Moving to a Sunnier Spot in the Yard
September 20, 2018
Do you have any plants in your life that have disappointed you?
Hey, I’m serious.
When we first moved to our current house, about seven years ago, I raced out to Home Depot to buy dwarf lemon and lime trees to plant in pots. Seven years later, they continue to toy with me.
I look at them. Are you alive or dead, I ask. You certainly aren’t bearing me any fruit, so you may as well be . . . wait, is that a flower you are sprouting? Okay. One more season.
And so on. You know how it goes. This week I was gifted the most beautiful huge pot of geraniums, and I decided (again) to become a gardener.
No, but for reals this time.
So as I go back and forth to Home Depot, doing my part to keep them in business, I have a really good thought.
Why don’t I move those old sour puss, half-dead citrus twigs from under the Mulberry tree to a sunnier spot in the yard? (I know citrus trees need sun, but when the Mulberry sheds its leaves for 2 months of the year, they ARE in great sun.) Anyway, if I move them, I will see them every time I look out my window and be reminded they need water, too, just like a cat. In fact, they are so much BETTER than a cat, because I will never find their poop or pee anywhere inside my house.
From this picture you can't really see the raggedy stars of this story. But believe me, you'd be disappointed in them, too.
Once again, I am filled with hope that I, too, can make plants happy.
Are you finding yourself relating with the fruitless, half-dead citrus trees?
Could it be that you haven’t had any creative ideas lately because you’ve been doing things the same way over and over and over again?
Couldn’t we all use a little movement to a “sunnier spot in the yard” to nurture our creative sides?
I don't know. Just a thought.
This photo was SUPPOSED to feature the beautiful geranium (upper right area of picture). That Sawyer always steals the show.
Hi Amy,
One of Andy favorite things about living in our Calle Pecos home was the bountiful lime tree right outside the back door. That tree seemed to bear fruit at all times and Andy LOVED putting lime juice in almost everything he cooked, baked, or drank. I honestly thought he was going to dig it up and take it with us when we moved. So as any good wife would do the first Fathers Day in our new home I presented him with a new dwarf lime tree (our new yard is not near as large) he was thrilled. It has been 4 years since and I think the little guy has given us maybe 6 or 8 limes… oh well;)
Lol!!💕
I have no luck with fruit trees at all. We planted two to honor children who had lost their lives in the Holocaust as a good deed for the kids’ Bar and Bat Mitzvahs. I felt doubly guilty when those trees died especially when they had been planted for such a noble cause. I’d like to hope my creativity is MUCH more fruitful than my poor fruit trees. Thanks for the fun article, and, yes, Sawyer is adorable!!!!!
Amy, we had the same problem with a lemon tree. As soon as we took it out of the half barrel and put it in the ground, it took off. However, there are years that it has lots of lemons and years that it has just a few! Mystery. I feed it organic food every 3 to 4 months. I have it trimmed because it’s get quite tall and my back yard is very small. It has lots of sunshine and water (they do need that, I think).
On the other hand, I keep trying to not do the same things over and over again. After prayerfully considering, I am involved at AWANA with the 5-7-year olds and once a month co-teach SS for teens 12-15 (Scary). Not necessarily my “comfort zone” !! Sending you a BIG HUG!