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There is no humor in this subject. If you are still grieving the loss of a recent tornado, fire, hurricane, flood, earthquake or other disaster, this article is not for you. If some time has passed since your disaster, and you are thinking of starting over in the garden, you are welcome to read my experience and suggestions, and take from it anything you may find useful.
Two questions from the First Response Unit member, a man barely out of his teens and obviously terrified, told us the disaster was serious and not limited to our house where we cowered in the basement.Never will I forget his chilling questions: "Is everyone accounted for?" and "Are there any injuries?"That was a little over three years ago now.
One year afterward, the new house, built on the same lot, was ready.We had been luckier than many.Some lost a loved one, a beloved pet, or discovered too late that they were underinsured and could not rebuild.Our losses and losses of friends were heartbreaking, but after a year, most were looking forward and starting over.
Starting over in the garden after the disaster brought some unexpected challenges, but pleasant surprises as well.Some differences were obvious, such as full sun shining where there was once shade.Some differences were to be encountered later, as they were not immediately noticeable.Here are my tips borne of experience:
ABOVE RIGHT: THE LAWNMOWER HAS SEEN BETTER DAYS
LEFT: WHERE THE BARN USED TO BE
The soil will be different.Don't just assume that the soil content will be exactly the same.New construction brought clay where we didn't previously have clay.Spend some time digging around.Watch where the water lays after a rain.Some may experience better soil than they originally had.Some may not.But the soil will be different, I promise.Spend some time getting to know it all over again.
Be careful of debris.There are unintended items in your soil now.Watch for glass particularly, as well as chunks of masonry and rock.Even a tiny shard of PVC pipe will cut a knee.Wear shoes all the time, even years later, and always use a kneeling pad.These pieces of debris will continue to rise to the surface many years after the disaster.Anytime you begin digging, take a spare box with you for the pieces of brick, glass, and unidentifiable plastics you will encounter.
You may need gardening tools.Don't start with plants, as tempting as it may be.You may discover you don't have what you need to plant them.A friend gave us a nice-sized tree as a housewarming present.We spent over $50.00 to purchase a shovel and garden hose to plant it and keep it watered.We didn't plan for that.People did ask what we wanted and needed, but items like garden hoses, trowels, shovels, rakes, and even buckets never occurred to us.They are not expensive items unless you are buying everything you need all at once.
RIGHT: SEE THE MAILBOX WHERE THE POST OFFICE WAS?
Be selective with the free items.If you've experienced a large-scale devastation, the altruistic will arrive, and we are grateful for them.Sometimes their good will is genuinely marvelous.Sometimes, sadly, businesses see an opportunity to get rid of stock that didn't sell.In the fall a local big box store donated all its leftover trees to our town.A truck was parked downtown, the trees unloaded near the temporary post office, and we all got to choose three.They were picked-over babies, and having succumbed to life in a pot too long, none lived through the winter.The unexpected lesson?Good will doesn't necessarily mean good product.Of course the store meant well, but it was heartbreaking to lose them, and nobody needed another sorrow.Spare yourself the heartache and be selective, even at the risk of seeming snobbish.At this point, any small setback or loss seems larger than it used to.You don't need that.
On the other hand, the National Arbor Foundation sent a long list of trees, including the botanical name and a thorough description to every household with instructions to choose whatever we wanted.We had a special tree-planting day, going house-to-house planting a tree on the flag the resident placed to indicate the spot.We chose the Tilia cordata ‘Greenspire.'The beauty of the 7-foot tree that first year lay in its perfection.It had no lost limbs or damaged spots.Young and fresh compared to the remains surrounding it, the Linden leans northward slightly, a product of its unprofessional planting.We wouldn't have it any other way.
Save anything from the garden that may have survived.It will take on a special meaning for you.Way out near the rear of our lot is a long thick row of Lycoris squamigera, Naked Ladies.The first fall when I saw them, seemingly unscathed and nodding in the breeze, I nearly cried.Any living thing that has gone through what they went through deserves to live happily ever after in that very spot.
Look for funny things.It may take some time for your sense of humor to return, but nurture it along when it does.We who can laugh at our trials are not overcome by them.We started a collection of amusing items we've found in the yard.When digging and we hit something hard, we'll wonder aloud if it's a root from one of the old trees.I make fun of myself when I tell my gardening stories. We took bets on how long it would take to get the big mess of fallen trees out of the corner of our yard. Now we take bets on how old we'll be before we have shade.It's all in good fun.
THE ANSWER WAS TWO YEARS TO GET RID OF THIS WRECKAGE.
THE HEIGHT OF THE ABOVE TREE ROOTS IS APPROXIMATELY SIX FEET.
The people on Dave's Garden look out for one another, and if someone experiences devastation, the members respond.The story partially told here is how I found Dave's Garden.Rather than mindlessly tending the established plants of the former owner, I had to start a garden from scratch.I came here and you helped me.I hope I have helped you in return.God bless.
*****Special thanks to Kelly Peterson for the use of her post office photo.
About Lori Geistlinger
Lori and her husband, Handsome Man, garden in the heart of Tornado Alley in the Midwest. She likes perennials, because if they don't come back, chances are she forgot she planted them and doesn't realize she killed them. Don't take her too seriously.
Posted by girlgroupgirl (from Atlanta, GA) on April 21, 2008 at 10:51 PM:
After having miraculously survived, and with no damage to home or car, the Atlanta tornados, what you write about rings true.
Thanks,
girlgroupgirl
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Subject: Always a pleasure
Posted by jlp222 (from Hammond, LA) on April 21, 2008 at 3:14 AM:
I always enjoying reading your posts! Since this one is more serious in nature, it brings to light the aftermath and fortitue needed to rebuild. Great article!
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Posted by Dutchlady1 (from Naples, FL) on April 21, 2008 at 6:03 AM:
A very well thought-through article that clearly shows your indomitable spirit.
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Posted by carrielamont (from Milton, MA) on April 21, 2008 at 9:56 AM:
Lori, they don't have tornadoes back here so I have to assume that is what happened to you. Thank you for sharing this very private experience. xx, Carrie
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Posted by pieohmy (from Independence, LA) on April 21, 2008 at 2:20 PM:
Great advice and a great article. Your naked ladies remind me of my tree. We had a very old oak go down during Katrina. We have left the roots sticking out of the ground and a passionvine of unknown origin started to grow up it. The tree will remain there as a reminder, to us, what we went through and how much we should appreciate what we have today.
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Posted by darius (from Marion, VA) on April 21, 2008 at 2:58 PM:
Nicely done, and a good list for others on dealing with disasters. We know there will always be more disasters.
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Posted by UniQueTreasures (from Beaumont, TX) on April 21, 2008 at 3:09 PM:
Only someone that has been through the experience of a natural disaster can truly understand the heartbreak of seeing years of hard work in scattered in smithereens and express the emotions of the heart as well as you have done. Having come home to 2 huge uprooted trees laying on my house and countless plants all over my yard after the 125 mph winds of Hurricane Rita ripped through my back yard, I really appreciated your article because I know it was written from the heart. It's wonderful knowing the members here on Dave's Garden are always willing to pitch in and help whenever and wherever disasters strike. Thanks be to God that no one in my family was hurt.
Janet
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Posted by gammyjudy06 (from Jonesville, LA) on April 21, 2008 at 6:53 PM:
Enjoyed the very caring and good sound advice of this story. I have not personally dealt with these issues but my sister has and i will forward the article to her in the hopes that she will find some helpful advice and maybe some comfort.
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Posted by roybird (from Santa Fe, NM) on April 21, 2008 at 7:35 PM:
Very good article and photos. Your advice will probably help a lot of gardeners.
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Posted by LariAnn (from Miami, FL) on April 21, 2008 at 8:32 PM:
Having lived through Hurricane Andrew, I know from very hard experience what Lori writes about in this article. I don't have to imagine the terrific heartbreak of losing an entire tropical paradise and rare plant collection because I've been there. This was years before there was a Dave's Garden, or even wholesale access to the internet (1992). The sense of isolation and living on the razor's edge is something I would wish on no one.
Thankfully no family members, human or animal, were lost or injured. But it was quite some time before I was able to rise above the depression I felt every time I looked outside.
