Before - After

I searched for and found some pictures from 2010, a couple years after the garage was built and the Zen Garden was still in its infancy. At that time I never had any intention of expanding the garden along the east side of the garage. I simply laid a lot of pea stone and planned to use it as an extension of the driveway to park a popup camper we owned at that time. Once I sold the camper after 2012, I slowly started to plant the area and eventually it became two separate gardens - the East Gate Stroll Garden and the Viewing Garden. 

Here are the before and after images:

Before, 2010

After, 2021

Before, 2010

After, 2021

It's crazy to see the transformation. I would like to say I am done with this area, but one just never knows.

Pine Mud Pruning

Now that the fence is compete, I needed to take some time to trim the Pine tree in the central spot of the viewing garden. I have not trimmed it at all since I installed it back in 2019. 

I wanted the roots to have time to get established before I made any changes. Since that time, it has grown substantially and filled in. 

After watching the following video on YouTube about pruning Pine trees, I decided to give it a try.

I found the video instructive but I was concerned about cutting too much off. Additionally, I was concerned about the hight. The top had grown significantly higher than I would have liked. It was risky, but I just lopped off the top. That might have been a mistake, but now only time will tell. In the meantime, it looks much better thinned out with the trunk and branches visible once again.

 

Even from a distance it is much improved, even from the driveway.

The Six Fold Path.

Let's start by stating that I am not a Buddhist. I do, however, appreciate much of what Buddhism has to offer. The Noble Eight Fold path is of course the basis of Buddhist teachings:

However, being raised in materialistic/capitalistic America, I have always struggled to follow that path. Of course the goal is to recognize that life is suffering and pursue enlightenment to release oneself from the illusions of life to help end suffering.

Well, my suffering was caused by having to look at my neighbor's ugly white plastic fence and his consistently unkept yard. 

He never cleaned his fence, cut his grass, or did any weeding or yard work. The best I could hope for was that he would cut his grass once a year. 

Now, admittedly, I am obsessed with yard work. I know my efforts will never be permanent and its all just an illusion that will revert back to nature once I am no longer around to manage the appearance of my perception of beauty. Nevertheless, I do so love weeding, planting, and general yard and garden work. It is like meditation to me. I can do it all day without complaint. However, I just could not free myself from the struggle to ignore the ugliness of the neighbor's property. It ate at my soul and was preventing me from attaining even a false sense of enlightenment.

So, unable to adhere to most of the tenants of the Noble Eight Fold Path, I instead pursued my own Selfish Six Fold Path:

1. build a fence
2. have six 8' panels
3. fill the panels with solid cedar boards
4. hide the view of the ugly plastic fence
5. add new plants to beautify the viewing and stroll gardens
6. end my suffering and enjoy the new view

Admittedly, not an ideal path towards the Buddhist concept of enlightenment, but I have to follow my own path. My suffering has been greatly diminished, and I am much pleased with the new fence. Yes, I have allowed pride to drive me towards a path that seems contradictory to the Noble Eight Fold Path. Honestly, I don't care. I'm happy, the garden is happy, and my Selfish Six Fold Path has helped me move further along my own journey towards enlightenment.

May these views of the fence and garden bring you as much happiness as the new view of the garden fills my heart with joy:

Know the Enemy and Know Yourself

“If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Sun Tzu, The Art of War

So I looked out my window this afternoon and beheld my enemy - Rabbit! 

At first I thought, "oh, it's just eating clover in my lawn, that actually is helpful." 

However, once he saw me, rather than run, he slowly crept closer to the Dragon Spine area where he brazenly proceeded to start munching on the low lying Hosta flowers which have been low laying as a result of all the rain. 

I admit, he was cute, but rabbits tend to devastate my Hosta, especially in the early spring. However, I am willing to find balance between our existence. As long as he continues to eat my clover, I can afford a couple of flowers from time to time. However, the minute that balance is disrupted, Rabbit will succumb to my very large animal cage and the displeasure of forced relocation.

Hosta and Daylillies

Now that mid July is upon us, the Hosta are stating to bloom, adding a new color scheme to the East Gate Stroll Garden, Central Gate entryway, and the Zen Garden. 

Combined with the bright orange of the Daylillies in the Dragon Spine and the Woodland Gate areas, it all makes for a wonderful contrast.

The entire garden is benefitting from all the rain we have been getting these last couple of weeks. 

In fact, the Cyprus near the inside of East Gate is doing a bit too well. 

I will need to thin it out once more this summer. I want it be healthy, but I do not want it to fill in and loose its interest.

Overall, the summer is going well and the garden is continuing to look good as we hit the peak time of the summer and the garden's most beautiful time.

A Bugs Life

"If insects were to vanish, the environment would collapse into chaos."

E. O. Wilson

Throughout the summer I have been paying more attention the the insect life within the garden. With the exception of slugs, most of the insects live in a symbiotic way within the garden. 

I have come to recognize them as an integral part of the garden and will do all I can to encourage their presence by refusing to use pesticides. Even the slugs, whom I hate, will have a chance, as long as my chopsticks don't find them first (note: I have found that picking slugs out with chopsticks is the best means of removing slugs, but it does require consistent effort).

July a Bloom

The garden has been doing well as we enter July. There has been lots of rain and a new round of blooms have been starting to emerge.

I have also been working on the development of a small flower garden just beneath the garden bell along the see through fence. 

It has been hit or miss due to slugs. They seem to eat any flowering plants I place here. 

I'm trying to keep up, and have had to replace a coupe plants so far. I like the look, but the slugs make it difficult to maintain anything colorful for more than a few days.

Grassland

All of the grasses throughout the garden are doing great. Some of these grasses love sun and others shade. The forest grasses are doing exceptionally well. 

I'm still waiting for the large fountain grasses to bloom, but that will most likely occur later in the summer.

In addition, the bamboo along side the gazebo is doing great this year. 

I will probably need to thin it out next year, but that will mean more bamboo for other locations.

Grassing the Fence

I still have not finished the fence project. The weather has not been cooperating and another in-house project has taken priority. I still have to cut, stain, and install all of the fence panels, as well as the roof structures on the three panels near the gate. 

Nevertheless, I decided how I want to fill in the space near the bottom of the fence. It is a narrow area that once held Mexican Black Stones and Black-eyed Susans (Rudbeckia hirta). Both are now gone, so I wanted something that would be uniform and fill in the area over time without growing too high. The solution was Japanese Forest Grass 'Aureola' (Hakonechloa macra 'Aureola').

I have some of this grass along the central path below the meter-post. 

It likes about 4 hours of sun, but also shade. It's a slow grower, so it should not get too big. 

Overtime I may need to thin it out, but it will take a couple of years. I am hopeful that it will grow along the fence in a continuous manner, similar to the the post-meter area. To fill in the area I had to plant nine new plants, so it was a costly investment. 

In time it should look like one long grass planting. Even without the fence being finished, it looks good.

Rebirth and Renewal

It has been a long year with the Covid pandemic interrupting our daily lives. Spring brought hope and over the last few weeks I was able to help the garden spring into action and start anew. I too changed as the pandemic's impact lessened and remain hopeful that we can all grow and change from the experience, much like the plants in the garden. A sense of renewal now defines the arrival of summer as we all move forward into the future.

To celebrate the arrival of summer, I have decided to post a slideshow-video of all of the best images of Spring, 2021. The garden has already recharged my batteries and I look forward to a summer in which I can care for the garden, while the garden cares for me. 

Perhaps this slideshow will help others find a similar feeling of joy and be inspired for the long awaited chance at renewal.