I had forgotten all about this endeavor! Having chanced upon it recently, I decided to breathe life into it once again. After all, the garden has been busy doing absolutely whatever it has pleased these past years, although occasionally our visions have aligned. For example, the trees (the ones I have not murdered) are nearing adulthood, a welcome development. Not so welcome was the state of the front yard up until this spring. Years ago, I had replaced large swathes of St. Augustine grass with Turk’s cap and other native shrubs and forbs, and while it looked alright for a few years, it had become the weed pit that launched a thousand ant piles. I spent most of last year averting my eyes and avoiding my neighbors. In March we put down St. Augustine, and I have never been so happy to water grass.

The past few years have been extraordinarily busy – a little too busy, really, and I have not had much time to garden. No worries there, because it turns out that the plants have a good idea of what they would like to do. Turk’s cap and inland sea oats have located every available space for rent and have moved in, oftentimes as roommates. Our one quarter of a camphor tree died in the winter freeze of 2021, and in its spot I have planted a little cedar elm, one of my favorite trees.

See that handsome kitten? That’s Mr. Truffle Moutarde, our newest resident. More on him later.