Adventures of a Cat Lady

“A garden requires patient labor and attention. Plants do not grow merely to satisfy ambitions or to fulfill good intentions. They thrive because someone expended effort on them.” – Liberty Hyde Bailey

There is truly nothing that I enjoy more than my garden in bloom each summer. There is something very satisfying all my hard work ‘paying’ off in the form of blooming flowers and fruit. I always have work in my garden, the garden is never finished and most certainly leaves me with a love hate feeling.

Im very lucky that I have a garden, not many Amsterdamers do have one. It was a bit of a concrete jungle when I originally moved in. It also came with a pond with over 15 medium sized fish in. The Dutch tend to use their gardens as an extension of their home, I haven’t quite integrated to the point where I do this. Having a terribly naughty kitten, doesn’t add favour to this idea. I do enjoy spending time in the garden, however, I don’t think I’ll ever live in it in the summers.

I’m generally not a fish fan to be honest, to eat or own (I dont mind the occasional aquarium trip). However, I knew that my cats would love having fish and oh how they did. Most afternoons were spent around the pond, occasionally with paws in the pond attempting a very lazy catch (which would never happen). I’m germaphobic, I have proper OCD about being dirty and having dirty hands is a major trigger for me. What I realised quickly is that ponds are disgusting, absolutely disgusting. Cleaning the pond, whilst technically easy was, simply put, was gross.

I decided that having a concrete jungle or rather paved garden wasn’t for me. This is when my garden renovation began and it’s still very much so on going. Every year I find more work that needs to be done, beyond just planting flowers or the upkeep of the various fruit plants. Initially it started out with fake grass, astroturf. I decided that I wanted my garden to look more green without the hassle of having to have actual grass and the upkeep that comes with that. I spent a few hours laying it (and even covered my balcony in fake grass) and was delighted with the outcome. I like that its low maintenance, if its dirty I sweep it and then use a dust pan and brush to remove the debris. The cats were also impressed. This was a ‘cheap’ solution without having to entirely renovate the garden that made a large impact.

Given my general lack of pond knowledge beyond, ‘if the cats are happy, I’m happy’, also meant that I made quite a lot of mistakes and wasted money each month on various pond related things. One winter the the pump did not survive, I’m still not entirely sure if it was me or the pump (being old. I considered buying a new pump but I was also aware that the pond structure itself was falling apart. I considered buying a new pond structure but decided it was not an investment (and the costs would have seriously made it an investment) that I wanted to make. I was able to rehome the fish, I believe it was over 20 in the end, to a lovely Expat in Amstelveen.

The task of tearing down the pond began. I enjoy a DIY project and this absolutely was a DIY project that at times felt like it would never end. Removing the pond became a long, hard and dirty task. If I thought cleaning the pond was gross, removing it took it to the next level. Doing it all manually by myself was a task, I swore…. a lot, had blisters on my hands, fell over and faceplanted on something sharp (I have a small scar on my face to remind me of the hard work) but I must admit, I have no regrets in getting rid of the pond and am pleased with the outcome.

Once the pond was removed, I realised I wasn’t utilising all of the area very well. I started to get grand ideas of all the things I could do and settled on using the wall of of my shed to hold my plants and putting up candle holders along the garden walls. I then decided I wanted a picture of the Blue Ridge Mountains to add extra umph. Could I probably use the space better than I do now? Sure but I’m pleased with what I’ve done.

I’m pleased with the outcome, actually I’m delighted. It’s still a lot of work, each spring I plant flowers against the outer wall and then get to tend to them for months until they die but overall, I’m very happy with it.

This year I realised that the wooden planks were rotting and there was no coming back for them. They have now been replaced, which add extra colour to the garden.

Gardening for me is a labour of love and loathe and most certainly a project that is never finished. The nice thing with gardens is that you can do as much or as little as you like. I currently have a list of things I need to do but there is always tomorrow.