February 18, 2025 • 15 mins
While winter lingers, I'm on a mission to infuse a little spring cheer by revitalizing my garden's aging hedge with new plants. From my weekend adventures at the local nursery to the delightful (and sometimes prickly) surprises hidden within my hedge, this episode is packed with garden insights, and a bit of gardening tips – even if some YouTube advice doesn't quite fit our unique climate.
Tune in to hear tales of overcoming stubborn oak growth, the art of maneuvering a giant plant pot with a little help from kind strangers, and the unexpected challenges of navigating outdated hedge plants. Whether you're an only child or simply someone who appreciates life's quirky moments, this episode promises to brighten your day with relatable insights on adulting and a humorous take on life's little trials. So grab your gardening gloves and a cup of tea, and join me for a delightful romp through the trials and triumphs of garden life.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
Now I am.
If you haven't met me in person, I'm a fairly substantial woman
.
I am not a petite person.
Welcome to the Only ChildDiaries podcast.
I'm your host, tracy Wallace.
Have you ever felt like youdidn't receive the how-to
brochure on life, that youdidn't get enough guidance about
(00:24):
major life issues?
So did I.
You don't have to be an onlychild to feel this way.
In my podcast, we'll exploresome of the best ways to better
navigate adulting, while doingso with humor and light.
Welcome everyone to the OnlyChild Diaries podcast.
(00:53):
Today, I'm going to talk aboutbattling my hedge.
Yes, it's another gardeningepisode.
We're heading towards spring.
We're not really close tospring, actually, we're only
less than a month into winter,but I'm trying to manifest
(01:13):
spring as much as possible.
Our evenings are still prettycool, or cold, depending on your
definition of cold.
The days, well, some days arefairly nice, at least for a
while.
But last week we had a prettysignificant amount of rain for
us and the ground has beenfairly wet here, fairly soaked.
(01:37):
So I wanted to take advantageof that to replace one of the
dead plants in our hedge.
Now, I've always used YouTube towatch music videos from the 80s
, I'll admit it and to catch upon some current events, like the
Queen's funeral.
(01:58):
I couldn't be there in personto walk through the line to pay
my respects to her, so Bill andI sat for hours sometimes and
just watched people file throughthe line to go past her casket
and see the changing of theguard and all that.
But I've never really watchedYouTube for DIY ideas about
(02:20):
gardening.
I mean, about gardening, I mean, why did I not think of that?
So I started doing thatrecently, looking at ideas for
perennials and annuals andgardening tips and things to do,
gardening hacks.
Right Now you have to becareful, because a lot of the
gardening videos don't reallytranslate to us here in Southern
(02:45):
California.
They just don't.
Some of the plants would neversurvive here and some of them,
well, you can't even buy.
So I've been watching thesevideos and getting some ideas
and I did find a couple of goodvideos about what kind of
privacy hedges, if you will,plants to purchase.
(03:09):
So I went to my local nurserythis weekend Saturday and I
looked around and found some ofthe choices that they had there.
In addition, I was looking fora large pot to plant my second
Japanese maple in, and it'squite a process, because the pot
(03:32):
that I need would be way toolarge for me to kind of cart
around too much.
I was able to move it, but,let's face it, getting it onto
the cart and then getting intothe car.
Well, I wanted to save my backas much as possible.
So there were some very niceyoung men I say young men, but
(03:55):
there were some very nice youngmen that helped me in that
process and, fortunate for us,when I came home I asked Bill if
he would help me.
And well, to say that he rolledhis eyes is kind of an
exaggeration, but he did sort ofroll his eyes.
He was happy to help, but hisback is very bad.
(04:19):
So we were out there at the cartrying to figure out how best
to get it out of the back of mySUV and get it into the backyard
and, fortunate for us, one ofour neighbors was walking by
with their dogs and said do youneed some help?
And we said yes, so that was alot easier.
(04:42):
So that was a lot easier.
Anyway, I decided today becauseI have it off for President
(05:04):
original hedge.
I remember it when I was a kid,being pretty mature at that
point.
So we're talking.
Some of these plants are old, Imean, I would say, older than
70 years plus.
Some of them have suffered withdisease and they're dead wood.
(05:29):
I've tried to thin that out asmuch as I can.
Some of the oak trees in thearea have deposited acorns
within the hedge, so there's newoak oak growth that's trying to
make its way into the hedge,which is kind of annoying
because it's prickly and itdoesn't really grow like a hedge
(05:50):
would.
And then there's some old mockorange in the hedge itself.
So I've purchased some new mockorange that I've planted in the
front part of the hedge.
The hedge itself is, I wouldguess it's, 100 feet long.
Yeah, so this Texas privet Idecided to put.
(06:15):
Well, first of all, I decided tojust get one and see how it
goes, because even though theysay sun and shade and hardy,
even though they say sun andshade and, you know, hardy
whatever, sometimes I've triedthese things out and they don't
really flourish where I decideto put them.
So I decided to just get oneand let's see how it goes.
(06:37):
Right, I don't want to get awhole bunch and then put out, or
a whole bunch and then pull outthe dead stuff which does
provide somewhat of a screen,and then find out that the new
plants are going to die and thenI have to do it all over again
anyway.
So I went back there and, yes,the ground is wet until at least
(07:00):
down a foot.
Still, it rained, at least whatleast four or five days ago, so
that's still wet.
That was good.
I had my long handled nippers,I had my hoe, which has two
sides to it, which is verybeneficial, and I had my rake to
(07:22):
pull out some of the driedleaves and whatnot, and my
gloves and my phone so I couldlisten to some music and my Diet
Coke, and I went to it.
Now I am, if you haven't met mein person, I'm a fairly
substantial woman, I am not apetite person and when I got
(07:44):
down into the roots say four orfive, six inches, at least on
one side, what I try to do isstep on it and what's left of it
and step on it and try to pushit out, and that it was stuck,
(08:05):
just like when I tried to planta mock orange earlier last year.
It was like it wasn't going togo anywhere and it's such a
frustrating experience.
So anyway, I kept at it.
I cut the roots, which wereprobably some of them were at
least an inch in diameter Deadbut still hardy, still not
(08:32):
giving up it's a test of wills,is what it is and finally got to
the point where I was able tostep on it, basically put my
whole weight on it and it gaveup.
So that's, I think that'sfairly impressive.
(08:54):
That tells you how, howensconced this root system was.
And then it was time to dig in,uh, to create a hole for the new
plant, which is more work.
Keep digging.
I cheated because last time,when I planted the last plant in
(09:16):
the hedge, I decided to sit onthe ground, take my little
trowel too and work on it.
And I have an auger which isprobably about 18 inches long,
and an auger, if you're notfamiliar with it, is something
that you put on a drill and youcan drill into the dirt and it
helps you to loosen the soil andcreate a hole, right.
(09:40):
The problem is that you, likein this case, you're going to
run into roots so you can loosenthe soil and then, when you hit
the roots and you have to cutthe roots.
But it does help.
It's better than it's one of mytools of expertise I've learned
.
You're just, you're not goingto just go out and dig a hole.
(10:03):
It's just not that easy and I'mnot a man, so I have to do it
backwards.
I guess I don't know how a manwould do it, but that's how I do
it.
And then the drill ran out of.
Anyway, got that done, got itin the ground, very proud of
(10:32):
myself, very sore.
Yesterday I decided to go andget my next COVID booster.
I had been putting that off forsome reason.
Bill and I went and he got hisCOVID and his flu.
He just loves to live on theedge.
Let me tell you he's used todoing that.
I am not and I cannot do twoshots at the same time, because
(10:58):
I'm just a little bit moresensitive and I've had some
reactions to shots, like thechills and feeling yucky, and so
when we went, and he had bothof them, I just got the flu shot
, because I figured the flu shotwas, you know, fairly important
, thinking that I would go backfairly soon and get my COVID
(11:22):
booster.
And one thing after another, youdon't do it.
And so, anyway, I wentyesterday and my arm is really,
really sore and then I made themistake of bumping into um, ouch
, bumping into the door jam acouple times and I feel like you
(11:46):
know it's not bad, like if Idon't touch it or you know
nothing touches it, I'm, I'mokay, but I feel like somebody
punched me in the arm.
But I'm, I'm very pro we'reboth very pro vaccine and I'm
not feeling weird any other way.
I don't feel sick or tired oranything else today, but I do
(12:09):
feel kind of sore and usuallywhen I'm sore I'll take a Motrin
or an Advil.
Tylenol doesn't do much for me,but they say don't take Advil,
don't take Motrin for a few daysbecause it reduces the
effectiveness of the vaccine.
So my arm hurts, my back hurts.
(12:30):
Now I did, okay, I did cheat, Iwas starting to tell you this.
Last time I sat on the groundright and which was fine, but
because of my knee replacements,it's not like I can just turn
around and kneel on my knees andthen pull myself up, because my
(12:54):
knees, when you have kneereplacements and I don't know if
this is everybody, but this iscertainly me my knees cannot
take any pressure.
So try to get up off the groundwithout using your knees to
right to balance on.
It's very awkward looking and Ilook like I don't know what I
(13:20):
look like.
So I cheated this time and Ihave to laugh because I feel so
old.
But I cheated and I put afolding chair there next to the
hole where that was, plantingthe hedge the Texas privet and
that worked out pretty well.
But I'm still sore, my backhurts, my hands hurt, my yeah,
(13:47):
I'm just, I'm ouch.
So, but I did it, I planted itand they say it's fast growing.
I don't know what that meansexactly, but we'll see.
So that's yeah, that's all I'vegot for today.
I'm going to go and lick mywounds now.
Go and lick my wounds now andnext week.
(14:15):
Well, we'll tackle anothertopic together.
I hope you'll join me.
If you like this episode,please follow the Only Child
Diaries podcast on ApplePodcasts or other platforms you
might listen on and considerrating Only Child Diaries and
writing a review.
It helps others to find us.
Please share it with a friendyou think might like it as well.
(14:35):
Visit my Instagram page OnlyChild Diaries or Facebook Only
Child Diaries Podcast.
Thanks for listening.
I'm Tracy Wallace and these arethe Only Child Diaries.
Now I am.
If you haven't met me in person, I'm a fairly substantial woman
.
I am not a petite person.
Welcome to the Only ChildDiaries podcast.
I'm your host, tracy Wallace.
Have you ever felt like youdidn't receive the how-to
brochure on life, that youdidn't get enough guidance about
(00:24):
major life issues?
So did I.
You don't have to be an onlychild to feel this way.
In my podcast, we'll exploresome of the best ways to better
navigate adulting, while doingso with humor and light.
Welcome everyone to the OnlyChild Diaries podcast.
(00:53):
Today, I'm going to talk aboutbattling my hedge.
Yes, it's another gardeningepisode.
We're heading towards spring.
We're not really close tospring, actually, we're only
less than a month into winter,but I'm trying to manifest
(01:13):
spring as much as possible.
Our evenings are still prettycool, or cold, depending on your
definition of cold.
The days, well, some days arefairly nice, at least for a
while.
But last week we had a prettysignificant amount of rain for
us and the ground has beenfairly wet here, fairly soaked.
(01:37):
So I wanted to take advantageof that to replace one of the
dead plants in our hedge.
Now, I've always used YouTube towatch music videos from the 80s
, I'll admit it and to catch upon some current events, like the
Queen's funeral.
(01:58):
I couldn't be there in personto walk through the line to pay
my respects to her, so Bill andI sat for hours sometimes and
just watched people file throughthe line to go past her casket
and see the changing of theguard and all that.
But I've never really watchedYouTube for DIY ideas about
(02:20):
gardening.
I mean, about gardening, I mean, why did I not think of that?
So I started doing thatrecently, looking at ideas for
perennials and annuals andgardening tips and things to do,
gardening hacks.
Right Now you have to becareful, because a lot of the
gardening videos don't reallytranslate to us here in Southern
(02:45):
California.
They just don't.
Some of the plants would neversurvive here and some of them,
well, you can't even buy.
So I've been watching thesevideos and getting some ideas
and I did find a couple of goodvideos about what kind of
privacy hedges, if you will,plants to purchase.
(03:09):
So I went to my local nurserythis weekend Saturday and I
looked around and found some ofthe choices that they had there.
In addition, I was looking fora large pot to plant my second
Japanese maple in, and it'squite a process, because the pot
(03:32):
that I need would be way toolarge for me to kind of cart
around too much.
I was able to move it, but,let's face it, getting it onto
the cart and then getting intothe car.
Well, I wanted to save my backas much as possible.
So there were some very niceyoung men I say young men, but
(03:55):
there were some very nice youngmen that helped me in that
process and, fortunate for us,when I came home I asked Bill if
he would help me.
And well, to say that he rolledhis eyes is kind of an
exaggeration, but he did sort ofroll his eyes.
He was happy to help, but hisback is very bad.
(04:19):
So we were out there at the cartrying to figure out how best
to get it out of the back of mySUV and get it into the backyard
and, fortunate for us, one ofour neighbors was walking by
with their dogs and said do youneed some help?
And we said yes, so that was alot easier.
(04:42):
So that was a lot easier.
Anyway, I decided today becauseI have it off for President
(05:04):
original hedge.
I remember it when I was a kid,being pretty mature at that
point.
So we're talking.
Some of these plants are old, Imean, I would say, older than
70 years plus.
Some of them have suffered withdisease and they're dead wood.
(05:29):
I've tried to thin that out asmuch as I can.
Some of the oak trees in thearea have deposited acorns
within the hedge, so there's newoak oak growth that's trying to
make its way into the hedge,which is kind of annoying
because it's prickly and itdoesn't really grow like a hedge
(05:50):
would.
And then there's some old mockorange in the hedge itself.
So I've purchased some new mockorange that I've planted in the
front part of the hedge.
The hedge itself is, I wouldguess it's, 100 feet long.
Yeah, so this Texas privet Idecided to put.
(06:15):
Well, first of all, I decided tojust get one and see how it
goes, because even though theysay sun and shade and hardy,
even though they say sun andshade and, you know, hardy
whatever, sometimes I've triedthese things out and they don't
really flourish where I decideto put them.
So I decided to just get oneand let's see how it goes.
(06:37):
Right, I don't want to get awhole bunch and then put out, or
a whole bunch and then pull outthe dead stuff which does
provide somewhat of a screen,and then find out that the new
plants are going to die and thenI have to do it all over again
anyway.
So I went back there and, yes,the ground is wet until at least
(07:00):
down a foot.
Still, it rained, at least whatleast four or five days ago, so
that's still wet.
That was good.
I had my long handled nippers,I had my hoe, which has two
sides to it, which is verybeneficial, and I had my rake to
(07:22):
pull out some of the driedleaves and whatnot, and my
gloves and my phone so I couldlisten to some music and my Diet
Coke, and I went to it.
Now I am, if you haven't met mein person, I'm a fairly
substantial woman, I am not apetite person and when I got
(07:44):
down into the roots say four orfive, six inches, at least on
one side, what I try to do isstep on it and what's left of it
and step on it and try to pushit out, and that it was stuck,
(08:05):
just like when I tried to planta mock orange earlier last year.
It was like it wasn't going togo anywhere and it's such a
frustrating experience.
So anyway, I kept at it.
I cut the roots, which wereprobably some of them were at
least an inch in diameter Deadbut still hardy, still not
(08:32):
giving up it's a test of wills,is what it is and finally got to
the point where I was able tostep on it, basically put my
whole weight on it and it gaveup.
So that's, I think that'sfairly impressive.
(08:54):
That tells you how, howensconced this root system was.
And then it was time to dig in,uh, to create a hole for the new
plant, which is more work.
Keep digging.
I cheated because last time,when I planted the last plant in
(09:16):
the hedge, I decided to sit onthe ground, take my little
trowel too and work on it.
And I have an auger which isprobably about 18 inches long,
and an auger, if you're notfamiliar with it, is something
that you put on a drill and youcan drill into the dirt and it
helps you to loosen the soil andcreate a hole, right.
(09:40):
The problem is that you, likein this case, you're going to
run into roots so you can loosenthe soil and then, when you hit
the roots and you have to cutthe roots.
But it does help.
It's better than it's one of mytools of expertise I've learned
.
You're just, you're not goingto just go out and dig a hole.
(10:03):
It's just not that easy and I'mnot a man, so I have to do it
backwards.
I guess I don't know how a manwould do it, but that's how I do
it.
And then the drill ran out of.
Anyway, got that done, got itin the ground, very proud of
(10:32):
myself, very sore.
Yesterday I decided to go andget my next COVID booster.
I had been putting that off forsome reason.
Bill and I went and he got hisCOVID and his flu.
He just loves to live on theedge.
Let me tell you he's used todoing that.
I am not and I cannot do twoshots at the same time, because
(10:58):
I'm just a little bit moresensitive and I've had some
reactions to shots, like thechills and feeling yucky, and so
when we went, and he had bothof them, I just got the flu shot
, because I figured the flu shotwas, you know, fairly important
, thinking that I would go backfairly soon and get my COVID
(11:22):
booster.
And one thing after another, youdon't do it.
And so, anyway, I wentyesterday and my arm is really,
really sore and then I made themistake of bumping into um, ouch
, bumping into the door jam acouple times and I feel like you
(11:46):
know it's not bad, like if Idon't touch it or you know
nothing touches it, I'm, I'mokay, but I feel like somebody
punched me in the arm.
But I'm, I'm very pro we'reboth very pro vaccine and I'm
not feeling weird any other way.
I don't feel sick or tired oranything else today, but I do
(12:09):
feel kind of sore and usuallywhen I'm sore I'll take a Motrin
or an Advil.
Tylenol doesn't do much for me,but they say don't take Advil,
don't take Motrin for a few daysbecause it reduces the
effectiveness of the vaccine.
So my arm hurts, my back hurts.
(12:30):
Now I did, okay, I did cheat, Iwas starting to tell you this.
Last time I sat on the groundright and which was fine, but
because of my knee replacements,it's not like I can just turn
around and kneel on my knees andthen pull myself up, because my
(12:54):
knees, when you have kneereplacements and I don't know if
this is everybody, but this iscertainly me my knees cannot
take any pressure.
So try to get up off the groundwithout using your knees to
right to balance on.
It's very awkward looking and Ilook like I don't know what I
(13:20):
look like.
So I cheated this time and Ihave to laugh because I feel so
old.
But I cheated and I put afolding chair there next to the
hole where that was, plantingthe hedge the Texas privet and
that worked out pretty well.
But I'm still sore, my backhurts, my hands hurt, my yeah,
(13:47):
I'm just, I'm ouch.
So, but I did it, I planted itand they say it's fast growing.
I don't know what that meansexactly, but we'll see.
So that's yeah, that's all I'vegot for today.
I'm going to go and lick mywounds now.
Go and lick my wounds now andnext week.
(14:15):
Well, we'll tackle anothertopic together.
I hope you'll join me.
If you like this episode,please follow the Only Child
Diaries podcast on ApplePodcasts or other platforms you
might listen on and considerrating Only Child Diaries and
writing a review.
It helps others to find us.
Please share it with a friendyou think might like it as well.
(14:35):
Visit my Instagram page OnlyChild Diaries or Facebook Only
Child Diaries Podcast.
Thanks for listening.
I'm Tracy Wallace and these arethe Only Child Diaries.
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