Lost in the Weeds

Just a few weeks ago I was longing for the warm weather and the time I would be able to work in the yard all day.  What in the world was I thinking?  I'm just kidding, despite the fact that I have been stooping and bending daily for a couple of weeks now, I am loving it!

We have been truly blessed with some incredible weather as of late.  I still can't seem to wrap my mind around the fact that winter (which was incredibly mild here) is over.  I just keep thinking the other shoe will drop and I'll be in 4 wheel drive and slogging through slush.  I think back to the years that we had snow on Easter but I really am beginning to believe this Spring we are having is the real deal.

This is some of what we enjoyed the week of March 7th.

 Last week I was finally able to burn a pile of brush and leaves the size of a truck.  I have literally been trying to get a day to burn since Sept. but it was either pouring rain, too wet post pouring rain or we had winds as if we were on the prairie!   I have also been trying to clean out this area behind Mini's cottage.   I got a wee bit of that done as well. 

 I have cleaned out the flower beds, transplanted some things and generally been weeding like crazy.  I hand weed as opposed to using the trusty Round Up because I like the instant gratification.  I just don't get the same rush waiting around for days for things to turn yellow and then be pulled (I know I'm nuts).

 Naturally I couldn't be satisfied just cleaning up and finishing several half done projects, yesterday (while in a weeding frenzy) I decided that I was tired of the front landscaping.  We have been planning to completely redo it all but this year we have had some expenses related to hail damage (thank you Spring storms) and Mini will be turning 16 and we will be helping her purchase a car.....so, the total landscape redo hit the back burner.  Instead of a complete redo (including some amazing rock walls I am dying for) I will be relocating some things and adding some annuals and hopefully some garden art to spruce up until we win that giant Mega Millions are able to budget for the big redo.  Here is a bit of what the front landscape looks like now (gosh, I can't believe I've let things get to this).

Sadly I can't say these are bad pictures, that it doesn't actually look that sad.  The truth is it looks worse!  We planted this area right after building our home and didn't quite think through the proportions of the beds to the plant size, nor did we know not to plant too close to the house.  We do now!  So I have started the process of hand weeding the area and preparing to rip out, bring in soil and compost, relocate, extend the beds and replant.

I did find a little gem in this mess.   Out of three I have one azalea that is beginning to  bloom....I promise when I get done with the redo I will be babying these guys. 

Oh ya'll this is gonna be a big job for me....kinda wish I had had the patience to just let it be.  Oh well, like the pig at the barbecue I am committed now.

While we are in the front yard I will show you a picture of my front flower bed (weeded, Preened but yet to be mulched).  My iris are all up and ready to bloom.  This usually happens about the 3rd week of April here, but I feel like I'm going to be seeing them in about a week.

The plant to the left side of the picture is my little peony.  I cannot wait until it blooms.  It is just beautiful and the smell is incredible.
This is some of the blooms on one of my two dogwood trees.  I really wish my yard was full of these, sigh...they are spring to me.

Looking up from underneath my dogwood.....look what a beautiful day we were blessed with.

This was my clematis 2 weeks ago.  I was terrified I had murdered it with the heavy pruning I gave it in the fall and some touch up pruning about a month ago.  It is looking pretty sparse here.

That was then, this is now. 

Wow, I cannot believe how much new growth there is and how quickly it came.  I have been tying up shoots almost daily for a week now. 

Last year we redid our back walkway and flower bed and added a lilac tree.  It is in bloom this week and smells wonderful.  The scent wafts around the edges of the house to the deck.  So glad we put this in.

So there you have it....some of the beginnings of Spring and some things as we are enjoying them now.  Which is the reason I can't seem to stay out of the yard long enough to blog!   Hope everyone has a great weekend.