COURTYARD CORNER

Have you ever heard, “success is buried in the garden of failure”? The last several of these installments have been touting all the success we’ve had at encouraging the courtyard to come back to life. But the reality is that there have been several mishaps along the way. I picked out some “good deals” at the store and planted trees that I knew were marginally hardy, but figured the courtyard would hold some extra heat due to the fact it’s surrounded by a heated building on all sides. That tree didn’t even last a year. We also planted several perennials that have looked glorious the last few years including black-eyed susans and chrysanthemums. One bad winter took out over half of these after years of care. Then there were some unknown seeds gifted to us – these plants grew and flourished within months and started to take over everything! 

I think if one decides to garden, it’s a very humbling experience. Today we can control so many factors, but there are just enough that are outside of our scope that we have to be diligent and trust that those seeds will grow and that tree will come back next winter and to just keep being an active participant in the process. Then there is a greater appreciation when you have an achievement and are keenly aware of the effort to get there. My reward was when I realized there was a consistent hum in the courtyard – I was surprised to count over 50 different pollinators on the flowers and stopped after about a minute's effort. When we first started, I’d see a few flies, and now I see bees, butterflies, beetles, moths and grasshoppers. Stop in and see how many you can count!  

P.S. September is a great time of year to add woody plants to the garden and throw in some bulbs for a pleasant spring surprise!   

There is always something going on in nature so make sure to allow yourself a moment to see it! Anyone wanting to help out in the courtyard please contact Elizabeth Fischer at elizabeth@gjd.io