The Great Outdoors - Part I

Ben and I spend the majority of May tackling the yard. We started on an optimistic note before we got our hands dirty. After weeks of Ben hinting at his desire to get an outdoor patio set, I conceded. We hit a combo of Target and Bed, Bath, & Beyond to make our little set, which includes an umbrella stand, a cute red umbrella (with a cover, so it remains red), a glass table, four chairs, and even two lounging chairs, though we haven't used the lounging chairs yet as there is too much to do on the house to sunbathe (and I'm also allergic to the sun -- details, details).

The same weekend that Ben and I purchased the patio stand, Carol and Ray came to visit. Carol graciously helped us plant beautiful lilies, Gerber daisies, ornamental grass, and Lily of the Valley in our backyard. Ray and Carol were visiting so that Ray could serve as an expert witness for Ben's ticket from his accident in January. The charges were eventually dropped (just as an FYI), but Ben still had to pay the court fees, so in the end he saved about $30 from the original cost of the ticket!

The following weekend we started by cutting back the middle spreading bush. Ben discovered that the city provides composting bins and that for a mere $27, you can have the city cart away your yard waste all summer long.
With our new bin in hand, we went at the deadly beast and filled the bin to the top after only cutting back HALF of the bush! The before and after pictures don't do the immensity of the project justice. We'll finish trimming the front bushes sometime this summer, we hope.

Ben and I wanted to add a little color to the front of the house so we bought some Azalea plants (a pink flowering bush that is just beautiful) and Hostas (to go in between the bushes) for our planter that has been empty since last summer. Ben carefully planted the fine beauties in the proper mix of soil as instructed by the master gardener at Lowe's. Well, wouldn't you know it, it POURED on Ben while he was working and the Azaleas started to lose their flowers within two weeks. Ben searched online and discovered Azaleas don't like their roots to be in the sun, so Ben bought some nifty rubber mulch which provided the plants much needed relief and they recovered well from the sun trauma.

Now that the front yard was starting to look better, the weather turned warmer and we realized it was time to do something about our air conditioning. You see, the air worked last summer, but it wasn't all that great and we even had an AC repair guy visit us last August, at which time he informed us that we had a leak in our line and that we ought to get it fixed, so at the beginning of May, we started getting bids. By the time we hired a contractor around mid-May, it was HOT outside (and, consequently, inside). Being the good home owners that we are, we replaced our 40 to 50 year old furnace as well since it was only working at about 65% efficiency. Our contractor (Richard and his two sons) worked on installing the units during the Memorial day weekend at no extra charge. Though this is by far the most expensive thing we've done to the home as of yet, it was worth every dime (plus, we'll get about a third of the cost back on rebates and tax credits). The cold air efficiency is just bliss. Really, you must visit to experience the joy.

On Sunday of Memorial weekend (since it was too hot to stay in the house anyway), Ben and I addressed the back of the yard, in particular, the bushes that line our property. I was disturbed by the amount of trees that were growing between the bushes and thought we needed to cut those out before Ben trimmed the bushes back. Just like the front spreader, we filled up a compost bin in no time, so we utilized the empty box from the furnace to keep cutting away. When Tuesday rolled around, I bought another compost bin since our yard obviously requires it. I also researched invasive plants and it seems we were blessed with Japanese Honeysuckle, which though pretty and lovely to smell, will overcome your bushes, kill them, and then refuse to die even though you may try everything in your power to destroy the plant. The honeysuckle had already started killing our bushes, so you'll notice off to the right how much thinner they are in appearance after we cleared off the overgrowth on the top. We still have MUCH more landscaping to do, but the honeysuckle must wait for the moment. Just wait to you read the next blog post!