Yard work!!!

I never thought I'd say it, but I have really enjoyed working in the yard.

I tried back in IL to have a green thumb - inspired by my most amazing neighbor and dearest friend, Ms. Marie. I think it was the wrong climate for me. Too hot and muggy. To freezing. I started an amazing perennial garden along the entire edge of my yard. I loved it. Easy maintenance. But I didn't work in the yard like Marie. Our vegetable garden was more like a weed garden.

Here, the weather is amazing! I really enjoy being in the yard and letting my mind wander.

So, the yard ... Remember last year? We inherited a yard that was in horrible shape. Even our neighbors said that some previous owners had it replaced a couple of times. After they left, the next couple of owners didn't do anything.

Needless to say, it was in sad shape. We only cut the grass 5 times last year. We even had a company come out and fertilize, etc. for us. I thought if we had someone taking care of the outside, we could focus on the inside (kitchen remodel, etc). I didn't see much improvement by the end of their treatment plan so I thought I'd take on the task myself. It couldn't be that hard. This is a picture of our grass last year AFTER I started treating it myself. Before I started doing my own treatments, the grass was mostly brown. I wish I had a before I took over picture. Just imagine it mostly brown.

The spring I over seeded, fertilized and used PatchMaster by Scotts over 1/3 of the backyard (yes, it was in THAT bad of shape). I love patchmaster - by Scotts. It worked like a charm. There is a huge difference in the lawn now! We had to cut the lawn 5 times in the first 3 weeks into the growing season!

I have also been working on the landscape rocks every morning since the kids have gone to school. I just reset the pathway rocks on Saturday. The rocks were almost level with the pathway gravel we added a couple of months ago. I was seeing erosion of the new gravel into the landscape rock and decided I needed to raise the rocks to create more of a barrier.

I added clematis to the fence/wall shielding the hot tub.

I also cleared out a section of rocks along the fence and chopped some bushes out two weeks ago as well. I want to put a small garden along the fence and in the corner next Spring. John helped me dig out the stumps on Labor Day.