Friday, June 02, 2006

What I should be doing

instead of sitting here is trying to deal with the jungle that has become my yard.

It's just a postage stamp of a yard, maybe 10' by 20'. When I first moved in a few years ago there were plans to grow things. But I have a black thumb. Since I managed to find one of the few apartments with a private yard in the city, yardless friends volunteered to grow things for me. Promises, promises.

Last year I spent a week cutting back the blackberries and morning glories that has taken over. It was kind of a battle to the death for the two invasive plants. Each one had staked out territory on opposite ends of the fence and it was a race to see which would become the dominant bush. By the time I started hacking away, a small oak tree in the middle had become the first casualty in the plant wars.

Today I was going to go start the de-greening process. The grass is almost waist high and the blackberries seem to be winning this year. But it started to pour rain. I guess my diplomatic pruning skills will have to wait.

On the Right, Bustah Blackberry coming in at 5 feet tall and 7 feet wide.

On the Left, the scrappy, scraggly Morning Glory goes for the divide and conquer defense by sending shoots off to both the left and right. At the far right of the picture is the body of the dead little oak tree- now covered in vines.

3 comments:

Peter said...

You should leave it. It's not so often you get to witness a backyard filled with such drama and pathos. And that grass looks ready to choke and kill any lawn mower with the guts to try.

The Red Queen said...

I would leave it except behind the fence is a 12 foot drop to the street. The weight of the vines on the fence is pulling it towards the street. I'm just waiting for the whole thing to come crashing down on some hapless pedestrian who just happens to be walking along.

Peter said...

Physical harm and lawsuits are a good motivator.