Springtime Gardening



Tree that sucks the life out of the yard

I have been busy the last couple weeks helping with the spring cleanup of our yard and flower beds.  It is hard work, but I know it is good for me.  Working outside is something I truly enjoy.  I get to listen to my music and I actually feel like I accomplished something at the end of the day. Now that I am working only part-time, I have much more time to be out. 

Anyway, our yard has virtually no grass, which is typical in this area.  But it has lots of weeds, that we try to get rid of.  In the spring, they make the yard look green from a distance.  But they burn off quickly. So now we don’t even have the luxury of weeds—just dirt.  I really wish we could just till up the yard and plant real grass, though.  My mother insists that nothing will grow under the tree in our front yard.  Admittedly, she is a Master Gardener and I trust that she knows what she is talking about when she says that the tree pulls all the moisture from the yard and that’s why the grass won’t grow. 


Barren front yard

 

Another tree sucking the life out of the yard

But I look at how well the weeds do in the shade of the tree and I just can’t imagine that grass wouldn’t flourish there, too.  Now the parts of the yard that don’t have any shade, yes, the tree probably sucks the moisture from there.  So there is probably no way to grow grass there.  But we had great grass at our other house.  We didn’t even water very much.



Flower Bed Under Construction

That, however, brings up another issue—watering.  We have a water well on the property, so city water shouldn’t be necessary.  But it is.  Our pump is broken and most of the sprinkler system needs to be replaced. I can use the faucets that are in every flower bed, but I have to hook them up to the house faucets to make them work, which really defeats the purpose of the well.  Actually, we don’t know if the well is dry, or the bladder in the pump system collapsed or what.  I’ve tried working on it and asked our next door neighbor to see if he could get it going, but to no avail.  I’d really like to get someone here to take a look at it to see how much it would take to get it working again.  Well, I wrote myself a note to call and see if someone could come and give us a free consultation on it.  One of the guys at work used to work for a sprinkler company, I think.  Maybe I will ask him.


Completed Raised Herb Garden

Anyway, I have almost all the beds weeded and prepped for new plantings.  Just the little herb garden is left to be dug up.  It is always quite a bit of work, but I will tackle it tomorrow.  Then there are a few weeds in the rosebush garden, but not many.  So I will take care of that tomorrow, too.  Then maybe by afternoon or evening, I can actually get some things moved and planted.  Then all there will be left to do is mulch everything.  Maybe I can get it all done if I really push myself.  Saturdays usually go pretty fast. 



Part of completed back yard bed

I can’t wait until we get it all done.  Then it is just basic maintenance for the rest of the summer.  

Maybe I will start researching the hardiness of different grasses to see if there is something that might work in our yard in both the heat and the shade.  Or maybe looking at different landscaping ideas that would at least hide the terrible quality of our yard.  It’s on a corner and it is very large, so it would be neat if we could find an inexpensive way to make it look nice.  Mom has some books and there is, of course, the Internet for ideas (Pinterest!!).  I guess no time like the present!



Part of completed back yard bed

Peace and Love,


  



Completed Front Door Area

All photos by Angela Fox-Thompson