Garden 2005 - High Plains Drifter

I left a mature shared garden at my old 1940's condo. To the left is an example of the lushness that garden had grown to in five years. Ahh, the mature maples, the ten foot tall fragrant lilac in spring, the brick patio put in by myself with help of all of my family members. All it needed was a little pruning and weeding in the friable dirt. I liked my little enclosed garden that I had finally wrenched away from the creeping charlie. Yes, the life of a single gardener . . .

And then I met the husband; and a house was required. You know, a place for his BIG tv and his (gasp!) recliner, the complete Three Stooges collection and lots and lots of his ceramic creations. After a search of two counties, we settled on a contemporary home with lots of windows, lots of light. I envisioned a little jewelbox - a small house we could customize to our taste. First, I saw the nice shaded street in th room for two and his pet parrot was what wase quiet neighborhood. The view out the backdoor was of a huge, three tier deck. Great. But the rest of the yard? One big swatch of grass. Just grass. "Oh", thought I, "a blank canvas. I'll put in a hedge so we don't have to look at that big blue Smurf house behind us." I got the new husband's muscles working on successfully transplanting two six foot burning bushes from their spot blocking the view from the front windows.
But alas, my plans went awry when we found out the last owner's hadn't quite been honest about the lack of a home owner's association. In fact, really not honest considering the president of the association lives next door. But of course, since they didn't seem to do anything but mow grass for years, perhaps it was avoidance or denial. Denial seems to have kept them from paying the back dues also. So we got involved in our civic duties now thrust upon us and read the neighborhood rules. Oops! "No hedges or privacy fences allowed to keep the open feel between homes". No hedges? No wide swathes of green backdrop to frame the colorful, sunny perennial beds I imagined? "No sheds allowed. All other garden structures must be approved with detailed plans by the association board." Well, there goes the greenhouse plans and the whimsical life-size homage to Stonehenge. Back to the drawing board.