Changing Perspectives

The more I putter around the yard, work in the soil, and learn about gardening the more I appreciate weeds. I don't remember which book said it, but weeds are just plants in the wrong place or plants that one doesn't want or sometimes in my case plants I don't know anything about. I've started identifying some of the plants in the backyard and they are better plants than I thought. When I first discovered that we had several invasive species planted in our yard that liked to propagate wildly, I became pretty negative about all our plants and told people we had a yard full of weeds. I've since found out that one of the plants that populates our backyard with green is "horseherb" which is great for re-foliating a yard. I bet it keeps the ground from compacting too. We also have purslane growing which I've heard is edible and previously I'd found a dandelion here and there. I actually like dandelion greens cooked with butter and rice. Now, I know I can harvest those dandelion greens that appear in my yard. I just need to get to them before they go to seed. I didn't realize those "weeds" were actually the same plant as the dandelion greens I buy in the store.

As I've written before from my reading, nature does not like bare ground so it populates it. Those plants that I disliked because I was expected to dislike them because most would call them "weeds" are actually keeping my ground from compacting and eroding (we have a slight slope, going down from the back to the front). They are making it easier to dig into the ground in places or more difficult like the ligustrum. After the recent rain, I realized that those ligustrum roots are surrounded by some pretty good soil or at least soil that could be more clay compacted without them and that those roots keep the bare ground around them where it is drier and St. Augustine won't grow from washing down the side of the house when it rains. As those ligustrum roots deteriorate they will be feeding the soil that they took so many nutrients from. Giving back. They are actually quite nice and green when they are small. My perspective has also changed because I saw them all over the shrub section at Home Depot and Lowes looking all nice and happy. I still don't want them in the yard, but I doubt we will be able to eradicate all of them. I've been going back and forth about making peace with some of them as long as they stay small and easily manageable which means I can reach their berries and chop them off before the birds get them and distribute them. I think part of my wanting to make peace beside it creating less work right now is that I am starting to admire the tenacity of them.

Unwatered and uncared for, they grow. Cut them down a few times, they grow back. Rip them out of the ground and maybe if your lucky one of the feeder roots won't grow into a whole new plant. I just can't help but admire something that can withstand such adverse circumstances. I'm also enjoying using the ligustrum trunks and branches to outline pathways and create plant beds. I'm actually glad that we have three left because I want to harvest the wood at some point for more interesting projects.

I just planted a few things where I couldn't dig into the dirt a few months ago, but since we ripped a ligustrum out of the ground it's roots are starting to break down and the ground is actually starting to be easier to dig into because the roots are shredding as I dig. The dirt is happier than I expected as I planted some ornamental grasses to help control the erosion that will probably happen as more of the ligustrum roots break down. My pathways that I have outlined are slowly being covered in ligustrum leaves and I will be making mulch with the smaller branches and the leaves that didn't fall off as I dragged tree trunks around.

Ligustrum not as evil as I thought. I am now taking a new look at all the plants that were already in our backyard. I still want to make room for a variety of plants, but maybe there is room for a knee high ligustrum or two, since at that level they are easy to control. So to all those weeds, I've been killing thank you for keeping my backyard from washing away and being one large mud-puddle. I'm getting a real illustration of what could happen next door where the backyard has no greenery over most of it and becomes mud when it rains. I'm going to consider you with more respect from now own and maybe let a few of you add to the diversity I'm planning in my yard.

The other thing I am really learning about is soil. Everytime I turn around I am discovering new things. When I dug into the soil the other day to plant some erosion control ornamental grasses. I found chunks of chalk. As I've been researching, I discovered limestone and chalk is used interchangeably. I had some fun making chalk drawings with the pieces of chalk I dug up on some concrete edgers I found in our garden shed.

The other major discovery I made was that though the garden soil and the compost I bought look very similar the garden soil is slightly lighter in color, weighs less and is cooler than the compost. I literally felt the temperature difference when I moved around our soil pile. I could at times see waves of heat coming up from the compost which didn't really stink at all or maybe I'm just used to it now. The garden soil was cooler than my body temperature and as I removed gallons of it, the pile got warmer the closer I got to the compost section. I could feel my knees burning as I kneeled in the pile to move the soil from the pile to my wagon when I was at the borders between compost and garden soil. It was a relief because I really didn't want to have to mix up the compost and garden soil for the raised beds, nor worry about burning my veggie transplants and seeds with too much compost . I also now have a more thorough understanding of why my red wigglers prefer temperatures between 55 and 85 degrees. They are helping break down elements and that creates heat.

Wow, gardening has to be the best hobby I've ever had because it allows me to do a lot of things I enjoy. I get to do science experiments, be creative and artistic, investigate, research, problem-solve, read, learn a lot about myself and my environment, practice new habits, and it is an easy conversational subject as well as a way to meet my neighbors. I've also lost 3% of my body fat though no actual weight in the last two to three weeks of cutting down and dragging around trees and various other random landscaping/gardening things. I feel more self-confident with all the physical work I've been doing and I have been eating a lot less because I am so absorbed and jazzed by the process. I really didn't think it would be this much fun or this absorbing for me especially since I always thought of myself as having a brown thumb i.e. my houseplants would grow for a while then turn brown and die. There are so many elements to it and it can be both down to earth and highly intellectual. Now if I can only keep from driving the "Man" crazy with my new obsession.