Got to get back to the garden

When we were looking for houses 12 years ago one of the things on our must have list was a big yard and lots of privacy. When the Realtor and I drove into this house's driveway I was 98% sure that this was the one. A quick check that the house itself was in good shape and a peak at the huge tree filled back yard and I was 100% sure.

We've done a shit-ton of work on it over the last decade (I swear we JUST moved in!) but there is always more to do. The yard is a never ending slog of work. What the hell were we thinking? Our old house was on a good sized in-town corner lot. I gardened obsessively for the 5 years we lived there and wanted more when we moved. I got more than I ever bargained for here.

This front garden has been a thorn in my side almost from the first year. When we moved in there was a row of thorny trees and a few shrubs and some weedy ground cover. Then we remodeled and moved the garage and thus had to move the driveway a little. We had all the crap trees removed and planted better shrubs. Then a few years later our well burped and died and we had to have a new one drilled. This resulted in a huge mess and a lot of dead stuff in its wake.

The former owners had left a huge pile of landscaping bricks and I used the opportunity to put in a brick patio area where there had been lawn before. I did it all myself and even though it isn't perfect I'm pretty proud of the results. I then planted perennials around the new well and we added a new maple tree.

It was all well and good except that the pumping of the new well brought up a bunch of new weeds and a ton of hard clay soil. I've been fighting those damn weeds ever since.

Last summer was a bad year for my yard and garden. With the store and all I just didn't have the time, energy, or give a shitedness to keep up with the work involved. I just let it grow and go to seed.

This spring I did try to get a handle on it but gave up when the weather got hot. I managed to dig and move about half the hostas that had gotten out of control. We had a row of evergreens planted on both sides of the driveway and the woods cleared around them. I moved hostas to around the new trees on the north side.


A couple years ago I noticed a new oak tree growing in the middle of the bed and left it to mature. It is now a nice sized tree and I want to move all the thick hostas and other plants from around its base.

Today the weather was just perfectly fall like and I had Steve around to clean up after me so I went to town on the mess. I pulled and cut vines, weed trees and Jurassic era thistles until I couldn't stand up anymore. I got about 2/3 done. I'm hoping I can get my old decrepit body out of bed tomorrow and finish it up.


Every cell in my body hurts right now. I'm not sure I'm going to be able to move for a month. Good thing I have the Snuggie to keep me comfy in my recliner while I watch my favorite episode of Supernatural from last season. (The Monster at the End of the Book)