Friday, April 1, 2011

Triumphs and Tragedies

Spring must be here because suddenly there's a whole lot going on in my yard I can't wait to tell you about.

The Tragedies aren't as dire as my chewed up oak tree but there was still some carnage to survey this week.  I lost one of my serviceberry shrubs (Amelanchier) to the snowplow.  It's broken in half right at the base.  The second serviceberry survived but I'm thinking I may need to move it as the road is obviously a treacherous spot.  The snowplow also wreaked havoc with a Hydrangea 'Quick Fire' and two High Bush Cranberry (Viburnum trilobum).  Numerous branches were broken on all these plants.

The snow has subsided from my front flower bed and to my surprise I found . . . . glass.  You might recall that last spring when I began to dig over this bed I found many strange items in the dirt.  I realized that this area must have been used at one time to dump garbage.  It took many days of repeated digging and combing through the dirt to remove all the bits of garbage under the soil.  I thought I had removed it all but apparently not.  There lying in the sun for all to see was more glass.  Big pieces too, as large as a finger.  How could I have missed that?  So I got a bag and began once more to pick glass out of the dirt, piece by piece.  Then I saw what I first thought was a small plastic lid.  More garbage!!  But when I picked it up it didn't feel like plastic.  A Triumph.  


That was no plastic pop lid.  It was a 1919 copper penny turned green with age.  The story is, in my house anyway, that a finding a penny is good luck, but only if you pass it on.  Hubby is a coin collector so who better to pass this on to.  I feel like our home reached out and tapped me on the shoulder and said hey, you're in the right place and this is gonna work out here.  Sometimes the world will tell you things if you're willing to listen.  Yes, I got all that from a penny.  Call me a romantic.

16 comments:

Melanie J Watts said...

Marguerite that penny is a lucky sign or good omen for the impending gardening season. :)

Anonymous said...

Nice find. What I find all over digging in the yard is old marbles. I guess some are pretty, but they pop up every year.

Jane said...

So what I've learned today: don't plant things too close to the road and look carefully through the dirt and old garbage - you never know what treasure you might uncover!
Great post!

Jennifer@threedogsinagarden said...

it is a shame about the service berry and the other loses. We put up markers (a stick with a bright flag on the end) in the hopes that they would serve as a guide for the sidewalk plow this winter. In years past he often swept away the front part of my garden along with the snow. We will see soon if these efforts paid off.
What a cool find the penny is! I am sure it is a good luck charm for sure. Have a great weekend.

Island Threads said...

what a wonderful find, I too know the saying find a penny for good luck, pass it on to keep the good luck,

you definately need some snow poles to mark where your plants are, over here there are snow poles to mark the roads in areas of possible high snow fall, a 6 foot pole white with a red tip or all yellow, perhaps the plants will send up new growth from the roots, Frances

The Witch said...

What a cool find.
Sorry to hear about the damage from the snowplows we also have some.
Really like the new lay out of your blog site.
Nice and easy to read.

Laurrie said...

How wonderful to get a message from the past to tell you that you are gardening in the right place!

I keep digging up strands of rusted barbed wire and chunks of rotted fence posts. Apparently most of my yard is right along an old pasture fence line. This was a cow pasture once. No pennies, no glass treasures here, though.

Karin / Southern Meadows said...

That is indeed a nice find! I am always fascinating with the history of places and the little clues that are left behind. Glad to hear that there are signs of life appearing in your garden. Sorry to hear about your trees.

On My Soapbox said...

I keep finding glass, too (along with nails and assorted other trash). Sure wish I would find something fun, like that penny!

Janet/Plantaliscious said...

OK, "You're a romantic"! Lovely story, lovely penny.

Kyna said...

Wow, that's really cool! :) Chuck collects coins. If we're out on a walk and he spots a penny on the road, he always has to stop and pick it up. He says it's good luck. I say that one of these days he's going to get hit by a truck while he's bent over picking up a penny. lol

Marguerite said...

Melanie - oh I hope you're right! I hadn't even thought of it that way.

Donna - Sounds like your home had a few children in its previous life. I used to love marbles as a kid, so pretty.

Jane - I never imagined I would be digging up old broken bottles in my garden or century old pennies. You never know what you might find! As for planting near the road, beware!

Jennifer and Frances - I've seen a lot of these markers over the winter and wondered what they were all about. Now I know! Unfortunately these shrubs weren't in the line of the snowplow itself. Instead the weight of the snow being thrown was enough to break them. Other than moving all shrubs back even farther there's not much can be done.

Marguerite said...

The Witch - So glad to hear you say easier to read! I thought so but nice to know others think so too.

Laurrie - who knows, you may find something yet! Although I wouldn't mind not finding stuff, it's a lot of work digging all that glass up.

Karin - The main draw with this house was the history behind it. The stories here are fascinating. One thing hubby pointed out was someone was probably very sad to lose that penny because it would have been worth a whole lot more at that time.

On my Soapbox - keep digging, who knows what will come up! I thought I was done finding garbage in that bed but it seems there's always more.

Janet - yup that's me. kinda goofy

Marguerite said...

Kyna - Jody's the same! He's always running around picking up change off the road. Now he's got me doing it too.

Casa Mariposa said...

What a beautiful penny! Don't stress about your viburnum trilobum. I have one in my yard that I pruned severely a few years ago. It bounced right back, bigger and better then before. They are super tough shrubs. I lost my serviceberries to voles/moles. Furry little bastards!

Marguerite said...

TS - oh no, not your shrubs too! Those rotten voles. I wonder if this was just a particularly bad year for them? At least I'm hoping so, if I lose this many trees every year to them I'll cry.