Extraordinary in the Ordinary

Because everyone needs a place to get away from it all sometimes.

I don’t live in the country. I wish I did. Well, I think I wish that I did. Truth is I am afraid of every bug, snake and animal known to man. Another truth is that I cannot stand to drive more than 5 minutes to go anywhere.

But I thought this way once before, too. We had bought our first home in Kingsland, Georgia. I was by myself with the kids and realized that 3/4 of an acre backed up to some sort of swamp land in Georgia, well let’s just say I realized it was more outdoorsy than I thought.

Shortly after moving in, I realized that the neighbors were feeding a wild pig to kill and eat, and I stumbled out of the house one morning barely awake to take our tiny yorkie out to go to the bathroom just in time to see what, if I remember correctly, was a bobcat. I called 911 or animal control or something along those lines to let them know a wild animal was running through the neighborhood only to hear a little giggle on the other end of the line and a kind woman’s voice telling me, “Yeah, we get that sometimes (she’s probably thinking, “it’s another one of those silly city girls”). We’ve also had some wild turkey in that area, too.”

Ok, clearly help was not coming. So picture this tiny little city girl alone with two children in more country than she’s ever lived in her whole life.  But within a few weeks, I went from freaking out to actually finding a strange peace. I can’t explain it. I would find myself sitting on the deck at night and listening to animals walking through the woods. Now, mind you, I was right by the door, but I felt an amazing peace. So this has been what has ultimately drawn me to wanting land. Well, that and noisy neighbors and barking dogs.

But since I have more desire than money, I’ve decided to bloom where I am planted…at least for now. Ok, maybe not ACTUALLY bloom. That is another truth. I kill most plants.

I’m starting small. I actually love a lot of space between me and others, which is part of my desire for land…and lots of it, but I actually love to work with small spaces. It doesn’t take much to make me happy.

My goal is to start with my deck and make a little sanctuary of sorts, a place to find a little peace and nature. It seems a little easier to hear God when everything else is quiet. The deck seems to be good for me. It’s drawing me outside for some fresh air, sunshine and vitamin D, and it’s becoming a place where I go to get away from it all and clear my head. It’s also where I go to avoid deciding on paint colors for my wall. I call it the porch, but it is technically a deck. It was a deck when we had it by the pool, but now that we moved it to the back of the house, I call it a porch.

I wish I had a picture of this area before we moved the deck.   I know you are sorry you missed that. I had planted wax myrtles around our patio to block my view of the two story sardine cans that they now build instead of houses. I’m still not sure why anyone buys what is basically an apartment, but now instead of the beautiful woods behind our home we have not only one family directly behind us but about 4. Lovely. Well, the wax myrtles helped a little. Only now it looked really weird once the wax myrtles had grown about 4 or 5 years and dwarfed our small back patio in a very bohemian kind of way. Just take a second a picture that. I will even admit that it was not pretty. But it sure was nice to feel like I had a small space to escape a little. I personally thought it started to come together when we moved the deck in the middle of them. Our neighbor, the gardener, was pretty appalled at the wax myrtles when she saw them before we moved the deck. Thank goodness she does not live here.

Now my husband and I argue about the was myrtles every week. He wants to trim them. I know we would divorce if he did and am trying to save not only the wax myrtles and my sanity, but our marriage, too. I love the way they wander onto the deck. I love the way they offer shade from the hot South Carolina sun in the summer. I love the way they slightly shield me from the view of neighbors. They are staying. He can stay too. But only if he does not touch my wax myrtles. I did let my son trim them for me. I trusted him. My husband would have chopped half off and said that I told him to do it. Sadly, I think he believes it. We have the same talk every week. He talks of trimming them as if I told him to do it. I tell him he doesn’t have that kind of clearance and is not authorized. My son left me enough craziness to still love it but now we actually have a little more deck space. I have to admit they were starting to take over. Don’t tell my husband I said that though.

I just love the way they cocoon me in from everything. I feel like it is my own personal oasis. So, I decided I would go with that. I bought a fountain to go on the deck to help with normal city noises (e.g. barking dog, noisy pet bird – not ours, etc.). I found one that looked pretty good for a deck and that made the loudest water sound.

Our New Fountain for the Deck

I also bought some vegetable plants. I’ll be honest they have probably been given a death sentence the moment I put them in my buggy. But I am hoping that if I do containers on the deck that I will not forget they are out there. As if the poor veggies weren’t doomed enough, now I plan on successfully growing them in containers. I have no clue when something needs water, has too much water, or needs fertilizer. I’m clueless. I should ask my gardener neighbor only she will probably bring her ax and chop down my wax myrtles. Oh, well, it’s just you and me veggies. So I bought a book. It’s called Easy Container Combos: Vegetables & Flowers by Pamela Crawford. I just thumbed through it and love dthe pictures and all of the information. It wasn’t until after I bought it that I read the first line, “Vegetable Trials: 1768 Planted, 1376 Failed”.

I have to admit the moment I read that I was wondering if I should have bought this book.  I am thinking she maybe should have led with something else. Nonetheless, I have found it to be a pretty good book with what seems to be good information.  I use the word “seems” because how do I know.  My failure percentages are even higher than hers.  It is not an all encompassing book, but it is definitely handy to have to learn about vegetable planting in an easy to read format.

I have also met some great new garden friends who are helping me to fill in the gaps:  Better Homes and Gardens – Garden Talk, and I also got some great advice from Helpful Gardener.

So our journey begins…turning our deck in our urban space into my backyard sanctuary.