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Sometimes it's fun to look back in time a little bit. Thus, here is the saga of my front yard. Once upon a time, there was a very ugly Chinese tallow tree in my front yard. There was also a front bed with lots of ancient azaleas in it that never bloomed anymore. I decided that the tree needed to be cut down and that the front bed needed to be completely redone. This is what was left after the tree was cut down in the spring of 2004.
My mom and I dug up the front bed, which was not easy. We just about broke our feet digging into the ground with shovels to break up the massive roots. We also had to clean up the debris from the tree trunk and lay dirt so we could plant some new grass. We put down new dirt and mulch in the front bed.
Then it was sod time, which we did gradually.
More sod.
Then we planted some new plants in the front bed, like new azaleas, plumbago, Chinese witch hazel, and some irises and ferns that my mom dug out of her own yard.
They were so teeny tiny back then, the plants in the front bed. The new grass was happy. We added some caladiums a couple of months later.
And here's my front yard two years later. The little azaleas never had a chance to grow much because they were basically swallowed by the gigantic witch hazel. The plumbago plants are enormous. The grass grows so ferociously that I finally gave up and hired someone to mow it for me once a week.
I like my front bed because it's got a variety of shapes and colors and textures. I'm no green thumb wizard; I owe the plant selections mostly to my mom. I never realized when growing up how good she is with plants. I guess she got it from her mom. Anyway. I've always thought that my house is one of the least cute on my street, but I always get a lot of compliments on my yard. So that makes me feel good. And I like how no matter how much I try to cut the plants back, they just keep defiantly bursting and growing and thriving. I think that's a nice metaphor for life, for me, for all of us.
About this time in ...
© Copyright 2006 elb |
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