This weekend's weather was absolutely beautiful and the yard beckoned me outside. Not only did the lawn need to get mowed, but my garden boxes and backyard were looking scraggly. Weeds were creeping out and needed to get pulled. So, I grabbed my garden bucket, gloves and got to work.
Here are the "before" pics. This is the side area to the right when you exit the slider doors. Notice the dead plants up top and the weeds poking out down below.
This garden box had new growth and old growth that needed to go. There's also a combination of pebbles and mulch in here on the topsoil. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with that. Rake it out? Add more? Hmmmm....
This poor pot had cracked and only grass and weeds were poking through.
Now, for the "afters." This area is already looking better, although I need to figure out the little sprinkler system set up on the top part. Plus, some of those reddish plants are growing, while others were dead and withered. I need to find out what they are, replace the dead ones, and figure out what else I can plant in there. Also, there is a lot of mulch on top like the other garden box.
As you can see, I didn't get to the area behind it (near the gravel part...thankfully, the camera didn't quite capture the weed epidemic going on over there). I'll get to that area eventually. One step at a time, my friends. One step at a time.
And, now a much cleaner garden box.
Here's a new pot with fresh flowers planted. They are White Nemesia, Yellow African Daisies, and Dusseldorf Pride Sea Pink. I chose these very carefully and thoughtfully. Okay, not really. I just went to Lowe's, read the tags and thought, "yup, these look good and they like sun, so I'll take 'em." Now, I need to buy some more flowers, since I found a second pot in the shed. I'm going to keep my fingers crossed that they'll survive.
And here's a complete look of the newly weeded area, including the long garden box that was also cleared out. And, yes, I realize the porch is in sad shape. I'm not fixing that on my own, so maybe when Noa comes back, we'll tackle that project together. It needs a new paint job in a bad way.
You may have noticed my little helpers. The back fence isn't installed yet, but I couldn't deny the gorgeous weather to my furkids. So, when I found a tie-out stake from the previous owners in the shed, I bought some cord attachments, and the dogs were able to "help" me all afternoon. Which of course means this: wrestle time!! Bite your brother's head!
Or sniff the grass for something gross to roll in! Better yet, roll in it and then eat it!!
Or run like crazy towards the lady with that clicky black thing. She's always putting that in our face. It must mean she wants doggie kisses.
I still have areas of the yard, where I just don't quite know how to approach it. Like this area behind the garage. You can see that there are septic covers, the air conditioning unit, a storage unit, and strange soil. Do I just weed this area? Seed it? Add gravel? I just don't know.
This mystery plant grows along the shed (you can also see it in the photo above on the right side) and I don't know if it's a weed or if it's supposed to be there. If it is a weed, it sure is pretty!
I found some fun, bright red planters to liven up my front door. I hope to add a few more things in the front to make the entrance cheerful and fresh. I think these are a good start.
