Workin' On the Yard . . .

Last weekend I cleared out a lot of weeds and roto-tilled the "flower beds" so I could find my perennials. So this week I had 3 yards of mulch delivered so that I can keep the weeds under control for the rest of the summer. At one time, I thought I liked to have annuals and putz in the yard every evening. I gave up on it. There are too many other interesting things to do. So I am sticking with perennials and mulch.

Well, Opa Greg threw me a curve ball a couple of weeks ago. There was a big blue spruce at the corner of the front porch next to the driveway that had grown HUGE over the last 2 or 3 years. It was spilling out into the driveway and trying to crawl up on the porch. Worse yet, it was very close to our basement; and we were starting to worry about leaks from the expanding roots. So Greg cut the tree down Mother's Day Weekend. This left a big hole in the weeds. It was the straw that broke the camel's back. Hence . . . my charging into a clean up program.

Once I got the yard started, the covers on the porch furniture were looking faded and drab. So I sewed some new slip covers for the rocking chairs and the papasan chair. It really perked up the porch and made the place look spiffy. That was my "relax" project last Saturday evening after I was done in the yard. This week was trying to finish things up a bit out doors.

I have always wanted a hydrangea bush because I love the flowers and the way they are different colors based on the acidity of the soil. I tried to start one a couple of years ago, but Greg accidentally stepped on it with his 12-1/2's when he was cutting the grass. That was the end of my bush. This time I got a bigger, more mature plant and put it out in the middle of the flower bed near where the blue spruce had been. I have been watering it a lot this week, and it looks like it is pretty happy out there. I'm hoping it makes it. (We have a one-year guarantee from the Lowe's nursery. I'm saving my receipt.) Now that I cleaned up and mulched, you can see that great OSU ground cover that Brian gave me a couple of years ago. It is spreading nicely and happens to be blooming right now. You can see the white flowers in the picture. I also divided some hostas that were growing under the deck to supplement my plantings. I divided several other perennials from elsewhere in the yard to fill in the spaces. I'm quite satisfied and pleased that I only ended up buying the hydrangea and the mulch and a small start of the spruce looking ground cover for my whole project. I think I also should have earned a number of Weight Watcher activity points for all the shovelling and sweating I did out there.

Greg is taking me down to the Three Rivers Arts Festival this evening and we are going to see a short play down there as well. That should make for a pleasant and restful end to this warm sunny day. Maybe tomorrow I'll write about the things I bought at the festival!