Thank you everyone - I knew real, passionate gardeners would understand my woes:). Everyone else just says, "it will grow back" - clueless!
Anyway, I haven't started my garden art project yet because my garden helper will only be in the states for another two weeks. Instead, I've been working hard right alongside her knowing there is still a ton of work to do.
I'm so grateful to have help, you've no idea. It has been impossible to get any tree companies, even now it is still difficult. I certainly was not the only one with dangerous tree damage from the two hurricanes, many people couldn't enter their home. Even if we had been lucky enough to find a tree service we are talking many thousands of dollars for huge trees in dangerous positions and hard to access.
I've never attempted such a massive tree removal chainsaw cutting project. Other than cutting some branches I initially had no intention of even trying but after a week I realized no one was going to come for a long time, weeks at best.
In the end this calamity saved us at least ten thousand dollars probably way more by cutting everything ourselves. The five banana trees just required a Machete which she happened to know how to use. So we borrowed my neighbor's Machete and we used our old chainsaw for days on end.
Towards the very end of all that chainsaw(ing), one of the many out-of-state tree service companies that is now still working here in Florida left a card at our door. I was hesitant at first but it turned out fine.
They had the MacDaddy of all chain saws which was necessary to cut the last one of the main trunks and two climbers that cut the one hazardous trunk too high for us to reach.
This week we are tackling the back forty which got hit hard, all the Elderberries had damage and one end of the garden got hit particularly hard by one of the falling trees. Add to that over the summer two invasive vines managed to take hold and needed to be removed and I had let one small back corner go unattended for the past two years, yeah well.
There hasn't even been a pathway in that area since the hurricanes, it was full of debris, falling branches.... We took care of 70% of that today but it will take two more days at least to deal with all of the damage in the back forty.
At some point, we also managed to set up a new and improved compost area and even got in quite a bit of organizing like storage for garden pots which got destroyed. Still need to sort fence materials and such but we already set up a new area for wood storage. In case you are wondering, yes I am using a lot of the tree trunks and debris in my organic garden but this was so massive and incomprehensible that we have had stacks and stacks along the roadside off and on for weeks.
Thankfully the state of Florida will be picking up debris from flooding and tree damage curbside for a full three months, we keep stacking and they come and get it.
By now you understand why I'm dying to do something, anything that isn't hurricane damage related like starting seeds or an art project.
I did take one day out to re-do the gazebo area which had no damage but was due for a serious clean-up after the long, brutally hot summer. We replaced the outdoor lighting, encouraged the Jasmine vines to climb, changed the big umbrella since the first storm destroyed the old one. We put back all the decor items, urns... that I'd stuck in the shed to keep them safe from the hurricane.
It didn't help that I had to move a lot of things around from one area to the other to protect them away from the cutting and the tree branches. Things were buried under debris that had to be cleared, then I played musical chairs seemingly endlessly.
Now all that's left is a bit of sanding and chair painting whenever...:).
I can't overstate how lucky we were. Miraculously our old oak tree survived intact with literally only one minor branch broken - unbelievable.
So Party Central became the first area to be functional again - ready for Sunday Brunch (we no longer do big football or birthday parties) and visits from friends and neighbors.
I can hide in the gazebo and pretend that all is well - and maybe it is, although it is hard to acknowledge that while I'm still dealing with the fall-out.
@lhamo - actually it is an acre but only half of it had severe damage, the rest of the garden around the house and out front is fine but desperately needs the usual summer damage control slash clean-up. Not there yet - at all.
I already took out part of the garden to reduce the work involved and I'm implementing a new garden plan for the tropical garden which should be low maintenance, a mix of permaculture and "naturalizing".
The bird, bee and butterfly habitat I created has been getting better each year - more critters and more insects. It is one of the reasons why I love my garden so much.
Not to mention the three raccoons, the Oppossum, two black racer snakes, squirrels ...
I always thought this was a great spot to retire in place, we are only 30 minutes away from everything. Hospital(s) 10-20 min, Mall(s) 30 min, Entertainment/Sports 30 min, Beach 30 min in a well run small city that cares yet part of the Tampa Bay-vacation area.
Our place is just a small bungalow but it is on two lots on a corner property so the garden became my hobby-sanctuary-living space and entertainment space.
These new, drastic weather patterns are unholy and scary so I'm ready to move.
@lhamo Unfortunately, No - can't leave Florida right now for several reasons but perhaps in two years from now when Mr. R. retires we might move. We do not get flooded and we never lose power because we are on a hospital/fire department line (lost power once in 20 years for about four hours). So I will do what I said during the last monster hurricane Irma - I've never been so scared in my life - definitely taking a flight to Vegas or Timbuktu - not staying.
The veggie garden is 90% restored so there is hope for a little bit of fall gardening which would make me very happy. Maybe that art project will happen soon.
