Ben and I have BIG plans for the long weekend. (Big plans to work on the yard, that is!) We have our fingers crossed that the rain will dry up and we'll finally see some sun.
A couple weeks ago Ben edged our flower beds and filled them with mulch. They look great --- except for all the grass and weeds now poking through! Yuck! We did not use a weed barrier because I thought I would plant some flowers. Guess what? Plans have changed and "low-maintenance" is the word of the day. This weekend I plan on scooping out the mulch, laying down weed barrier, and putting it all back together.
Meanwhile, Ben has a project of his own in the backyard. After weeks of deliberation (and seeing the soggy results of recent downpours) we've decided to build raised garden beds. Last week Ben dug the foundation for the beds along our back fence. We plan to use landscaping ties to build up the garden. This is our most ambitious yard-improvement project to date, so we'll see how it turns out!
In other news, I booked Green Drop to look after our lawn. To tell the truth, I'm not sure how I feel about the decision. I certainly look forward to green, lush grass. Will it be worth the expense? I guess time will tell. Ben is the first to admit he is not a "lawn guy" and our poor grass could use some TLC. The bigger issue is the chemicals, though. Green Drop offers a 100% organic program (and it costs the moon). We've gone with their standard program of aeration, fertilization and spot-pesticide. (Green Drop will not spray the entire yard with weed killer.) Ultimately, Ben and I plan to lay paving stones over most of the backyard. (Who needs grass when we have a gigantic field out our back gate?) Maybe lawn maintenance will be less of an issue in the future.
Over the next week or two I look forward to making our yard "pretty". I have four flower planters and plan to hang some baskets on the deck. We'll stick with easy, colourful flowers like petunias. The kids and I will also plant our veggies (providing the raised beds work out). The following book has been a great source of information and I highly recommend it:
Phew! That looks like a lot! Ben and I are quickly realizing that yard work is HARD work.
1 comment:
Oh yes! That is the one thing about condo living we missed too! (in our condo, a guy used to do the landscaping for UofC, so he loved to just plant & look after our condos). We used the weed barrier when we did some rock changes last spring & we are SO thankful!!! It made a HUGE difference. We also are not huge yard care people...I planted a tonne of tulips last fall - I like flowers that come up annually - less work, less cost. Let us know if you like the lawncare company!
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