This year, though, I started this thing. Every day, I work in the yard for one hour. It has done wonders. First of all, if I give myself a time limit, I don't get overwhelmed by the work and don't feel guilty if I go inside without doing everything I think needs to be done. Secondly, it's amazing how much you can accomplish if you just do a little bit, often.
Other than being able to read whatever I want for as long as I want, this has been the single most gratifying thing I've done this summer.
Here are some pictures of our yard, now that I've mastered it (okay, not mastered it but can at least co-exist peacefully with it) and some of the shortcuts that have made it possible.
Where I started with my hour-long shifts.
I keep up pretty well with the mowing now. Since we have a push mower, I just consider it my exercise on the day I do it. Because, you know, I totally do an hour and forty-five minutes of exercise every day. :)
No weeds!
No weeds!
This may LOOK a little wild, but you should have seen it before I got my hands on it!
Seemingly healthy plants.
My most recent and most helpful shortcut. This area of our yard was overgrown with weeds. I noticed underneath ivy was growing, so I just mowed it. Although some of the ivy was cut back, there's still a pretty healthy green layer on the ground, and all of the weeds are gone (or so short you can't see them).
Helpful shortcut #2. We let a big section of the lawn grow wild. It cuts our mowing time way down and, we truly believe, controls mosquitos. The first summer we were here we couldn't sit outside for any amount of time without getting eaten alive. Now, we think that bigger, predator bugs have a habitat and eat up all of the mosquitos. We haven't had nearly the problem with them that we used to.
Easiest shortcut? Hire somebody else. We paid a little bit of money to have someone else come and pull the weeds that were taking over our driveway and put down more gravel. Well worth it.
And the yard fights back:
Poison something on my arm. I was a baby about it for about a week.
Scratches on my leg. Ewww and ouch.
Two final elements that motivate me? Listening to NPR on our portable radio while I work (I learn so much!) and having a beer afterward on the porch.
I'm really proud that I've finally learned how to manage this. However, I am not a gardner and will be 100% content if I never have a yard this big ever again. A postage stamp Chicago lawn, or even just some flowers on a balcony, will be okay with me.
Brady has definitely earned a tip o' the hat from me. In addition to her jaw-dropping work, I started a small vegetable garden in the back. I built a trough to elevate it, painted it blue, drilled drainage holes, and planted tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, green peppers, and brussels sprouts. Everything is going gangbusters. We are on the verge of a nice harvest. Up front, I planted a strawberry bush and a blackberry bush, which the deer are loving on, unfortunately. As for weeding or yard work, I only get out there once or twice a week for an hour or two. When I go, I like to rip out the biggies and prune so the yard is definitely Brady's accomplishment. Major boo-yah.
ReplyDeleteI was wrong not to credit Kevin for his work in the yard. It's easy for me to give an hour of my busy days of doing nothing, but he sometimes gets up before work to do stuff in the yard.
ReplyDeleteI was too busy in my mutual admiration society meeting with myself to remember his contributions. :)
You two are in charge picking out some sweet plants for our apartment. As long as they're pretty idiot proof (for me) and non-poisonous (for the monster) we're good!
ReplyDelete- Kelly
I wish I had an hour per WEEK to do stuff around the house like this.... It looks fabulous though. Really REALLY want to see it sometime.
ReplyDelete