Liz wants to transform her "ugly garden" into a space where she can spend time with her husband and their pooch Wendel.
Welcome to 'my ugly garden'
May 14, 2009
SPECIAL TO YOURHOME.CA
Let me introduce myself: my name is Liz and I am a virgin gardener.
I am the 35-year-old, plant-killing daughter of one of the past presidents of the Toronto Bonsai Society – a man who currently owns and maintains upwards of 300 live plants.
My past foray into gardening has included planting hostas – in full light – that my mother-in-law gave me, and hoping, with all my might, that they would continue to live without sustenance or care. Well, I was wrong, dead-hostas wrong.
The hostas seem a lifetime ago, when my husband and I lived in a small bungalow with a huge backyard on the borders of Toronto and Scarborough. Now we are in a two-storey semi just east of the downtown core, and we have a postage stamp for a backyard.
It's been two-and-a-half years of living with what I have deemed 'my ugly garden' – a weathered, pressure-treated lumber fence, an overhanging array of trees, a mishmash of flagstone, patio stone and wood mulch, and an oversized patio set purchased when there was more backyard in my life.
Now, I want to change. I want to have a backyard where I can spend (eventual) leisure time with my husband, our friends and our pooch Wendel (a.k.a. the great lawn-destroyer). I want to be green, and create a living space that takes the environment into consideration. I want people to admire my yard.
I am realistic. I know that this is not going to be an overnight, or even an over-the-weekend venture like you see on those makeover shows. This is going to take time – for research, for planning, and for executing (I do have a day job).
Regardless, this is the challenge I have given myself for the spring/summer of 2009. I plan on learning new things, and extending myself to create a space I can take pride in.
Welcome to My Ugly Garden.
Liz McDonnell is an editorial assistant and a freelance researcher. She can be reached at liz.mcd1974@gmail.com.
Read more:
- What to do with My Ugly Garden?
- My Ugly Garden has a visitor
- My Ugly Garden, meet Woolly Thyme
- My Ugly Garden suffers a loss
- Making My Ugly Garden pooch-friendly
- Cleaning My Ugly Garden's 'cage'