Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Let’s finish the job.

The arc of history bends toward the same old fuckery.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

If senate republicans had any shame, they’d die of it.

Their freedom requires your slavery.

When do we start airlifting the women and children out of Texas?

Putin must be throwing ketchup at the walls.

Jesus, Mary, & Joseph how is that election even close?

Battle won, war still ongoing.

Thanks to your bullshit, we are now under siege.

Today’s GOP: why go just far enough when too far is right there?

I’ve spoken to my cat about this, but it doesn’t seem to do any good.

He really is that stupid.

Some judge needs to shut this circus down soon.

Just because you believe it, that doesn’t make it true.

T R E 4 5 O N

Fuck the extremist election deniers. What’s money for if not for keeping them out of office?

The revolution will be supervised.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

This fight is for everything.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

A democracy can’t function when people can’t distinguish facts from lies.

Consistently wrong since 2002

You are here: Home / Garden Chats / Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Revival

Sunday Morning Garden Chat: Revival

by | 88 Comments

This post is in: 

watergirl-16nov-anemone

From faithful commentor Watergirl:

Growing up, we lived in a double apartment above the local tavern my parents owned. If you walked a block in one direction you were at the Burlington Northern train station, with blocks of small retail stores; if you walked a block in the other direction there was a huge parking lot, and the residential neighborhood started on the other side of that. Houses with back yards, small yards and big yards and trees!

We played on the sidewalks in front of the tavern and on our roof, playing jump rope and dancing to the soundtrack from West Side Story. I remember cool summer nights where we would get in our little shortie pajamas and our dad would bring out our little portable TV and plug it in through the window in the den, and we would watch baseball or movies and snuggle up under our little blankies.

How does this fit into a garden chat? My mom loved flowers and we had flower boxes on the roof, petunias mostly. But once we all went away to school, my mom got the gardening bug for real – maybe it’s because there were no kids playing on the roof anymore – and my mom turned the whole rooftop into a glorious rooftop garden.

The flower bug didn’t hit me until I was 30, so I didn’t really appreciate what my mom did, but whenever we came home from college the first thing she wanted to do was show us the flower garden. We would sigh and roll our eyes while my mom took us around the roof and showed us everything she had going on.

They featured her garden in a big spread in the local paper – the headline read: Blossom flowers the rooftop. (My mom’s name was Blossom, but you probably figured that out already.) I found myself thinking about that this morning, wishing I had been more appreciative of her beautiful garden.

watergirl-16nov-tree-2

Some of you may recall that my huge silver maple tree fell 3 years ago. It did a ton of damage to my house, wiped out more than half of my yard, and suddenly turned my previously shady backyard into a blazingly sunny area with brutal sun all day long.

That happened on May 31, 2013. Three and a half years ago. It sounded like the world was ending when the tree crashed. At first I thought it must be a tornado because it sounded so loud. Then I thought it was an earthquake because the entire house was shaking. Finally I heard the sound of rushing water, went to the back of the house and saw the tree limb impaled straight down over my bed.

Then another tree in the back yard caught fire because my tree had hit the transformer, and I worried much of the night that my house would go up in flames.

watergirl-16nov-day-after-1

The fire fighters wouldn’t let me go into the back yard, so I couldn’t see any damage until the sun came up the next morning. In the first light of dawn, I went from window to window, looking out to survey the damage. ‘Holy fuck’ I said at the first window. ‘Holy fuck’ I said at the second window. ‘Holy fuck’ I whispered at the sliding door where the bulk of the huge tree was inches away from me, on my deck.

watergirl-16nov-day-after-2

I spent the first summer just trying to keep everything alive in the brutal sun while I dealt with all the house repairs. I worked so hard that next summer (2014) to move the things that had to be moved and to start to fill in the areas that had been destroyed. I redoubled my efforts the following year (2015) because I really wanted to have a (sort of) finished back yard again by the 2 year anniversary. hah! That wasn’t happening.

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So we finally come to this year and the back yard finally feels like it’s mine again. There only reminder of that summer of disaster and the beautiful tree I lost is the tree ring that sits at the front of my house. The tree that the arborist had called “the matriarch of the neighborhood”; there when the house was built, watching over the house for all those years, now sheltered under the carport where the house now looks over the ring from my tree. We’ve come full circle, and it makes me happy to see it there.

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The garden is filling in nicely, and I had a screened-in porch built this summer so I can finally enjoy being outside again without having to be in the brutal sun. My porch and garden are a celebration of life, and I am so appreciative of the unseasonably warm days we are having.

watergirl-16nov-gerbera-daisy

I thought I might share some before and after photos: photos from when the tree hit, some brightly colored flowers from earlier this summer, and some photos I took today of flowers that are still blooming and are relatively happy, even though it’s already November.

watergirl-16nov-white-flower

watergirl-16nov-coneflower

I like to think that my mom would forgive her three daughters for our rolled eyes and sighs when all she wanted to do is show us her lovely rooftop garden. She would have loved our Sunday morning garden chats.

***********

What’s going on in your garden(s), this week?

Reader Interactions

88Comments

  1. 1.

    TheMightyTrowel

    Lovely story and lovely flowers WaterGirl!

    Down here in upside down land i spent the day planting this year’s herbs and wedding the veggie patch. this year we’re growing zucchini, eggplant, bell peppers, grape and heirloom tomatoes and mucho chili peppers plus a nicely stocked herb garden. My sage has been blooming beautifully and the hops Mr Trowel grows have gone mad.

    AL I’m sending you a couple of cat pics because it’s sunny and warm down here and i need to gloat send some spring sun up to the northern hemisphere.

  2. 2.

    SiubhanDuinne

    Wow! Or should I say, Holy fuck?

    What a story, and what pictures! I think your mom would love the way you’ve created a new order and beauty out of a terrifying and chaotic situation. I love the way you tied her rooftop gardening to your own late-blooming (yeah) love of gardening. And I love that you turned a ring from the Matriarch Tree into a stunning piece of art.

    Thank you for this post.

  3. 3.

    raven

    Nothing like that East Central Illinois black dirt. When I took my bride up there the first time she wanted to bring a truckload back here.

  4. 4.

    OzarkHillbilly

    Beautiful story, beautiful garden. A great way to start a week in which we might well need reminding that no matter what disasters may befall us, there is much to treasure all around us.

  5. 5.

    Betty Cracker

    What a terrific story, and I love the before and after photos! I also love your screened-in porch, which looks like a beautiful spot to sit and watch the world go by. I am certain your mom would be pleased that you took up her hobby, even if belatedly. Motherhood is all about planting seeds in the faith that they will eventually take root and grow, even if you can’t be there to see the blooms yourself.

  6. 6.

    TS

    Love the story & what a wonderful recovery from the disaster of the fallen tree. Amazing work to rebuild and replant. As a child I used to stay with a friend who lived in a flat above her parent’s store. Your story reminded me of those almost forgotten times in her rooftop garden. How I loved being there.

  7. 7.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @raven:

    “The dirt was turned over, and the smell and deepness gave me heart. It is just black rich. You boys know how that is”.

    “My daddy was up there. He was up there way before they hung him. He said the dirt was so rich you could’ve et it like porridge.”

  8. 8.

    satby

    Wow Watergirl! Of course I remember the tree falling and have heard and seen some updates since, but putting it all together into one essay brought tears to my eyes. What a beautiful post and tribute to your mom and your perseverance. Your garden is beautiful and I now have a serious case of screen porch envy ;)

    And your fallen tree was even bigger than mine! But I don’t envy that part at all.

  9. 9.

    NotMax

    Visited a place once in semi-rural PA that specialized in selling tree slices like that, treated and then sealed with polyurethane, repurposed dependent on size as headboards, coffee tables, wall clocks, etc.

  11. 11.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @raven: Yeah, and my book has the movie title. Good movie, even better book. I love the dialogue. Woodrell must have spent a lot of time reading old letters to get it right.

  15. 15.

    Pinacacci

    very OT but I can’t keep this display of douche to myself…acting like it’s an open thread…forgive me

    ETA the shoeshine stand is mentioned twice

  16. 16.

    satby

    @Baud: I know, right? Such a moving essay. And a reminder that no matter how fucked up it seems, things can be fixed or even improved.
    I’m hoping it’s a harbinger of (for?) Tuesday.

  19. 19.

    satby

    I know it’s only an hour, but I feel like I’m just wallowing in extra time this morning and I love it. Especially that it’s starting to get light and it’s before 7 am. I know it’s going to be dark earlier this evening, but morning light helps me get going.

  22. 22.

    Sab

    I dunno. My cat is SERIOUSLY pissed that he has not been fed or let out yet (also cats should never be let out the backyard fox will eat them)

  23. 23.

    Gindy51

    My dogs can obviously read clocks, the food hounds let me sleep in that extra hour! They NEVER do this.

  24. 24.

    Immanentize

    Thank you WaterGirl. I am so inspired by your story.
    I seem to find myself at the beginning of your tale — I had to remove three tree from my back yard this spring, including a very large Norway maple. It had cancre and was already losing branches. The sun flooded in, and then we had our drought….

  25. 25.

    donnah

    Thanks for cheering the morning with such a lovely story!

    I was reminded of my grandmother’s rose garden. She and my grandfather had a nice property in the suburbs and she loved flowers. She was an artist and she wrote poetry, too, so I know her gardens provided her with inspiration and joy. Every year my grandfather would buy her a new rosebush, and it would be added to the others that lined the yard. I can remember reading the names like Peace and Kennedy and feeling how special those roses were.

    She also had a spot for raspberries and strawberries and we kids would descend on them as soon as we got to her house. There’s something about gardens, something hopeful and safe and creative. They’re a place to get “down and dirty” while getting a wonderful payoff for hard work.

  27. 27.

    Schlemazel

    Nice recovery watergirl! Falling trees make a mess of things but it looks like a great deal of hard work has paid off nicely.

  28. 28.

    Schlemazel

    @Pinacacci:
    That is weapons grade douche right there. No surprise they are San Francisco-based. That has gone from a lovely working city to ahole central.

  29. 29.

    Schlemazel

    @satby:
    actually it should be getting light later as what was 7AM is now 6AM but the evening will come a bit later. Here on the tundra we are a month away from dark commute both in and out of work. Hate that.

  30. 30.

    bmaccnm

    @tofubo: Jeeezus!! I got off the boat. Don’t get off the boat. The comments are horrific. “I’ll do the excituion myself” I can’t forgive the orangeman for what he has unleashed, and I don’t see how the country survives this one. There’s not a geographical or religious partition possible.

  31. 31.

    tybee

    @Schlemazel:

    actually it should be getting light later

    it’s getting light earlier. sunrise was at 7am. now it’s at 6 am.

    and instead of it being dark at 7:30pm, it’s now dark at 6:30pm.

  32. 32.

    different-church-lady

    You should put little placards at the rings on the tree cross section: “Civil War”, “Columbus’s Voyage”, “Birth of Jesus”….

    Seriously, have you counted how old that magnificent specimen was?

  33. 33.

    Schlemazel

    @tofubo:
    Look, age is already screwing with my brain I don’t need to be led to a site that automatically sucks 20 IQ points out before I hit the comment section. How about a synopses/warning next time? That was truly depressing.and increases my paranoia about the potential for real trouble from these nut jobs in the months ahead.

  35. 35.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Schlemazel: Yesterday it was dark at 7 am. Now it is light. Yesterday it got dark at 6 pm. Today it will get dark at 5 pm.

    ETA: tybee beat me to it. once again I am superfluous.

  37. 37.

    Schlemazel

    @bmaccnm:
    Yes, they live among us & that is doubly bad. What I hope is these morons seethe quietly at home and melt their brains while leaving the decent folks alone. Failing that I really hope they are stupid enough to move to direct, armed confrontation like the Bundy buffoons, that can be quelled relatively easily. May none of them be bright enough to figure out how to bring the country to its knees & make at least areas of the country like Syria. It wouldn’t be that hard to do if they trigger certain events they can stand back at watch a lot of damage done without their further effort.

  38. 38.

    Punchy

    Im about to mow our lawn in freakin November. Thanks crazy insane warm temps. I blaming Obama, who I’m refusing to vote for this election.

  41. 41.

    debbie

    WaterGirl, I second everything already said. A beautiful story! Nature endures; if only humans could learn a bit of that.

    I’m still seeing some bright hydrangea blooms around the neighborhood. Love it!

  44. 44.

    Gator90

    Well, just voted for HRC in FL. Didn’t have to hold my nose or anything. (Unlike yesterday when I wanted to cut the damn thing off to stanch the stench emanating from the UF football team.)

  47. 47.

    Schlemazel

    @different-church-lady:
    HA! and the ‘worst case scenario’ would be that he would not get struck every time he pulled the lever. If it were random he would have to keep pulling to see if he could identify a pattern

    Had coffee now – should be better

  48. 48.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @different-church-lady: If there was a sign over that lever that said, “Don’t Pull Lever” it would more truly reflect my personality.

    Oh and I figured it out: In your original comment you misspelled insult with an re.

  50. 50.

    Bobby Thomson

    Well, shit. The other day Adam said union leaders had said they would lift the SEPTA strike just for election day, but that’s wrong.

    Willie Brown, the union’s president, noted that he is looking for a long-term solution towards raising the workers’ pensions, rather than any sort of short-term fix. That is the main reason why the union denied that they would suspend their strike for next Tuesday’s election, as their members do not want to concede to any of SEPTA’s demand unless it means that their pension plans will be revised.

    This could cost McGinty and maybe even a few other downticket folks.

  51. 51.

    satby

    One of the ways I’m coping with having to walk away from my tree smooshed disaster house is by rescuing and transplanting many of the flowers and perennials I had planted there, but were getting mowed down by the caretakers. I was able to save some parts of all my iris clumps, two roses, a couple of daylillies, clematis, coreopsis, a peony and a blueberry. If the house is still vacant next spring I may go rescue some asparagus and other stuff. If not, at least I feel a bit like all my gardening in the old place wasn’t in vain, though I couldn’t bring any of the 12 trees and shrubs with me.

  52. 52.

    Bobby Thomson

    Supposedly Uber and Lyft are offering free rides to polling places on election day, but:

    1) I doubt that applies to people getting rides from Philly back into the burbs (and vice versa) after work, and

    2) it does nothing to relieve the congestion issues that are going to give people less time to stand in line.

  57. 57.

    WaterGirl

    Anne Laurie, thanks so much for posting my little story and the photos! After I sent them to you I thought yikes, what have I done!

    I love your placement of the photos, a happy flower up top so as not to scare anyone away, then the devastation, the tree ring, then new life with the flowers and the porch. And thanks again for the garden chats, such a nice way to start Sunday mornings.

  59. 59.

    NotMax

    @Punchy

    Gov. Wolf should already have the authority to order them back to work for the bulk of the day as a public necessity, citing the extraordinary circumstances of it being election day.

    Drastic, as it also could impugn his support from unions, but also not outside the realm of possibility.

  60. 60.

    WaterGirl

    @TheMightyTrowel: Thank you! You are planting while the rest of us are bringing in our final harvests. It’s shocking this year – every day, more and more of my peppers are turning red on the vine. And I am still getting zucchini! 5 more days before it gets close to freezing… I’ll have to harvest everything before then.

  63. 63.

    WaterGirl

    @SiubhanDuinne: Thank you so much for your kind words! I teared up when I read your comment about my mom. When people see the tree ring, the first thing they ask me is if I am going to make it into a table, and my first thought is why would I want to do that? I love it as a piece of art, and I think it looks like a flower.

  64. 64.

    WaterGirl

    @raven: Yeah, now when they build in C-U, they take the top layer of good soil away first. Thankfully, they did not do that when they built my house all those years ago!

  66. 66.

    Denali

    Beautiful flowers, lovely story, WaterGirl. Now I am longing for a screened in porch – or 4-season room to get me and my plants through the winter.

  69. 69.

    debbie

    @OzarkHillbilly:

    I know zero about these kind of things, but I think a deck floor constructed of slices of trees with expoxy or something grout-like would be very cool, at least to look at.

  73. 73.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @debbie: It would be very cool to look at for about a month. Expansion and contraction would destroy it. You might be able to make it work indoors. It’s an interesting concept. I just might steal it. :-)

  75. 75.

    Larkspur

    @satby: Hey, satby, I clicked on your name hoping to find a list of your comments so I could search out the back story on the great smooshing disaster, but I got to your Etsy site instead, and now, having bought a small assortment of truly lovely looking items, I am returning to ask you what the date of the disaster was so that I can go to the archives and find the original reporting myself. If you don’t mind. Thx.

  76. 76.

    OzarkHillbilly

    @Larkspur: It was a few months back, but I forget how many. Right now satby is no doubt at work. She usually drives by these AM threads for a brief chat. She comes back later in the day but I don’t know when as I do not. Best to start checking in come mid afternoon I would think.

  78. 78.

    ruemara

    That was such a lovely story, Watergirl. Very touching. I think your mother would be quite happy in seeing how well you honor her green thumb now.

  81. 81.

    Larkspur

    @WaterGirl: @debbie: Thanks to both of you. Y’all are the greatest. I missed a bunch of stuff in the summer due to a small personal meltdown that kept me away from the intertubz. But now I have good leads to get the back story!

  82. 82.

    Mary G

    Lovely story and photos, WaterGirl. Exactly the way my mom and I were, and I caught the bug at 30, too. I’ve always imagined your fallen tree, but the picture is much worse. Love the slice art and your flowers. Thanks so much for sharing them.

  83. 83.

    WaterGirl

    I was going to reply individually to each person for their kind words, but I realized it would just clog up the thread.

    So here’s a big thank you to each of you for the warm responses to my story. Many of your words touched my heart and brought more than a few tears to my eyes.

  84. 84.

    WaterGirl

    @different-church-lady: Apparently, the cut has to be perfectly even and straight in order to count the rings. By the time they got to the bottom of the tree, the cut was not that precise.

    I loved that tree. it was so big that I couldn’t even begin to put my arms around it. It always reminded me of Treebeard.

  85. 85.

    CaseyL

    I love a good saga. Thank you, WaterGirl, for the lovely tale.

    I come from an adamantly urban family, and my few forays into gardening have convinced me that bringing almost any plant into my house and yard is a death sentence for the plant. Since I am very fond of plants, I don’t do that anymore :)

    Fortunately, I live in a townhouse complex where Other People take care of the landscaping. I think my area of the complex is due to be done next spring/summer. I’ll tell them not to rip out the bushes I put in that managed to survive: those hardy little bastards deserve to flourish.

  86. 86.

    karen marie

    @Gindy51: My dog deplores daylight savings. I forgot about clock change and thought she was just being a drama queen. In truth, her snack was an hour late, according to her way of telling time.

  87. 87.

    Shell

    My dogs can obviously read clocks, the food hounds let me sleep in that extra hour! They NEVER do this.

    I wish. My hound started her morning pacing at 5AM instead of 6. Sigh.
    ***********************************************************
    Wow, Watergirl, what a scary event. Did the tree come down from simple age or did you have a storm? The rejuvenated garden is just wonderful.

  88. 88.

    WaterGirl

    @Shell: It was quite scary. Straight-line winds, out of the blue, not even raining or storming. The rain started right after the tree fell. The only way I can describe the sound when the tree was crashing (and I had no idea what was happening) is that it sounded like the end of the world.

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