700 !! You've been a busy girl !! I can hardly manage my half acre with being 72 in September, the mind is willing but the body keeps making me stop !!
I just putter. I'm 67. I have done some challenging projects in the last 10 years that really pushed me physically. I can't do much lifting now. That's really hard. It's so difficult to be giving up the physically challenging because that's how we stay more active. My garden work comes in spurts now. I'm so glad I pushed through planting all those lovelies and creating gardens. Now I have a grandson who comes on Saturdays (with my great grandsons) and he does the heavy stuff for us. Slowing down is inevitable. Darn it. Have a nice evening ak
A lot of my bearded irises were from rhizomes people left by the roadside. nI've also left a lot of my own there, and people took them. Also dahlia tubers. Some of my roses were from bouquets that co-workers brought in to our workplace. I used those as cuttings sources. I had a big Norway maple in the chicken yard. It started as a volunteer seedling in the sidewalk crack and I wondered if it would grow. It was too fast and I didn't have it in the best location, so wound up, having it removed. Plus, they are invasive. I have four Greenspire lindens that were end of season sale at the big huge orange home improvement store. About $10, for original $60 trees. Very pot bound. I cut off all of the winding roots, soaked the roots, planted, kept them watered. They grew fast into nice shade trees.
I'm a little older than you. Many of the same issues. A lot of my long-term projects and planting have matured. I'm not adding new ones, and I'm sorting through some old ones and setting sone priorities. I really enjoy being in the setting that we created over the past 15 years (25 if you include trees and shrubs and some hardscaping that I moved from the prior house). I could sit on the porch and listen to birds and enjoy the trees for many hours and feel contented.
Aloes are very rewarding, if the climate is right. Plus the juice from the leaves as a balm for accidental burns.
Daniel, there is nothing so wonderful as enjoying the fruits of your labor. I just noticed you referring to that hardware superstore in a way I appreciate. I avoid them like the plague, but sometimes I am there for a random something and I find that one plant that would look perfect in a certain spot.
River, I agree with all you said. I haven't been there in a long time. Fortunately, I've learned about sources that are closer to me and meet most of my needs.
