It's been four years; and a lot has been going on in the world.
This is one of the reasons why I didn't post here - or on my other blogs either. We were all going through the same things; and I didn't want to repeat everything back to you.
It's been four years, and my garden has been flourishing like nothing else. I've gotten into a routine with it every year; and when the pandemic hit, I asked my landlord if we could install an awning on the back of my townhouse; and he said yes.
The awning is steel and makes my backyard look so cute! And I've got lights on it as well - which are solar powered, so no big electricity bills for me. Then, I installed an arch, which wasn't one of the expensive one (but really it should have been) and I had a great time putting plants on it and lights and it really made an entranceway into another part of my garden - which was to the greenhouse.
The greenhouse was two cheap $50 ones put back to back and tied together. I couldn't afford one of the $700 ones, so I had to put up with the cheap ones until I could afford one of them. And it was a good thing to do this as I could grow vegetables and herbs in the greenhouse without the possums and other animals getting to them. It's so good to be able to go into the back yard and collect something from there, then cook it up in the kitchen!
This all happened in 2020.
Then, at the end of 2021, I got very sick; and my garden took a back seat in a lot of ways. Over the next year, I found that I spent a lot of time in hospital... and it was awful.
It's been a long time since I was in a hospital - and I'm proud to say I'm at home more than in a hospital room. And my garden has been my solace since I returned home in mid-2022 and I jumped in and fixed it up in a huge way. Garden lights, more plants, more work in the greenhouse and other plants included.
Then, my folks sold their house, and they're beginning to give away things and in the last year, they offered me their old fernhouse - which is twice the size of the greenhouse! So, of course I said yes! In the past two weeks, Dad and I installed it and there were a few casualties in the plant world in my garden - but nothing a few new seedlings couldn't fix. And I have found that my strawberries are pushing up to the sky more, the spinach is climbing faster, and the capsicum is actually putting out larger fruit!
I did have to get rid of some plants to make room for the fernhouse. There were some Agapanthus I had to give away, and a few other Frangipanni as well. And a 4 year old cardboard plant too... but it was all worth it, to have the fernhouse. I also got rid of a Yukka, which was getting too big for not only the yard, but the pot it was in too.
It's been four years - and the garden isn't the only thing which has been growing. I have replaced the arch with the more expensive one; and my outdoor setting (the two chairs and one table) have been upgraded to another one; as the chairs became rusty and one broke.
It's always lovely to see a garden jump ahead after a bit of time. I didn't mean to abandon you all, but when your health slides, that's what happens. I'm just happy my garden is making me so happy now - if not happier. Until next time. Happy gardening.