Not All Vacations Are Fun

I took vacation this week. It hasn't been restful or fun, but I knew that going into it! I bought a bunch of flowering plants last week in anticipation of this week ... which is all about working in the yard.

This (below) was the yard last fall, right after I moved in, and before I trimmed the bushes on the far right. Once I trimmed them below the window, they looked really sparse, so I trimmed them close to the ground to force them to bush out lower. I'm sure my neighbors wondered why I trimmed them so low, because they really balance out the house ... but they'll grow back ... and they'll fill in lower to the ground when they do. 

I wanted to have something along the front of the house  between the bushes, to give it interest. All of the perennials in my yard flower in the spring, and I wanted to fill the yard with color all summer. So, I bought crepe myrtles, hydrangeas, daylilies, and a ground cover called "Stonecrop", that I found at a local garden center.

Stonecrop is a bright green/yellow throughout the spring, summer, and early fall before turning to red and orange during the winter.. I'm excited to see the explosion of color all winter ... and I pray it won't look like I need to rake my leaves!

I'm planning to plant daffodils, tulips, and hyacinth this fall so that it's filled with color in the spring ... and maybe a variety of mums to fill the yard with color in the fall. But, with all the trees around, my yard has plenty of color in the fall.

I spent all day Tuesday digging out ivy and grass. It was hot and humid and slow going. Thing 1 and her husband came over that evening and helped ... a lot ... (THANK YOU!!!) 

Yesterday, Wednesday, Thing 3 and I were tolling in the hot sun to get the grass out ... and then I saw my neighbor tilling his garden. I asked if we could borrow his tiller when he was done, and he came over and tilled it up for us. He easily saved us an entire day (or more) of digging! (I think some homemade treats are in the future for him and his wife!)

Thanks to my neighbor and his tiller, we were able to get the plants in the ground and get the bed mulched. I still need to add the stone border and I think it could use more mulch, but I was pleased with how it turned out. I can't wait for the crepe myrtles to grow tall and visually fill the empty space on the house between the windows.

With the front flowerbed mostly done, I can move on to other projects outside. My weed eater wouldn't hold gas, so the edges of the yard are in desperate need of trimming. After we finished the front bed yesterday, we bought a new weed eater ... so guess what is on the agenda today?!

After that, I guess I'll tackle the weeds in the side flowerbed, and then there are all the small trees to cut down in the woods so that I can expand the backyard further, but I'll need a chainsaw for that. And, of course, my chainsaw won't start! I'm hoping it just needs a new spark plug, because I really don't want to buy a new one.

By the end of the week, I hope I can declare the yard finished so that I can start on the other projects ... like painting the shutters and garage door. My life is just non-stop fun, isn't it?!! With all the outside projects done, maybe my next week of vacation will be relaxing and peaceful ... but it will most likely be filled with more projects! One day, however, I will run out of projects and will get to rest ... right?!