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Well not really.
Lucky for me my back is in pretty decent shape at the moment…even after building out a new flower bed and planting 4 huge trees…
(in ridiculous heat might I add)
Our back yard is in much need of much love.
I have decided to throw caution to the wind and start planting some privacy barriers to keep the neighborhood “Naughty Notice Nazi’s” at bay…because I want to build out my whole back yard in gardens.
I have wanted to do it for years but have always been to afraid of those naughty notes that we get for the silliest of things.
I kid you not…r.i.d.i.c.u.l.o.u.s. things….like missing a mailbox number from our post…that is COVERED in Clematis and you wouldn’t be able to see the number anyway.
Maybe I don’t want to be found? Have they ever thought of that?
I do not mind living in a neighbor that has a normal HOA but living in one that has a hyper vigilant one can be exhausting.
But here is the thing…my backyard is soooooo boring.
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What I want my backyard to look like would be something out of Better Homes and Gardens but that would require two things (at the very least)…money and kidfree time. Two things I am very limited on.
BUT…I am persistent. I am patient. I will have my Better Homes and Gardens suburban oasis if it is the last thing I do.
After all it’s not like I have to put a time limit on how long this is going to take.
I Have gardens and beds like most folks…all close to the house.
I have what we call my kitchen garden ….
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I don’t need much bigger than this for here at the house….I have the big garden over in Mechanicsville that supplies the real food.
This gives us the basics and lots of herbs for me to cook with.
But my goal over the next year is to bring in a big old tractor and dig this yard up…bring in tons of compost and good soil…lay side walks and paths and add tons of flower beds all around it.
I want a fire pit…I want berry trellises…
I want benches and lovely’s all over the place.
Will I get it? No idea but I sure am going to try.
I have started by collecting bushes, shrubs and ornamental trees from the “sick and dying” section of the nurseries around town.
I have even more over by the beehive boxes. I am a bit of a plant hoarder. People throw perfectly good plants away.
So my favorite find were these four lovely trees that I decide to start my first new flower bed with…
I paid $6 bucks for each one. SCORE!
Today it was no less than 100 degrees in the shade but I pushed forward anyway..knowing I needed to get them in the ground.
I am taking my time and doing this project right. Which means taking the time to put in weed barriers.
I. hate. weeds.
I dug up four deep holes and made sure to take my crappy soil away from the hole
because these plants deserved something better than orange clay…
As you can see I then laid down the barrier and cut the hole where the trees will go…
I recruited some help for this adventure….Haley and her friend Jules helped with Lucas at Home Depot and Adam helped get a million bags of dirt and mulch out of the car. I clearly understand why farm families were so large back in the day.
That’s my boy! Such a good kid!
So good that I then sent him in and asked him to watch the baby for me while I finished planting the trees and spreading the dirt.
Which he did a wonderful job with…God Bless Him!
All that is left for tomorrow is to spread the mulch. I figure I will add flowers next year in the Spring but for now I am well on my way to a lovely natural privacy fence in the coming years!
I am on the search now for some natural stone to put around it as a border…I will keep you guys posted as I keep adding to this project.
It’s going to be a “work in progress” for some time…especially when nothing will grow in soil like this!
I am persistent!
Oh and see that swing set in the corner? Ya that old one…but solid.
It is free to anyone who would like to come and get it. Take it apart and out of here and it is all yours!
