About That Tire in the Front Yard...

See that old tire in the front yard?  That  'thing' has been an eyesore to me for years.  It came with the house. It was securely placed in the ground fifteen years earlier, during a time when decorations like that were popular, and every front yard had a huge tractor tire for a flower bed.  By the time we bought the house, I decided I wanted the tire removed, it was a lost cause.  The tire had become attached to the surrounding ground. It was happy where it sat and had no intention of being moved anywhere.  I know this to be a fact because I tried everything I could to drag that tire out of the yard for years.

First I tried to dig it up.  I spent at least two weeks on this project before I caved. The first summer I ended up painting the tire white and planting red, white and purple petunias in it. The next summer I attached it to a riding mower and tried to drag it out. It wouldn't budge,  the rope broke flew back and slapped me up beside my head.  I repainted the tire and added a flag pole... more petunias and a few mums for the fall. The tire was starting to grow on me. I almost liked it. 


I tried to burn it out...that was a total failure... not to mention it was and is illegal to burn tires.  Tommy was quick to bring that to my attention.  So I was back to square one. I decided, somewhat reluctantly, to learn to live with this tire. I found my sketch pad and tried to come up with a plan.  I would enlarge the area around the tire.  Paint the tire yellow, add ferns, hostas, day lilies, and throw in a bird feeder for good luck. It began to look different.  I could live with this creation.  Like the house it has had many faces, I think it became prettier with each passing year...so did the house...at least to us.

Eventually, I started enjoying the chance to play in the dirt each Spring.  The old tire has at one time or another been a fairy garden, hosted a red frog band assembled and placed among the flowers and anything else that caught my eye.  I have had a good time playing with something years ago I called  my nemesis.

                                         

Over the years the trees grew tall and provided shade for many an afternoon when we would go outside, sit in the swing, drink coffee or ice tea and wait for the first star of the evening to appear. That appearance meant the first person to see the star could make a wish. Some wishes came true, others did not and some I am still waiting on to arrive.  It has been fun playing with nature.

 

 Now I have a new project to work on this summer. We have no trees left for shade but we have a patio cover for a new swing set I have yet to buy. The flowers need an update and I have three military statues that should arrive any day. It will be a whole new look and theme for the yard. I can't wait to get started. In my minds eye I already see that garden and it is lovely.