Jennifer's Garden - Then and Now

Gardening has always been a cathartic exercise for me.  It brings peace and tranquility for hours at a time.  The world just fades away.

Even though I can no longer get down on my knees to dig and move in the garden, I can still move plants and plan the space.  Javier, the gardener is my helper in these endeavors now.  I move the plants to exactly where I want them and he digs the holes and plants them for me.

But, back in 2004, shortly after my daughter passed on, one of the main gardens on the property became an obsession and filling it with the flowers that my daughter had loved became the aim of the project.  There was no Javier back then.  Just me, the dirt and the plants for hours on end.

Planted at that time were butterfly lilies, azaleas and various annuals to add a bit of color.  The butterfly lilies
bloomed a lot.  Not so much though, did the rest of the plants.  The rather small at the time aloevera bloom
in October with huge spikes that the butterflies love.  They have grown and bloomed without any help from me or anyone else.

Everything had doubled and tripled in size.  It was time to prune, move and redesign.  It helps for me to do this during the rainy season.  The dirt is easier to dislodge and the new plants have a better chance of settling in with plenty of rain before the dry season is upon us.

Here's a "before" photo of the garden two weeks ago.  Okay, but no symmetry or organization.  Still it was a place that I liked to sit to drink coffee and watch the butterflies and hummingbirds swooping and darting, especially in the early morning.

Everything was removed except for the monster aloeveras in the back!  But they form a nice backdrop and
a divider for another private garden behind them!

All the butterfly lilies were grouped together in front of the aloes.  The azaleas that were kind of lost in all the foliage are now grouped together at each end of the lilies. Plants that bloom only once a year with light purple blooms now surround the little boy statue.  Everything in the garden now is in shades of white, lavender and purple.  A nod to Jennifer's favorite colors.  Previously it was all in whites.

Here is the redesigned garden.

Interestingly, in the past the shape of the stone retaining wall was not much of a feature.  Now it really stands out as do all the different flowers.  (You can click on the photos to enlarge them and see more detail, if you wish)

Now, this has just been planted and it will fill in in a couple of months so the dirt is not so noticeable.  But I love the mixture of the hydrangeas, daisies, lavender and pansies.  I don't know what the more intense purple plant is in the back near the hydrangeas, but I do like the texture and color of it.

Of course, not only is the little boy statuary in the flower bed.  He's been part of my life for about twenty-five years, but also a few cantera angels are peeking out from here and there.

Since completion last week, I cannot begin to tell you how much joy and happiness this little change of plants and flowers has brought to me and others.  Just to give you an idea of how inexpensive plants are in Mexico, all the purchases did not even add up to $50USD. Close to fifty new plants were planted.

It truly is the little things in life that bring much joy!