Sun/Shade

There used to be a huge tree in my back yard. It provided a lot of privacy and kept the yard cool in the summer. One day a few years ago, I opened my back door and the tree fell down. My first thought as, "Thank God." because the tree fell on my neighbor's house, not mine. I did realize the pettiness of that statement, but I still am firmly thankful of the outcome.

We had a late snow storm in April, with 3-4 inches of wet heavy snow. The lilac trees took the brunt of the snow, with many branches heavy with lilac blooms snapping under the additional weight of the snow. The lilac tree between another neighbor's house had to be cut back drastically to remove the storm damage.

Our neighbors across the street took down a huge tree in their back yard. Suddenly, the sky above their house is more visible.

And finally, our lilac tree suffered from the April storm as well, although we didn't realize it until weeks after the storm. I cut the tree back over the weekend, and realized our specimen red maple was almost bare on one side, because the lilac blocked its light.

These garden incidents changed the light and shade in my gardens. What was once a shade garden is now a sun garden. Where once ferns and other shade-loving plants thrived, now these plants are smaller, browner, drier looking. But they are growing. The red maple may be a lost cause, but it keeps its pretty side toward our house. From several angles, you wouldn't even know it was damaged.

The front yard seems lighter and sunnier with our neighbor's back yard tree removed. The gardens in the front of the house are changing and adapting to their new situation.

So my gardens can adapting after about 15 years of being one thing--sun or shade. If something so conditioned to being one way can change, I can, too. Now I just have to figure out what it is I want to do . . . to be.