Optimizing my Garden

One of the things that endeared us to the apartment we purchased here in Modi’in back in 2003 (wow, have I been living in suburbia for that long?) was the lovely garden. I didn’t know at the time but I was quite delusional about my ability to give the garden the attention it needed to avoid it turning into a jungle.

We have what you call a “high maintenance” garden. Combine that with “time management issues,” one member of the household who deals with “chronic pain” (that would be me) and “not enough money to spend on a gardener to come every two weeks to weed” and you are headed for a garden disaster.

Sure, I can mow the lawn every week, it’s not a big deal, takes a relatively small amount of effort and about twenty minutes. However, we have a two different areas where we have various trees, bushes and plants surrounded by dirt. Without weeding these areas frequently, they quickly become overrun. It got to a point where we simply could not enjoy being outside and frankly, I was somewhat embarrassed for guests to see its condition.

We needed a solution. And that solution was volcanic tuff. I envisioned the two problematic areas covered with a layer of plastic to keep the weeds out and layered with copious amounts of ubiquitous reddish tuff. It’s aesthetically pleasing and I would only have to pull out the rare weed that was strong enough to break through the plastic. Luckily, the gardener I brought in for an estimate agreed with me.

I also wanted a small garden (very small) where my daughter and I could grow herbs and perhaps some vegetables.

Two weeks – and not a small sum of shekels- later , I’m happy to say my vision is now a reality. The following photos were taken over a month ago and I’m happy to say the lawn is looking greener, my lemongrass has come back to life, my orange and lemon trees have fruit and my new lime tree seems very happy in its new home.

Tags: gardening, modi'in