It's Complicated: Garden Reality Check

Boy, talk about being late for the party.  Whew. 

 I think the last movie I actually saw in a theatre was Planet of the Apes....The first one.

So being the adventurous type I rented It's Complicated, the  movie, last weekend...watched it 3 times!  

Yep 3

I loved it.  It was clever and the characters were fun.  Alec Baldwin was hysterical. 

I think he was "fat sexy"   

so weird I know

The real star of the show, as we all know, was the house and the gardens. 

 I have read more blog posts in the last few months about how "not real and Hollywood" the garden was.  

Not real? AWWW come on!

Well, I'm going to stick my neck out here:  

I think you can have a garden pretty close to the one depicted in the movie.  

The only thing missing in the photo below is a bunch of dirty garden clogs and a few pairs of gloves.  Well, and maybe some Round-up weed killer and a dead rat.  

Make that rats, 

plural.

Any one who collects vintage primitives probably has a spot that looks like this, somewhere!  

I pretty much have all of this stuff, just with more dirt involved.  

Oh and  a back hoe and a John Deere Tractor.  

And really ugly gardening clothes.

While the vegetables look a little bit pumped up on steroids, the overall design is really pretty simple. 

And using flowers in the vegetable garden is a great idea, especially in raised beds. 

I actually love this garden, really! 

I'm not saying my garden looks like the movie garden but we really work hard to keep things in check.  Here's how....

List below:

1. Roger:  AKA "the gopher pro"

 He uses traps, not poison and so far we have been pretty successful. 

 He also happens to work at the local golf course which makes him something of an expert.  

Think Bill Murray in "Caddy Shack"

Animals caught to date: squirrel, possum, raccoon, crow, small child, neighbors dog, my dog, big foot.

Where are the bugs and munched on flowers?  

The criticism on the blogs was  "it's not possible to keep a garden looking that good". 

 I'm saying "yes you can!"

How can that be you ask?

Who does all the work around here, anyway?

Well, that would be me and my Husband, the raking fool, with a little help from Roger

2:  Enjoy it...and we do, and don't worry so much  

  

I know it sounds crazy but it seems to make us more relaxed and happy after a full day of digging up weeds, mowing and tending to the orchard and vegetable beds.

And honestly the amount of greens and produce you can get from one of these beds is amazing.  I showed this photo last week, but we have yet to buy any lettuce for months. I have started growing whiskers and wiggling my nose a lot lately. 

So strange, I ordered a carrot Mojito at dinner after being chased around the yard by a lone male Hawk.  At least I made it under the fence. 

3:  Notice the changes and give yourself some "at-a-boys"

When we bought this property a year and a half ago, the citrus orchard was in terrible shape.  

Sour yucky oranges.

But we have twice as many blossoms this spring as last year, just from selective pruning and proper irrigation.

4:   Re visit the past.  

This is called the "I can't believe we actually paid money for this" file.

 But we have worked hard to get here: 

THIS:

BECAME THIS:

AND NOW IS THIS:

FULL OF THIS:

So what I'm saying is: it's not really all that complicated. 

 It takes is some time and some planning.

 A lot of dirty socks and " a Roger"

dead rats you get for free 

Have a great week

~*~

kelley