The Zen of Gardening as a Problem Solving Model…
I was never much of a gardener until maybe 4 years ago, I became possessed with filling my back yard with cherry trees which required me to dig six big holes through several feet of non-porous glacial till while trying to recover from a bad case of whiplash incurred when my Jeep was rear ended while waiting out a red stop light.
Most people would have rented a rototiller or maybe an electric post hole digger, or if really determined to do it manually, used a pick axe to break through the hardpan, rocks, compacted grass roots. and lots o’ left over tree roots from several 70 foot pine trees taken out three years before since they were hazards waiting to happen during a windstorm.
Not many people with a bad, lingering case of whiplash would choose to dig those holes with only a shovel. But - I did (think The Goo Goo Dolls in “Iris“ …. “Yeah you bleed just to know you’re alive…”).
I learned some key life lessons from - and while - digging those holes for the Rainier, Lapin and Montmorency cherry trees I planted that spring, which stay with me year round, long past gardening season:
Digging through glacial till and hardpan is pretty miserable but at the same time, oddly fulfilling since results literally pile up in front of you;
Whenever you hit clay soil or rock you can’t dislodge, go at it from a different angle; eventually you will win;
Sometimes while gardening I think about life, work, today, and tomorrow; but sometimes I just mindlessly garden; but I usually get more done when I think while gardening, mainly because if I garden while thinking things through, it causes me to move at a quicker pace.
Four summers later - the trees are doing well. The Rainiers need to be polinated by the Montmorency’s but the bees who do that didn’t show up until late July so this wasn’t a great summer for cherries at my house. Last summer was great. Rainier cherries are my favorite, and my dogs love the Montmorencys - go figure.
That same summer I also planted a peach tree - which is doing amazingly well - so please do ping me in the next few days if you want some home grown organic peaches… ;)
And - in case you’re interested - here are several covers of the Goo Goo Doll’s song, Iris:
Matchbox Twenty Iris (Goo Goo Dolls Cover)
New Found Glory Iris (Goo Goo Dolls Cover)
I was never much of a gardener until maybe 4 years ago, I became possessed with filling my back yard with cherry trees which required me to dig six big holes through several feet of non-porous glacial till while trying to recover from a bad case of whiplash incurred when my Jeep was rear ended while waiting out a red stop light.
Most people would have rented a rototiller or maybe an electric post hole digger, or if really determined to do it manually, used a pick axe to break through the hardpan, rocks, compacted grass roots. and lots o’ left over tree roots from several 70 foot pine trees taken out three years before since they were hazards waiting to happen during a windstorm.
Not many people with a bad, lingering case of whiplash would choose to dig those holes with only a shovel. But - I did (think The Goo Goo Dolls in “Iris“ …. “Yeah you bleed just to know you’re alive…”).
I learned some key life lessons from - and while - digging those holes for the Rainier, Lapin and Montmorency cherry trees I planted that spring, which stay with me year round, long past gardening season:
Digging through glacial till and hardpan is pretty miserable but at the same time, oddly fulfilling since results literally pile up in front of you;
Whenever you hit clay soil or rock you can’t dislodge, go at it from a different angle; eventually you will win;
Sometimes while gardening I think about life, work, today, and tomorrow; but sometimes I just mindlessly garden; but I usually get more done when I think while gardening, mainly because if I garden while thinking things through, it causes me to move at a quicker pace.
Four summers later - the trees are doing well. The Rainiers need to be polinated by the Montmorency’s but the bees who do that didn’t show up until late July so this wasn’t a great summer for cherries at my house. Last summer was great. Rainier cherries are my favorite, and my dogs love the Montmorencys - go figure.
That same summer I also planted a peach tree - which is doing amazingly well - so please do ping me in the next few days if you want some home grown organic peaches… ;)
And - in case you’re interested - here are several covers of the Goo Goo Doll’s song, Iris:
Matchbox Twenty Iris (Goo Goo Dolls Cover)
New Found Glory Iris (Goo Goo Dolls Cover)
I realized I left out another key aspect of the joys of gardening - the odd and strange things you might find while you dig.
Some of the treasures which were unearthed either in the front or back yard:
Rocks - lots’o'rocks;
Pieces of broken glass from bottles, windows, and who knows what else;
Concrete fill; and occasionally, lots’o'concrete fill;
An old drawer pull;
Pieces of an auto nameplate - when I first found only the “Sa” I thought it was from a Dodge Satellite, but I l soon dug up a corresponding “Le” and realized it was from a Buick LeSabre. I actually did some web searches to try to identify the approximate model year(s) based on the lettering - I think this nameplate is from the 70’s - and possibly from the first homeowner’s car, but I doubt I’ll ever know;
Lots of rusty nails and other building materials, including two red bricks which based on their location most likely were leftovers from the builders of my next door neighbor’s chimney, since my chimney is on the other side of the house;
A large rusted out tin can which some time in the past someone filled with silica or mica, then buried three feet deep and which unfortunately was eventually discovered by my Lab/Golden Retreiver mix, Geordi, approximately 3 years before i finally discovered the pieces he didn’t find. My much later discovery of this solidified rusty rock like thing was unfortunate because Geordi’s discovery/digging of the item resulted in him getting a repeated toe nail injury/infection which eventually became an incurable bone infection; and he’s minus that toe;
A pair of old nylon pantyhose;
An old metal stake and tattered nylon chord which most likely was a tie out for a dog
Assorted plastic pieces from children’s toys;
And, assorted pieces of metal of varying shapes and sizes.
Probably two summers from now I’ll have my sloping back yard leveled out, but by a professional landscaper, and not by me.
I’ve already gotten a few estimates and between that, landscaping, and splitting the cost with my neighbors to replace all three sides the backyard fence, it’s guaranteed to be expensive. (and that’s without ripping out the concrete patio upon which the deck was built, by the previous owners from whom I bought the house; as with the now defunct minibar, the patio was built to survive a nuclear war - and was built with way too much concrete).
I keep hoping something really valuable will finally be dug up during that excavation … but suspect some environmental hazard will be found instead.
I hope I can survive the suspense.
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