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.
That is what Tommy's hose area needs, front and back! I am going to put something in this yard, bricks I see lying around so I can put a hose holder in the ground and not irritate the guy who mows his yard for free since tommy cannot mow. Yours looks great! I just go to my garden and pick lettuce and kill bugs. It rains so often that I do not need to water it much, and it has a reservoir. I am waiting until Mother's Day sales to buy me a chair so I can sit in the yard.
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