Wednesday 1 September 2010

Ravages Of Time

This was the sad apology for a garden a year or two after I moved in here. Originally, there were flagstones and a whirly line, and nothing else. Every tub, urn and flower pot needed bags of compost laboriously carried by hand - mine. In summer the heat was unbelievable, and in winter a green slime would grow over the slabs when water was unable to escape down the spaces between them.

Over the years,  the filling in these cracks disintegrated, and now at least I'm spared the slime. No, the green now comes from another source - my urban jungle! It proves how nature is prepared to accept the most meagre of habitats as long as it can sustain life.

 
I have posted the following verses before, but not with accompanying photos, which I think give an added je ne sais quoi to the whole subject!


Alternative Garden

The garden was totally concrete,
its chequerboard flagstones a sight
to dampen the gardening spirit,
though bathed in a warm summer light.

No flora or fauna enlivened the view,
no  shade from a tree or a shrub;
not a solitary  leaf, nor a stem, nor a flower
sustained an unfortunate grub,

if it dared to put in an appearance
by wriggling under the gate,
or scaling the slatted wood, vertical fence
in its unending search for a mate.

I bought a few tubs and containers,
plus some compost  in colourful sacks,  
all providing a small splash of colour
as they stood in their teetering stacks

awaiting  the hesitant, first  potting up
of the trays full of tender young shoots,
all eager (like me) in their spacious new home
to established some permanent roots.


MUCH, MUCH LATER- This has turned out to be a perfect offering for the Poetry Bus due on 6 September, even though I posted it before this week's driver had chosen the destination, as you might say! ESP rules, Okay?

32 comments:

  1. Small and naturally formed, like a little green gem.

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  2. Dear Jinsky,
    I like it wild and I like the Guerilla Gardening of Mother Nature! It looks so much more vivid and vigorous than before!
    Haven't established permanent roots yet, I love your poem, it's beautiful, thank you! Britta

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  3. Wow, a private little enclave amongst the overlooking windows! What a nice little Secret Garden.

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  4. Ya just like a Secret Garden. Read and enjoyed several of your poems on down on your other posts. Great writing, fun reading.
    QMM

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  5. I'd love a quiet secluded area in my yard like this.

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  6. What a transformation! Nature will find a way with a little encouragement.

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  7. Enchanting garden, Jinksy! I bet the Butterfly bushes attract lots of butterflies!

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  8. Ireally love your current transformation, not what you inherited. And verse certainly appropriate.

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  9. I love the "jungle" you've created! My back yard looks somewhat like the one you inherited. Unfortunately, I'm not free to make many things grow with wild abandon, as we rent and there are also other tenants.

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  10. Some people would prefer the 'before' look but I like the 'after' - much more natural. Lots of places for birds and butterflies to enjoy.
    Take care.
    Blessings, Star

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  11. Penny, I think the garden reflects the gardener -- natural, vibrant, and a willingness to explore every possibility --no containment here! Love it!

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  12. You may now add 'miracle worker' to your long list of honorifics.

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  13. I love it!!
    what a wonderful change
    jungles are good :)

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  14. I love your jungle ! Could sit out there for hours .

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  15. What a wonderful private haven you and Mother Nature have created together.

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  16. I think I saw a Triffid there!

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  17. I enlarged both pictures and smiled as I realized how like you your garden is. So full of life with a much loved disorder....I prefer your way so much better.....:-) Hugs

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  18. Love love when nature does what it's best at . . . and when we allow it to be . . . wonderful!

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  19. It's a matter of taste but I do like how your greenery now blocks out the sight of other houses in the background. It's probably much cooler in the hot summer now, too. Love your poem! :D

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  20. A perfect testament to the fact that nature will take over if we give it a chance; they long for permanent roots...

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  21. An urban paradise in the backyard. Nature is amazing.

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  22. You've done wonders! You must have read your fabulous poetry to the little plants to make them flourish.

    I especially love:
    No flora or fauna enlivened the view,
    no shade from a tree or a shrub;
    not a solitary leaf, or a stem, or a flower
    sustained an unfortunate grub

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  23. it looks so full of life now, what a difference!

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  24. And roots they have establishment! Thanks to your hard labour, this concrete wasteland has become a veritable green paradise.

    I love the whirly line, would love to hang my laundry there on a sunny morning. Hanging laundry is like saying a praying, of thanks and anticipation, looking forward to the evening, slipping under those freshly laundered and sun and air dried sheets.

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  25. You English sure know how to do gardens.

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  26. A vivid transformation brilliantly portrayed in the lovely rhyming lines.I hope you have settled in as joyfully as the plants!

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  27. Life finds a way! Kudos on your ESP, as well, and on your truly lovely poem. I especially liked the last verse, as we, too, like "tender young shoots," are looking to put down "some permanent roots."

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  28. Thank you for this love poem to your garden. Obviously, it loves you abundantly in return for setting it free!

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  29. Delightful poem, Jinksy, as usual. Wondering if the or..or in the 7th line should be nor..nor?

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  30. Nothing so wonderful, to watch transform as a garden. I liked the "grubby" bits best.

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  31. I love the sound of this nearly as much as the idea of nature returning to that barren garden.

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