All About the Yard

This week it's been the number one topic of conversation. 

The yard.

What to do with the yard?

The good thing is this:  Ben's plans and my plans are pretty well in agreement.  We are certainly on the same page.

The bad thing is this:  We don't have enough time!  A few hours each weekend just aren't going to cut it.  (And let's face it --- we don't want to be slaves to our yard either.)

Oh yes, and there's also the issue of our budget.  Home improvement projects can get very, very expensive.

Ben and I have been riding high from last weekend's productivity.  Ben did a fantastic job with the raised garden beds.  They truly look great!  I was also happy to get the weed barrier put down under our mulch.  We reached our goals before the poor weather set in and it felt good to work out in the sun.

So, what's the plan of attack for this weekend?  Here are our priorities:

1.  Mow and water the grass.  Green Drop is scheduled to aerate and spray our lawn today.  They were supposed to arrive a few days ago, so Ben's been putting off the mowing and our yard looks like a jungle!

2.  Plant the veggie garden.  I am very much looking forward to this! Last night I actually dreamed about planting our garden.  I was worried we were planting too late in the season, however I found an extremely useful chart in The Calgary Gardener.  The chart lists May 24 as the best day to plant many veggies in Calgary.  Looks like we're right on track!

3.  Figure out where to build gates.  This is a rather pressing concern. Our yard is fenced but not gated.  Ben and I discovered evidence of a furry friend living under our deck (a veggie-loving rabbit) and need to fortify the yard!  We may rig a temporary barricade until we decided where to install gates.  Sadly, utility lines and a water spigot interfere with the most logical placement.

4.  Power wash the house and deck.  This is ambitious, and if it doesn't get finished I won't sweat it.  The house is grimy from winter.  The deck is in sorry shape.  We were upset to discover the previous owner failed to seal our deck last year.  It is now a mess!  We don't want our beautiful deck to rot away and need to strip, stain and seal pronto.  This was not a project we had anticipated and it will likely require a lot of effort.

I think my mom and I will visit the garden centre on Saturday.  I may be sorely tempted but I'll probably wait another week before buying flowers.  (We had a frost advisory last night in Calgary!)  It will be fun the look, though.