I recently reread Digging In by Robert Benson. I loved this book the first time around but with his stories of moving in to an older neighborhood and designing a beautiful garden around it, the pictures he painted took on whole new meanings for me.
Last fall, my fiance and I bought a lovely house in an older neighborhood, We are surrounded by houses built in the early 1900s full of character and charm. We love walking our neighborhood and seeing all the other houses in various architectural styles. Nestled among all these older homes, we almost passed ours by the first time we came to see it. Built on a lot where there used to be a business, our home came to life just last year but blends right in with the homes around it. We loved it at first sight.
We’ve now been here for almost five months and I am learning to dig down and grow my roots into the earth in which I’m planted. A first-time home owner, I’ve had many adventures over the winter including clearing the gutters in a rain storm, assembling the new electric lawn mower after refusing to murder the grass any longer with the old gas one, and deciding where to place the garbage cans for easy access to the street. I am so grateful my fiance has owned a home before and knows how to go about it.
I love our home. I love the kitchen. I love the large windows that let in all the light. I love having space for an office to write in. I really love having my fiance close by every day.
There is something quite different about owning versus renting. I feel settled here, at peace knowing we will be staying for quite some time. Instead of a neighborhood where I simply lived, even though generations of my family lived there before me, by owning a home, this is really my neighborhood. I’m invested in it and as surely as the old trees have upheaved the sidewalks, I’m letting my roots spread out with confidence and ease.
Now that spring has come, I’m experiencing a whole new side to our home. Trees that had lost their leaves by the time we moved in are just starting to sprout and flower. The roses left here from before are growing new leaves and a mysterious patch of daffodils on the side of our house have been showering our yard with trumpets of joy. Along the other side are two kinds of green plants that have sprouted and propagated themselves at will. Even though a friend came over to tell me what all these plants are the landscapers left for us, I still have no idea how big they will grow or, if they have flowers, what those colors will be. It’s a new surprise every time I stop to take a look and it’s Christmas every day.
This afternoon I went out to weed. I’ve never had my own yard to weed before and that simple, physical chore gives me great joy. It is my yard to tend. Even with new landscaping, there is much to do so we are building the garden slowly and thoughtfully. We’re thinking of including plants that are drought resistant, safe for our dog, smell nice, are colorful, and are ones that cats will stay away from. We don’t want to spend the next couple of years picking up after what the cats leave behind. For now, we’re just adding a few plants here and there while we get to know what we already have. There’s no hurry. We’ll be here a while. And in the meanwhile, I love learning bit by bit how to garden, prune, select plants, and guide the young trees. I’m expecting the garden will be a wonderful teacher.