Yard Blog 2014 (A Working Title)...

Well, another spring has found me working tirelessly in my yard. Not that I mind it, for the most part. There is something so amazing about standing back and looking at your work when you're done.

And that's just the "mowing" part...

I won't go into the over 40 hours spent pulling GARLIC MUSTARD out of my woods but I am now on year 3 of what they say can be a 10-12 year process! :(

So anyway... the purpose of this post is personal really. Not just because I want everyone to see my magnificent yard or give me kudos for all my tireless work. :)

Ya know how every year you think you're going to somehow be able to remember what you were planning on doing next year to fix all those tiny little flaws in your yard/garden? Funny thing is though, no matter how much I think I'm going to remember them, I never do! So I'm getting a jump on it this year. Way to outsmart all you little imperfections! haha!

First Stop: Planter Along Back of House
These pictures were taken about two weeks ago around mid-May. I thought I'd already had a plan in place for this area from last year. Wait, in fact I know I did!

I think those were taken sometime in July, so we'll see what happens with the changes I made. So far I see no sign of my Black Eyed Susans! :( But here's what everything usually looks like around May 31st.

Next Stop: Overgrown Myrtle Patch

This area has become a lifelong process to make it into something even semi-pleasing to the eye...
Years ago it was an attempt at a vegetable garden... but that didn't work out.
I think I've finally tamed it enough to be able to manage it... even though every year these little rogue plants pop up and I can never from year to year remember if they every end up doing anything. They look like they are going to become something at first, but then... Anyway, I really need to remember to pluck those suckers out early next spring if they keep succeeding to fail.

The Two Sides of the Garage are NOT Created Equal

I feel like I've been through this for so many years, yet nothing ever seems to work out. I have two sides of my garage with varying amounts of sun, shade, precipitation and drought and cannot ever seem to remember which is which. After some intensive research I think I've finallly found that Begonia's do pretty well in all conditions. So we'll see and I'll let you know...

Left Side

Right Side

Then there's the area that never seems to be able to grow anything, so I think I'm gonna try Begonia's there too!

The Proverbial Picket Fence

Again, I've tried everything here, so we'll see how these Zinnias work!

And while on the subject of side yard... Those planter boxes have been mostly unsuccessful for anything. Now I'm trying decorative grasses which have done really well in my other areas...though they still don't seem to be doing very well here!

The East Side And now on to the side of my house that I consider my biggest success. Two years ago this space was inhabited by two very sickly evergreen trees (and a ton of garlic mustard!) Everything is doing so very well here. New for this year is the azalea bush in the corner. We'll see if it likes it's new home.

Garden

Jalapeno Peppers, Cilantro, Parsley, Chives, Basil, Tomatoes...

Cucumbers, Green Peppers, Strawberries!

So there you have it. This is what everything looks like now (from mid to end of May). We'll see how it all works out so that I'll have a better idea what, if anything, I need to change or add for next year.