

      Delete
    2. Julia, have you ever grown Witch Hazel? It also blooms yellow, and in winter. And is a native plant.

      Delete
  15. Julia, this is so me. Everything goes to heck and back so fast without constant vigilance. This year I'm working on a master plan to reduce mowable portions of the property by creating a certified wildlife habitat. Food, water, shelter, and places to raise the babies--food and shelter and places to raise the young are all present, but need some coherence in the landscape. Water needs some thinking through. But just as I was thinking all of that, a thought occurred: will a wildflower meadow and tall grasses encourage ticks?? Still searching for an answer. And boy could I use all those personal assistants.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Flora, I know ticks need moist conditions, which is why they thrive in unmowed grass. The denser vegetation traps water longer. So I would guess yes, you're more likely to have ticks in a tall grass meadow. Maybe you could design mowed paths through?

      Delete
    2. Julia, that was the idea--mowed paths throughout--a bit at a time is my plan, so we'll see what works!

      Delete
  16. Kudos to you Julia for tackling a large project with planning and persistence. When we lived on 40 acres one decision was - where does our yard stop and the wilds begin?

    I like a little yardwork - especially in the spring because I want a reason to be outside. I don't want to sit around, and I can only do so much walking. Tending our backyard in the 'burgh is just right.

    Even with the hard work I feel nourished by nature. And I am awed by the power of plants to reclaim any space in a fairly short period of time. Good thing following natural disasters, not so great when you want your own space neat and trim.

    ReplyDelete
  17. The owner of the park maintains the spaces between houses and once a year goes through chopping back the ancient ivy that climbs ancient trellis holding up the awning. What they haven't trimmed is the dreaded juniper framing the windows at one end of my home. I HATE JUNIPER! But it looks like I'm going to have face the monsters and back them down to window height.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Woot! Sounds like you are well along in spring gardening, and thank you for the lesson about multi-flora roses. I had no idea they are pests. My goal this year, since we have decided to turn everything under and start from scratch is to get some forsythia and roses into my beds. I've got plans of a hosta garden growing in my head and hope to find something nice that will grow in shade for the southwest side of my kitchen door that gets zero sun. I am safe in the planning stage as we still have nearly a foot of snow on the ground in most places!

    I am not a fan of gardening, but I am a fan of the end result so A hoeing I will go! One chore I do love is ironing. There is something so soothing about the smell of steam and the smoothing of wrinkles!

    ReplyDelete
  19. Go, Julia! Getting your hands in the dirt is fundamentally human. And I mean that literally. Human beings work. It is part of our nature. And working at something that produces life-affirming results is the most basic kind of work. It is not a wonder that it makes us feel so accomplished.

    I advocate for gardening to be required learning in schools. It builds an understanding of our relationship with the earth without the need to lecture. As well, gardening models patience, self-reliance and hope.

    These days, my dirty work is suburban no-lawn landscape maintenance and a couple of very small raised beds. It isn't terribly fulfilling. We are planning to move from SW Ontario to British Columbia next year and my new house will have gardening space and perhaps fruit trees. I don't have the physical strength to do a lot of heavy work, but boy, am I excited over the prospect of many raised beds full of herbs, vegetables and flowers!

    ReplyDelete
  20. I wish you luck and fortitude! My husband loves mowing and whacking and chopping up on his acreage in east Texas. At home? Nope. We're in the midst of moving and I am feeling quite smug, having arranged for a lawn service at our new house. Frank won't be living there for a few months yet. I can't rely on him to mow so I either have to pay someone to do it or buy myself a new lawnmower so I can do it. Since there is a much shorter growing season in Virginia than here in Houston I think I can afford professional help. Once we get there I'll scope out the yard and possible flower beds. It was all covered in snow when we saw it originally so there may be surprises. I'm already thinking peonies for a flower bed in the front if nothing is there now. And tomato plants are going in somewhere!

    ReplyDelete
  21. Julia, what a project! But I think you're very wise to approach it with a long term plan. And I think doing work in the garden every day is healthier than the gym! Or at least that's what I tell myself. We have a big corner lot with many, many perennial beds, plus deck, patio, and front porch that are all filled with pots during the growing season. Rick doesn't do any of the yard work although he does almost all the other maintenance around the house. But this means I have to have help and I have had the same terrific yard/landscape guy for years. This year I switched my veggies to 20 gallon grow tubs--ten of them! Do you know how much potting soil it takes to fill ten 20 gal tubs? Eeek. Hopefully we'll get lots of yummy tomatoes, cukes, peppers, and zucchini.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Debs - you will so appreciate not having to bend and stoop for planting, weeding, and harvesting. That is what we found when we built raised beds a couple of feet tall. But the amount of soil! as you mentioned. Wheel barrow loads for us.

      Our beds are so generous in size that last year our resident woodchuck decided to ditch the 20 foot commute to our raised beds and instead dug a burrow right inside one. This year a rabbit tried the same thing. We chased them both out - they were too wary to trap.

      Delete
  22. Oh, Julia - you are of sturdier stock than I. I'd be completely overwhelmed by the scale of your "garden." My yard is a constant battle ground with the bunnies fighting me to get to all of my favorite plants. And there are baby bunnies now. Not even the tiniest bit cute, imhop.

    Yesterday I watched my neighbors planting the dozens of dahlia bulbs. Between each set of bulbs they plant little wind spinners which must work to discourage the wildlife because those bulbs grow up to be spectacular plants six feet tall.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good tip, Hallie - a friend just gave me dahlia bulbs, which I have never grown!

      Delete
  23. Ah, forsythia. My dad used to call it the "asshole bush", because everyone has one. LOL! My desert yard has gone completely unchecked and my cassia (the AZ version of forsythia) has spawned all over the yard. *sigh* I am going to have to get out there with my crew and tame it, but revisions are due first. I like your many yeared view of getting it done. That totally works for me.

    ReplyDelete
  24. I am completely hopeless as a gardener. I made peace with lacking the gardening gene and the sewing gene some time ago. Our orange daylilies in the back yard are really the only flowers we have on our 3/4 acre properety. Years ago, I had a circle of hosta in the back with some kind of purple flower plant to attract either hummingbirds or butterflies (can't even remember which now), but that was really my only attempt at growing something, and now it's gone. But, I do know to call in help when I need it (like Ann and her great line-up of helpers). We do have a yard service that mows, and I will hire them to do some long-needed landscaping soon, after the new windows are put in. Julia, I am gobsmacking impressed with your willingness to tackle your yard and your yearly plan in doing so. The only yard thing we've had done extra so far this year is our big tree out front taken down. I was so sorry to see it go, but the danger it was posing to the house was just too great. I am amazed that the yard looks nice without it, although it was a source of comfort to me for many years.

    I'm trying to think of a long-focus dirty job I enjoy. I am tempted to say the weeding out of memorabilia from my childhood and growing up, as I do love seeing the items, but the actual saying goodbye is tough.

    ReplyDelete
  25. I know how you are feeling but in a smaller scale. My landscaping needs a lot of help but it’s not my favorite. I pull the weeds when I have to but they keep coming back! As in the next day!

    ReplyDelete
  26. This comment has been removed by the author.

    ReplyDelete
  27. Bravo, Julia--you are doing a great job. As for me, I'm very happy to have a balcony off our bedroom with nine large window boxes hanging from the railings. That is MY garden. As soon as I get home from New York, where I've just launched PESTICIDE, I will spend a May weekend buying summer annuals and lots of soil and planting geraniums, petunias, marigolds, lobelia, sweet alyssum, verbena, blue salvia, or whatever combination of flowering annuals strikes my fancy. It will be very hard physical work, and by Sunday night I'll be exhausted. But I only do this once a year, and it's a huge amount of fun. Afterwards, my gardening is all DONE! All I have to do is water my nine window boxes through October. So, whereas I sometimes miss living in a house with a yard, most of the time I feel very lucky to have a garden I can manage so well.

    ReplyDelete