Making the Yard Look Worse
So, last weekend we spent hours in the yard… hours of hard, back-breaking work only to make the yard look worse than it already did, which was bad. You might wonder why we did this. I had to question myself several times. Since we are not masochists by nature, my only conclusion is that we did this in hopes that the lawn would look better in the long run. I do not even have a picture and am not going to take one now because it is raining. Trust me; it’s bad.
So, what were we doing out there for hours? Well, first we raked. I raked and Douglas raked and we raked together. My arms were sore for days afterward. I now understand why people use leaf blowers. I despise those machines, however, and will never use one myself. The raking will make me strong! In the end we had filled every available container.
We picked up all of the large branches, most of the leaves and some of the acorns. The acorns were taking over the lawn. It would be really easy to grow a forest in my front yard, if that were the look I was going for. It is not.
After that I turned my attention to the gardens while Douglas aerated the lawn with a pitchfork. I am thankful that I was able to avoid that task. Despite how strong he is, his arms were hurting for even longer than mine!
I had cleaned out the front-most garden the previous week, but I did a little more last weekend. I also trimmed the rosemary and curry plants in the front garden closest to the house. I say trimmed, but in reality I cut them back, way back. This is the first year that they did not survive the winter. I am sure that they will grow back, but they are looking poorly.
I wish that I had not planted the rosemary so close to the sidewalk. I had not idea that it was going to grow to be such an enormous bush! Here is what it looked like last April. By the end of the summer it had doubled its size.
It was a rough winter in general. Besides the death of my rosemary and curry plants, this barrel fell apart and the saw horses that held the kayaks collapsed. We need to do something about this soon.
While I was whacking away at the bushes, Douglas was fertilizing the lawn. This is not something that we do often, but he is hoping to give the grass a good start this spring.
Finally, he spread seed. This year we went with a hardier seed because our lush grass turned to dust in the heat of last summer.
Therefore, our lawn might not look like much in the moment, but we have high hopes for it in the future. I know that it would look even better if we were to use more chemicals and water it, but that goes against what I believe in. Now if only I can revive my husband.
Happy Homemaking!
I am a teacher, traveler, artist, writer, homemaker and a whole lot more. In January 2009, I bought the Cape of Dreams. It was the second house that I had ever owned, but it was the first that I bought by myself. I now live in the house with my husband Douglas, our dog Kahlua, and Crème de Menthe, the cat. Because, what life is complete without a little Kahlua and Cream? I love arts and crafts of all kinds, and I refinish furniture as well. We are slowly redoing our entire house. You can read about my projects on my blog www.CapeofDreams.com
Oh, it’s not that bad. Like you, I use no chemical in the garden. My neighbour is always telling me how more beautiful his lawn is… But mine is chemical free in an area where chemical products destroy the ocean… I strongly belive you made the best choice.
Luckily my neighbors are not like that. That would drive me crazy! Here everything runs right into the ocean as well because our town is right on the Hudson River.
I can really relate!! We spent a good portion of the weekend gardening. Eric edged and mowed while I pulled a thousand dandelions (and barely made a dent). When I stood back, I realized I had nothing left in one garden!! Lots of winter damage … I will have to redesign and–oh darn–buy lots of new plants! I love doing that, but I have too much other stuff going on!
I know all your hard work will pay off and in no time, your front yard will look lush and summery! 🙂
It is already starting to look better! The next three days are going to be dedicated to the garden. I am excited to get out there again. I guess our memory for pain is short!
Oh my goodness.. yard work is such back-breaking work. But don’t you love it?
Maybe i’m a weirdo but I’d give anything to be out doing it. I envy you right now and although you may think it’s “worse”, it will be looking fab in no time.
I hope Douglas made it up off the ground. Please tell me he’s not still laying there. (wink!)
Don’t worry about Douglas. I dragged him in by his heels. 😉 I do love the yard work as long as it doesn’t get too hot outside. Spring is wonderful! I will do a little extra this weekend for you. Hopefully soon you will be back up and working in your own yard.
Have you tried bone meal or blood meal? They are good organic fertilizers. My dog liked the bone meal a little too much, though (looks like rabbit food) and tried to pick up all the little pieces from the lawn. I figured that was better than her eating chemically treated grass.
We will have to look into that. My mom’s husband also uses a homemade mixture of beer and other kitchen products that works really well on their lawn. I don’t know if Douglas would be able to pour the beer on the lawn, though. No matter how cheap and awful the beer, he would probably want to drink it.