I haven’t updated my blog in a while. While the PlantersPlace website was undergoing improvements, my life was undergoing upheaval. Due to circumstances I won’t go into, I have to move. I choose to think of it as downsizing before retirement, but it’s hard to leave behind the beloved property I have invested so much time into developing.

If there is a silver lining to it all, it’s this: I was supposed to be on the local fall garden tour this year as an example of “wildscaping.” While I had to bow out of the tour, my house’s curb appeal is pretty high. When the asters start blooming in a few weeks, it will be even higher. Right now, my Sweet Autumn Clematis (Clematis terniflora) is getting ready to bloom on my front fence, and it is spectacular. We’ve received many compliments about the yard from the people who have come to look at the property.

New leaf

I get to start over at my new house. It’s out in the country in a fairly isolated area, so I expect plenty of wildlife. I will have open areas and wooded areas, so I should still have a good mix of birds and butterflies. It’s a slightly smaller acreage, 2.5 acres as opposed to 3.5, but there won’t be any beavers constructing dams on the new place because I won’t have a pond.

The current owners tell us they have lots of deer and turkey. Deer have never been a problem eating my plants, but we don’t have entire herds wandering through, so I may have to do more research on deer resistant plants. I’m excited about having turkeys, but I’ll miss my roadrunners that come through the yard every day. (See photo for the one that came through moments ago while I was writing this!).

One of my new house’s previous owners was a gardener, and a few things still survive: flowering shrubs, a few fruit trees, and bulbs. Maybe a rose or two. But largely, I will be building flower beds from scratch, and reclaiming existing areas and beds that have become overrun with grass and weeds.

Challenges

I’m looking forward to the challenge and opportunity of starting with a blank slate. For example, while my Sweet Autumn Clematis is spectacular, I now know that it’s not a native – and in many places, invasive – so I’m more likely to opt for the native clematis, C. virginiana, instead, if I can find it. I won’t be planting any Asian honeysuckle. I’m starting with eight more years of experience and knowledge, and I think that will help.

I live on a tight budget, so I won’t be spending a lot on landscaping. I’ll be using a lot of cement blocks, scrounged rocks, old bricks, scrap lumber, and creativity. But my current yard was done with similar materials, so I know I can create a beautiful landscape with inexpensive materials. Most of my expense in the past has gone into plants, seed, and pots, and this will be similar. I’ll show you how I do it along the way.

As a final note: Fall migrations have begun. In areas in and around Texas, Hurricane Harvey disrupted this migration. Keep your eyes open for unusual bird species that may be thrown off their normal course.