Do not feel absolutely certain of anything.
-- Bertrand Russell --
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I go to maps.google every so often to look at the street view of houses I have lived in. They're gradually filling in more houses as time passes. The latest country house doesn't have a street view yet, nor does the current city house.
Today I looked up where we lived in the St. Louis area.*
I'm sorry I did.
At almost every house I'd lived in since I was on my own, I've planted a dark red lace-leaf Japanese maple. I love them, and I never got to see any of them grown up, but it felt good anyway. Like I'd left a gift for the new owners and the old neighborhood.
So I was looking forward to see what 35 years had done for the tree I'd left in St. Louis. I had planted it on a bit of slope outside the door. It should be 7 feet tall and spreading 14 feet around and lush by now.
I'd also planted barberry bushes along the line of the porch at the St. Louis house, and a crepe myrtle at the north corner of the house. Rose of Sharon bushes at the side of the garage. The upper windows had window boxes spilling petunias, and there was a long box under the window along the porch, full of geraniums. The lawn was super fine thick red fescue that I kept cut to 4 inches so it looked lush and shiny, and it was loaded with crocus bulbs that would have multiplied amazingly.
I am shocked!
Not only is there NO sign of the Japanese maple, the barberrys, the crepe myrtle, or the rose of Sharon, the upstairs window boxes are gone, there's nothing in the lower window box, and the lawn looks like crap, with thin brown scalped patches (you can't cut red fescue so short!) It looks like somebody came through and tore out everything living. The place has that bare naked look of new construction. It looks blasted!
The only token to landscaping is a 20 foot multi-colored totem pole smack in the middle of the front yard.
.
*The address is in a comment, where, I hope, it's less likely to turn up in a search.
3 comments:
15526 Clayton Rd, Ballwin, Mo.
My grandfather planted two oak trees in front of whatever house he bought. I was sad to go back to Richmond and see the trees gone.
The two crepe myrtles I planted in Florida are still alive and growing. That's nice.
My old Eyetalian neighbors had a fabulous garden - fig trees, red currant bushes, pear trees (the real pear trees). And the people who bought it tore down everything so they could open a day care. They're gone now and Bob the Indian and his Missus (and the Grannies) plant stuff like crazy.
The totem pole is mentioned in this blog
http://kathys-second-half.blogspot.com/2010/09/powers-of-observation.html
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