Moments of Grace
Faced with health issues, I thought building new gardens from scratch would be impossible.
When illness tests a family, they find comfort in their garden.
The backyard is my favorite place. I spend every possible waking minute I can in this space, early morning through dusk. And there is a reason why this little slice of heaven touches my heart in such a meaningful way.
I have been a gardener, selftaught, for over 30 years. When we decided to build a new house, I did not want to leave our former home and the yard I had designed, built and maintained for 15 years. The thought of starting all over was depressing, especially because I struggle with crippling rheumatoid arthritis. It would be daunting to clear the land, amend the soil and dig hundreds of holes again.
Our new property is heavily wooded with lots of shade. This was a challenge for me. Trees mean roots, big and small, tons of weeds, and underbrush. Ugh.
Our small backyard backs up to the base of a sloping hill, a perfect spot for a wall. Our last place had it all: waterfall, small stone wall and beautiful flower beds. I could envision all of that here.
When we first surveyed our property, as I walked the base of the hill, I stomped out the potential lay of a wall with my feet in the snow. My husband, Greg, watched me. When he realized what I was doing, he informed me he was not, under any circumstances, building another labor-intensive wall or a waterfall. He was building a house and some log furniture. Period. Trying to convince him was to no avail. Yet I realized this landscape could be a new experience and a fun learning opportunity. Through
all my pain and difficulty, my mottoes have always been “Never say never” and “Don’t tell me I can’t, because I’ll prove I can.”
Then my world was shaken to its core. I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I had surgery and, a week later, a second surgery. Before the second surgery, my husband dug out my sewing machine. He’d never sewn before, but he figured it out and sewed seam binding to some mesh material. Greg said he was making a tent. I was sleeping a lot, so I didn’t ask questions.
The morning after my second surgery, Greg informed me we were going up north so he could work on the new property. I was hours out of surgery and couldn’t sit on some lawn chair while he worked! He said it would be fine. He made a bed in the back of his van and settled me in.
When we got there, he helped me up the small hill, hastily tied a hammock between two trees and nestled me in to rest. He pulled out the mesh tent he had made a few days prior and encased me within it, shielding me from the bugs so I could safely sleep undisturbed. Then he could see and hear me should I need something.
At the base of the hill was a huge pile of quarry stone. Before I fell asleep, I watched in amazement as he laid the first couple of huge stones. It was the start of my longed-for wall.
Greg built it, complete with a waterfall and steps all the way to the top of the hill. It took several weeks. I call this my wall of love. I hadn’t planned on landscaping any part of the hill until I saw this big, beautiful piece of hardscape. It called to me with overwhelming love. We didn’t have a budget for such a huge undertaking, so, as soon as I was up to it, I started splitting my plants back home.
The hill was landscaped well before our new home was done. After the house was built, Greg and
I dug the small pond under the waterfall together. We built it on our 23rd anniversary as a gift to each other. Greg was never into flowers or landscaping before. Now we walk the property together almost every morning and Greg knows the names of the bushes and the flowers, and tells me where he would like varieties planted.
In time, I also requested an arbor and later a gazebo. He lovingly built both. There’s nothing like eating a meal sitting next to our pond as we listen to the sounds of the water racing through the rocks and splashing into the water below, or reading a book while swaying on the patio swing. I can spend hours watching the many species of birds that flit back and forth and bathe in the waterfall.
This outdoor space is truly therapy for my mind, body and soul. Our backyard is our little slice of heaven, built together with love. Lots of love.
“Don’t tell me I can’t, because I’ll prove I can.”