Writing Challenge #3: My Garden, As It Is

What a vista.

Far off in the distance, up a hill, I see evergreens and the skeletons of trees still to leaf out. There’s a trio of high powered tension lines out there, too, so I’ll just scootch my chair over a bit to hide them.

In the mid-distance, a pond with a fountain, and an old stone pump house, and just a couple Canadian Geese (grrr). And nearer still, a curving flagstone path with a gazebo, lined with under-trimmed shrubbery and a sadly over-trimmed weeping tree of some kind.

Those same flagstones create a few stairs to double glass doors, and probably are the same ones under my feet in this porch that has two sets of large windows on either side of the door, another set of windows at either end of the room, and extra exterior doors at either end too. More doors lead into the kitchen, my workshop room (there’s a window in the wall here), and my bedroom (another window!)

Lovely, no? Oh, I forgot to mention the path that zooms between the gazebo and the pond, the golf carts, the lawn mowers, the groundhogs and squirrels, and all the people out practicing their swings on this breezy spring day. Not to detract from the beauty I see from my rented house, but to buffer it for sure! I love looking out my windows and seeing grass and trees, and not a road in sight, but I have to keep reminding myself that I’m not really ever alone here so put some pants on!

I have only been here since last fall, so my "garden" really looks like this:




Those are some seedlings, including San Marzano Tomatoes, Alpine Strawberries and Tulsi, and a calendula plant that made it through the winter.

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More seedlings, on the table. I stood up for this one, but still this is what I see from my chair. Greens, aloe and a paperwhite that hasn’t opened yet.

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On the inside wall, there are a couple convenient big nails in the mortar. This is lemon grass (r), swiss chard (sort of) (center), and stevia (l), all from last year!

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Flowers I haven’t started yet. The lights are in a plastic bin of sand behind this chair, that I used to keep the other seedlings warm until they sprouted. Also behind the chair is a leafless Plumeria- it’s too sad to show right now!

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That’s Rosemary in the green pot, Rose Geranium and Lemon Verbena in the strawberry pot, a little Clary Sage to the left of the Rosemary, and some Bird of Paradise leaves waving hello. Behind the Rosemary and strawberry pot is another scented geranium, I think maybe Nutmeg, but I don't remember and I'm not quite sure when I sniff!

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There’s also a pot on the opposite side of the house with over-wintered St John’s Wort, and it looks like some Chamomile and French Sorrel coming back. There’s also a basket with Christmas Cactus and Heliotrope sunning on a flagstone.
I don’t know yet what I can do outside, what with wild men on lawnmowers and oversized rodents that are used to eating whatever they want. I guess I’ll find out soon!