Spring in Oklahoma

I've been working in my yard and gardens off and on for about two weeks now. Now, if you know me at all you know that gardening, while I do have some interest, is not my focus by any means. However, I do love to look out or go out and see some wildness and lots of color and balance around me.
I like fresh food I grew myself at least in small amounts. Mostly in the past I left the gardening to JD. We had different ideas on what we liked in arranging the plants and since he loved gardening it was good to leave it to him.I did help if he needed me.
Now, with my new decision to stay here where I own the land, have good neighbors and plenty of space, I'm making the gardens mine too.
The overgrown big garden in the back is being allowed to return to nature and will be mowed soon. The big rock garden he built in the back, the chicken pens, the little pond, will all be gone before summer is over. They take more time and care than I want to even try to give them.
In front of the house on the west side there were two bushes, rose of sharon (hybiscus) and a white edged green leafed one. I never liked them in that position. My neighbor across the street has dug them up and moved them. Now, around the big tree where they were I've added more iris, some mossy stuff that grows here naturally, I think, and bluebonnets.
The very big rose of sharon in the center raised flower bed has been cut down. Later I will move the rose bush as I want a low flower bed there, not tall. Most of the peonies have been dug up and gone to new homes. The few that are left go soon. Again, they're too tall, too top heavy for my taste.
At the front east side near the dividing line, actually crossing over onto neighbors land a bit, is another rock encircled garden with iris and daffodils on the perimeter. It has been full of weeds and brambles for a couple of years. I'm working on cleaning that up now. Digging down to huge nodes and roots on the brambles and ivy, putting either copper wire, hand made copper spikes or copper sulfate into the roots to get rid of them once and for all. Had to buy the pipe stuff that is made to kill roots in plumbing to get copper sulfate and will have to break up the little pellets to use it but its not expensive.
You can even kill off roots or plants by putting a copper penny among them but that is too generalized and I want other things to grow there. In that garden, once I finish the weeding, I will put some more iris thinned from the beds close to the house and sedum ground cover or mint, haven't decided yet which I prefer there and I bought both.
The bed on the east side of the house no longer is overgrown with almost flowerless honeysuckle. THAT was a job and I had help from neighbor's son to get it out. There were three smothered rose bushes (climbers!) under it which are now staked up and will eventually have supports to climb on. They're too small to need them at the moment. Also put some iris there and will add flower seeds as fill in.
In front of the house are two beds which have been overgrown for years with a ground cover plant that has pretty tiny little blue-purple flowers. Its too invasive so I've got all of it out of the east side and some out of the west side of the porch. Going to lay flat rocks on the west side where the faucet is since we step on any plants there getting to the faucet which we use all the time. For the rest, well a few flower seeds will work among the plants that JD put there or were already there. There are a few iris, some succulents and a little cedar bush that seems to be doing ok. The one on the east side died so they aren't balanced anymore. Not going to worry about it.
I've stuck some veggies in on the east side front too as I got tired of making big pots for tomatoes and peppers. LOL One more big pot or two for lettuce, tomatoes, my wild garlic and onions and I'll at least have salad all summer!
There are four surviving fruit trees-mostly still very small. I used some roundup on the grass around them and need yet to pull those dead weeds, fertilize the trees and keep them watered.
OH, I almost forgot my lavender plant at the NE corner in front! This is my fourth try at growing the lavender. It can be touchy until its well rooted. Not too much water, not too little. We'll see what happens this year.
Also started (late!) gourd seeds this week. Just birdhouse because they take a few weeks less to get grown. Next year want to start gourds in Jan inside so I can have several varieties to carve.
One more week and my gardening time is done. I want to do some creative things, get my little store building cleaned out and set up to display my creations. No more "fill in" jewelry like I made for the Texanna Mall store. There is nothing wrong with inexpensive costume jewelry but I'd rather use my time making things that are more art than craft.
The customers I want to develop will be those who are looking for quality and uniqueness. I don't HAVE to make my living with it so I can take however long it takes to develop a customer base. I can simply create where the muse takes me and if it sells, wonderful! If not I will eventually take things to Canton or other places where the customers go. No rush. I plan to live quite a few more years.
Life without JD doesn't have to be sad. I will always, always miss him and be grateful for the years, the love, the learning and all the wonderful experiences we had. But life on my own is very, very good. I like me and for the first time ever am living a life in which my own needs/wants are paramount. Though its sometimes lonely I have many good friends on line and in person. I can be a hermit if I please or go out amongst them. My choice always. This is something I never really had before, a new phase of life that is as good in its own way as what went before.
So I guess I'll take my sore feet and back and get out there to get more done.
Thanks, dear friends and readers for sharing my adventure.
Will keep you updated as my yard and house evolve (yes, doing things like adding a new room where my deck is and eventually, as I can afford materials and labor, new floors, cabinets etc to make my home more comfortable).
Yes, life is good. And JD will never be totally gone as he lives in my heart and my memories.