Pat’s Wildways: Yard Clearing

Bucko and I moved into our brand new home in 2002, 25 years ago, when we were both full of yardwork vigor. Our lot was devoid of trees, shrubs, and plants of any kind, although it did border a retention pond that was, at that time, surrounded by native plants and frequented by wildlife. We used up the new home landscaping budget to put in a (homeowner’s association required) lawn, three crepe myrtle trees and some shrubs bordering the front of the house, but we didn’t stop there. With the exuberance of relative youth, we visited nurseries and installed another young crepe myrtle and three bald cypress trees along the pond edge, along with some native water-loving shrubs. We built a deck and gazebo where we could watch the pond life from under the wooden-slat-provided shade. Just for good measure, I planted a wisteria vine to cover the gazebo. At the time, our backyard was blazing hot under the Florida sun, and this shade was sorely needed.

Well, fast-forward 25 years, and my, how things have grown! Those cypress trees now tower over the yard and the crepe myrtle tree provides a dense canopy over the gazebo. And the wisteria, although I had been warned about its proclivity to encompass everything around it, I needed to see this for myself. This single vine has now spread well into the top of the myrtle tree and up into the cypress trees too. Twenty-five years ago I wanted shade. Well now, we have way too much of it. Our yard gradually became as dark as a cave. And we could no longer even see the pond.

Over the years, gardening has changed for us from a “project” to a “chore,” and in our senior years we are striving for more projects and less that seem more like work. Take mowing the lawn for instance. For years Bucko enjoyed springtime, when he would take his riding lawn mower out of the shed and tune it up for another season of mowing. He always reminded me of a kid with a toy car as he donned his straw hat and rode laps around our yard, with a smile perpetually on his face. But over the years, even this fun project turned into a chore for aging Bucko. The heat, the uncomfortable positions to work on the mower, the heavy edging equipment, the repetitive nature of growing grass all began to wear on him. And one day he made the big decision to hire someone else to mow the lawn instead. For the past two years, our landscaper Rob has been doing an excellent, reliable job keeping our lawn mowed and trimmed and the weeds under my elevated garden beds weed-whacked out of sight. The riding mower has been unmoved from the shed for two years since. Last week Bucko took it out again, and had to discourage rats that had decided that this made a great place to nest. I photographed him riding around for maybe the last time on this mower. Bucko is done with lawn mowing once and for all. It’s all Rob’s turn now.

Well, there are some things that Rob can’t handle, and we can’t either. The native woods behind our house are persistently moving back into our cultivated area. Wax myrtle and maple seedlings have grown into sizeable shrubs obscuring our view of the pond. The native sumac tree has been fighting for sun under the cypress tree canopy and is leaning low over our yard, becoming a hazard. We can no longer find a path into the back woods — it has grown dense and unwelcoming.  So it was time for another big decision. Let’s bring in professionals to clear the brush, remove the offending seedlings and shrubs and let some light back into the landscape.

Before the tree company arrived I searched the pond edge looking for two plants I had installed years ago, a buttonbush and a Virginia sweetspire. I finally found them, nearly enveloped by the volunteer wax myrtles, and marked them for keeping with red flagging tape. And in the process I discovered a volunteer sapling with heart-shaped leaves and white sap, oh no, an invasive Chinese tallow tree. Yup, this definitely had to go too.

One morning this week I watched a professional crew with chain saws and a wood chipper bringing order to our yard once again. The buttonbush and Virginia sweetspire now have their own moment as the showcase pond edge plants they were meant to be. The chairs on the deck are now welcoming with open views and air flowing once again. And the wisteria still exists but in a much more managed way, not threatening to engulf the tall crepe myrtle tree near it.

I am glad to see these changes and happy with our backyard once again. It’s about time.

Pat Foster-Turley, Ph.D., is a zoologist on Amelia Island. She welcomes your nature questions and observations. patandbucko@yahoo.com