It’s true confession time. I am a gardener without a garden of my own.
My husband and I currently rent 10 acres on the High Plains in Fort Collins, CO — just east of I-25. We manage a 1200 square foot vegetable patch and are building upon several old lily beds in a very water-wise Zone 4. (I don’t care what the maps say, the property sits in Zone 4.) However, because the land is not ours, and because we have no long-term plans to make it so, I do search for the right balance between land stewardship and creative expression.
How much money should I spend on soil amendments or plants on a property that my in-laws are just going to sell in a year or two? Practically speaking, will Ryan and I see a return on that investment in the form of inheritance? (No guarantees.) Is it even a question of money, or is it a question of responsibility — do we all have a responsibility to leave the world (or our local chunk of it) better off than when we first came to it? Isn’t that part of the gardener’s creed? And how about the price of wellness, exercise, good ol’ vitamin D3?
Will the pulsatillas be money well spent if they keep me twelve steps closer to sane?
Pulsatilla vulgaris (Pasque Flower) via Monica Meeneghan - Flickr
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I say, regardless of the long term monetary investment, there is a short term, high return, investment in the form of your happiness and enjoyment in getting dirty and being outside. You’re over thinking again. Keep it light and fun. Plus, it will give you something to write about on here.
For the longest time I put stuff off until “I had my own yard” or “when law school was over.” Then I realized I couldn’t keep on putting my life on hold. I think if those pulsatillas make you happy, then they are a great investment in yourself, if not in a piece of property.
Hey J, I try to keep that short-term high return in mind, but I still feel a little guilty… {who knew?} PS You wanna make a donation? How ’bout a trade, some iris or lilies for… what you got growing up there in Wellington, anyway? (wink)