A Clearing of the Soul: A Backyard Solution

In September 2006, we purchased a small house built in the mid-1920's with four previous owners before us. Owner Number 3 had erected on top of a low existing rock fence a horrendous physical barrier--a barbwire fence. I understand from our neighbors that our neighborhood used to have the characters of the "wild west" so a painful barrier would keep them away but geez. Furthermore owner Number 4 allowed the dominant trumpet vine to overgrow onto the barbwire hence destroying the scale of the rock fence and making the vine The King of the Backyard. Owner Number 5, that is us, felt the weight of the barbwire especially with the ongoing global friction of monitored borders. We wanted the barbwire fence to come down and the trumpet vine controlled to a manageable beauty. Of course, I have just read Joe Eck's gardening book so I have been feeling like I know something about my yard.

The beginning of spring has brought plenty of sunshine, the birds, daffodils and the clearing of flower beds. The dry, light grey, skeleton of the trumpet vines was ripe for my human dominace and finally the barbwire was coming off. As the hours and the days passed, the rock fence has come to be a special border between my neighbor and the back alley. The space beyond has widen the breadth of our view as well as our idea of place. The backyard's potential as a habitable space for plants and an extension of our house can be seen and taken stock. However, my poor neighbor feels completely exposed and vulnerable in this new arrangement; I can see all of his stuff from past trash pick up treasures. Everytime we see each other, he gives me a similar solution to the problem I just removed from my very sight. I suppose physical memory is difficult to change after many years.