Luckily we had become very competent gardeners wile living in New Mexico, the rock-like calcite soil there is difficult to work into something a plant can survive in much less thrive and so one must learn about composting, organic soil amendments (chemicals don't work in fact they ruin your soil) care of herbaceous plants as well as woody shrubs and trees, in an environment the is endlessly trying to kill them. In comparison gardening in plant friendly sub-tropic orange county with its rich clay and clay-lome soil was a snap. After months of enjoyable work we had transformed the space, it became the green and lovely place we had imagined. We had parties and spent many happy hours caring for the yard and enjoying the fruits of healthful labor.
Then we made a very wrong choice, we hired "lawn guys". Neither of us had been raised to pay someone else to care for what is ours, and we both enjoy being active. But it was what was 'done' in Orange County, and so in the interest of assimilation we though we would try it out, and give ourselves a bit more time for our other hobbies. Also we had had a 'pool guy' all along, so it seemed like a good enough idea. The first lawn-guy we tried worked for one of our neighbors, he was overbearing and rude and acted like to was to become his yard to do with as he choose and we were to pay him for the privilege. He did not last long. Next we hired a man who worked for anther neighbor, just on a short job to test him out. But he did not do what he was hired to do, remove a section of landscaping rocks and fully turn the soil to a depth of at least twelve inches, what he and his crew did was just something that looked like it on the surface but if you looked closely you could see that he only glossed over the job.
A portent of things to come. With only one neighbor left to try, we hired her lawn-guy, he seemed fine, though he could not seem to follow our instructions. His crew seemed bodily attached to their gas-powered tools, and completely failed to do as I asked: control the weeds by hand, don't pull out my flowers, keep the lawn longer to save on water and keep it strong, and keep their electric sheers away from my shrubs. Every week one or more of the rules were broken. We weren't happy, but for some reason we put up with them. We lost interest in being in our yard, it was not ours anymore, we had weekly intruders making a huge racket, they killed many of my plants because I had planted them from seed and they did not understand a plant that did not come grown from a plastic bucket.
Gradually we started noticing some unpleasant things about Orange County, that the noise never stops, ever. Constant traffic noise of all those SUVs taking the children (of which there are far too many) all rushing about without regard to safetly or traffic laws. And the lawn guys, all day, every day. On any given day in any given neighborhood in Orange County there is a lawn guy within your hearing, all of them use power tools, not a one is actually caring for the yards they are working in. If you look closely (and we are great walkers so we do) you can see that if if cannot be done by machine it is not done. Any real gardener will tell you that the only way to control weeds and pest is by hand, you have to get your fingers in the soil to know what is going on.
So, finally, with much pleading on my part, my husband fired the lawn guys. Today I weeded my garden, it will take many weeks to get it back to where it was, weeds had flourished under every bush, in every planting bed. I found paper and garbage when I finally looked at my yard again was obvious to the eye. What I also got, was quiet time to myself, the joy of seeing how plants I had planted with my own hands had grown and progressed in the time I had looked away. I got to feel like it was mine, or rather I was a part of it. Right now my husband is caring for the pool, he looks happy, I think I will join him.
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