should I just give it up?

[herbalwriter]

I am so depressed about what used to be my gardens. Over the course of several years, my then-husband and I tilled and laid down topsoil and had a garden in the front yard and one on the side, the latter being a big, circular garden with a bench and paths and everything. They have both been neglected for 2 years and you can't even see half the plantings for the saplings and weeds. :cry It is so symbolic to me of my failed marriage and the overwhelm that being a single mom produced...I have not touched those gardens in 2 years and the briars, snakeberry, and saplings have taken over.

Should I till and start again, or try to fight the weeds and recover what is there?

[Joyce]

:hug2 This is such a sad post. I'm sorry your beautiful gardens are in a shambles. I'd fight for them rather than till. But that's because I'm cheap and I know starting all over can be expensive depending on where you get the plants and what kind.

I'd start in one small area, and see how you feel after "rescuing" it. It could be really therapeutic. I wish I could come over and help you!

I'm finding it really hard to garden with one baby, and you got much more on your plate than I do.

[herbalwriter]

Thank you Joyce - I had almost forgotten about this post. I think trying to salvage would be best, too. I just could not get to it these last 2 years.

[Rabbit]

My tiny patch of an apartment yard has gone by the wayside in the last two years, since my children were born, but I've simply cleaned away the debris and gone on ignoring it because in awhile, when my babies are a bit older, I'll have time again. It's something filled with promise for me, so I can just ignore for now. But your yard isn't a hopeful project in waiting. It's a source of sorrow. I think I'd have to do something to it, if only to claim it as -mine-. But with such a large project, I wouldn't even know where to start, either.

-Natalie

[herbalwriter]

My life is soooo full of "large projects" - like, the type that take more than one day, and I don't have anyone to watch ds except when I am at work, and when I am at work, my home languishes. It is *so* frustrating. When xh visits ds, it's only for an hour and a half twice a week, and it's during the hour of dinner prep. So that's no help. :banghead These are the kinds of projects where you need someone to get your dc out of the way - not because I don't want him around, but because it involves work with sharp tools and getting into briars and other places where I can't be followed.

I guess I am going to start a new thread for all my vents about my massive projects. I won't hijack my own thread!

[SueQ]

I think that I would go with raised beds when I buy a place. We are renting now and I just go with what was already here but raised beds really appeal to me. You don't have to till them and can sit on the sides and lean in to weed. :)

If you google raised beds, you get tons of info on them. Not sure if they will work for you but I think that is the route I'll go when we move.

[herbalwriter]

Yes, if I had it to do over I would do raised beds. I can't afford the soil now though. But for the future, I think those are the way to go. They drain well, too.