The Beauty of a Maturing Landscape
Welcome to the June edition. I hope everyone is doing well, given the situation we have all been in. For those of us that have been able to work, working from home has definitely been different. Some of my clients love it, and some cannot wait to get back to the office. It can be challenging when you add school for your children on top of it. It is May 26th, and we are just beginning to open up, and none too soon. We at Executive Care have continued to work. Working outside does have its benefits, until of course you have 102-degree days, but with life you take the good with the not so good.
We have featured this entrance landscape in previous issues at different stages of growth, and this is now the sixth year. I love to show mature yards so that people can get the vision of what their yard may look like in the future. Obviously, landscapes vary from one another, but the same materials are generally used, just in different combinations and spaces. However, one can still appreciate the beauty of a maturing landscape and look forward to how theirs will mature. Since the time that the Olive trees have been planted, they have grown quite well. Coincidentally, each picture features two years of growth. The pictures show the different stages of landscape, from bare ground, building the columns and walls, and planting. These tasks span over a period of two years, four years, and finally six years. The sixth year is the main picture. To be able to appreciate a mature landscape is not hard, but to envision a mature landscape prior to its conception can only be done from experience. Last month we featured the Thomas’ landscape with block walls being used to accent and lessen the slope. I was pleased with how it turned out. However, I realized that I have a hard time seeing it as it is currently. I showed the pictures to my wife expecting her to really like it, and her comment was, “that’s a lot of bark.” Most people I imagine would say the same thing, however it was a reality check for me. Without realizing it, I tend to see the landscapes three years down the road and that is the vision I maintain while I am landscaping. This is a good thing, and it has taken me many years to be able to do that, but I too must see it as anyone else would see it. To be able to conceptualize it years down the road, I rely on my years of growing plants. Simply being a landscaper does not give you that ability or knowledge. It takes years of growing many different plants to teach you that. I am most grateful to have had that experience. As I always say, someone was looking out over my life.
Imagine leaving for work or coming home from a stressful day and being able to drive through the beauty of this entrance. If it were me, I would walk it early morning and prior to sunset. The night lights are gorgeous as well. I will need to take night shots for year eight. Diane says she enjoys the landscape the most when she wakes up. It is the first thing she sees out her bedroom window, and it puts a smile on her face. It is comforting and beautiful with all the colors and blooms. This can be enough to cheer you up at the end of a hard day. I will let the pictures do the talking from here.
Gardeners, you should have your summer gardens started by now. If not, buy 4” size vegetables because you need to make up for lost time.
Good Gardening, Arthur