Spring Gardening - Clean Up & A Project

No matter how well we clean up the yard in the fall by the time spring rolls around we need to do some pretty series cleaning.  A lot of debris seems to accumulate across the lawn and in all the nooks and crannies of the flowerbeds.  Sunday was my day to get outside and get busy.  The weather was perfect too.

A fair bit of a mess

Initially when I take stock of what needs to be done I am always overwhelmed with the sheer enormity of getting our yard back in order.  Last year I found that by working on it in sections it seemed much more manageable.  So this year I know from that experience that this is the best way for me to work on my yard.

Already a huge improvement

Starting at the gate I began by cleaning up the flowerbed  and raking up half of the yard.  I had a pretty good pile of sticks, twigs and leaves.  I pulled out all the sticks and large twigs for the firepot.  Then I mowed the lawn.  I'm always amazed how much better the yard looks simply by raking and mowing the lawn.  It didn't take very long either.

Our apple tree is in bloom

My youngest came outside and gave me a hand.  I raked up the next section of the lawn and she took the first pile of leaves to the chicken coop.  After I pulled out the sticks and twigs we added the second debris pile to our new garden bed.  We cleaned out another flowerbed, moving some of the rocks and really getting to all the areas around the pond as well as behind and under the shrubs.  Then it was time for a break and some lunch.  In just over an hour we had made some really good progress.

This area always seems to be a muddy mess

My daughter left for work so I was on my own and decided to tackle a project.  Last year I had spruced up our hose area and although it looked a lot better it was still a bit of a trouble spot.  The way our yard slopes it was always a boggy wet mess so I pulled out all the bricks I'd set in front of the hose bib and grabbed a shovel.  I needed to expand the area and get rid of some of the dirt to level it off.

Re-using pavers from our backyard

I had removed some pavers in the backyard when I built our new garden bed so I decided those would be perfect for this project.  After digging out the extra dirt and leveling the area with a rake I set the pavers in place making the area twice as big as it was before.  I reused the bricks too creating a border that would keep the lawn and any dirt in place creating a kind of retaining wall.  It turned out better than I expected.

I love this old brick

I think this will make a big difference

The extra dirt and sod was moved to a low spot we had in the lawn and now that area looks better too.  I plan to do a lot more out here in our yard, but I feel like I already have a good start and one project under my belt.  I used and repurposed all items I had on hand so nothing needed to be purchased.  That makes it even better.

I like this so much better!
We need to do some re-seeding now and fill it all in.

Have you been able to get outside and get to work on any yard or garden projects?  If so, tell me what you've been up to.