livelovesimple.com | yard work

Spring Yard Work & Garden Prep

DenaMay 20, 2014

livelovesimple.com | yard work

Roman was posing nicely on the log when his Papa came over the hill. As soon as he saw him, Roman went all smiley and wavy. This boy just loves to wave nowadays. It’s the sweetest thing.

Anyway, we were all outside for our first big spring cleanup day. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating — when we moved into our home five-and-a-half years ago, it was a dump. I mean, literally, the yard was used as a garbage dump. You couldn’t take a step without walking onto old car parts, rusted metal, and broken glass. (The inside was worse, but that’s another story.) We’ve come an extraordinarily long way since those days. The house is 99% complete and the yard is almost where we want it to be.

Every year since we’ve moved in, we’ve tackled a few major projects — inside and out. Last year, we had the yard graded and the rock wall installed, which you’ll see below. This year, we decided to tackle the top of our yard. It is the last “frontier” and one of the most challenging. It’s clear that for many years the family that lived here used that area as a dumping ground. When the lady of the house was alone (widowed and children grown), she allowed the neighbor to walk his dog in that area. When we moved in, there was a layer of dog poop and cigarette butts atop a layer of dirt atop a layer of garbage and glass. Lovely, right?

Aside from that mess, the whole area was shaded making a comfortable home for all manner of creepy crawlies, and especially (my biggest fear) spiders. Slowly, over the years, layer by layer, we cleared the area of garbage. We also cut down several of the dead trees, allowing sunlight in. Up until this past weekend we’ve been using the area as a catch-all for unused things like firewood and old lawn furniture. But on Sunday we tackled the rest of the mess head-on.

We worked from ten in the morning until almost seven in the evening… and we made a ton of progress. One of the reasons for my determination is the fact that my garden will be going in up there! As you’ll see in the pictures below, my little seedlings have gotten big and they’re ready to go in the ground very soon.

It’s really amazing to see how far our house and yard have come. I can’t wait to spend lots of time back there this year — growing my vegetables & flowers and playing in the dirt with Roman.

livelovesimple.com | yard work

livelovesimple.com | yard work

livelovesimple.com | yard work

livelovesimple.com | yard work

livelovesimple.com | yard work

livelovesimple.com | yard work

livelovesimple.com | yard work

livelovesimple.com | yard work

livelovesimple.com | yard work

livelovesimple.com | yard work

livelovesimple.com | yard work

P.S. I found that little snake while shoveling old wood chips away. I have always loved snakes — I even had a pet snake for awhile. I’m not an expert and we weren’t sure if this species was dangerous, so after I had a good look and snapped some flicks, we carefully picked it up and moved it deep into the woods. I’ve done a bit of research and I think that it was a harmless eastern worm snake. As I crouched on the ground, admiring the beautiful reptile, M. said, “Most women would have run clear across the yard by now and there you sit admiring it.” Yup, that’s me. Now spiders on the other hand…….

Happy Tuesday, friends! If you’ve got a moment, please give us a vote over on Top Baby Blogs. Thank you. xo


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Comments (11)

  • Carmen

    May 20, 2014 at 10:38 am

    It looks great! I wish I had a better green thumb… I try but maybe not hard enough? I have a few projects planned for my backyard this spring too!

    1. Dena

      May 20, 2014 at 12:47 pm

      Thanks, Carmen. I’m excite to hear all about your backyard projects. I just love spring & summer — especially after the awful winters that we have around here!

  • Julie Arnhold

    May 20, 2014 at 4:10 pm

    What a beautiful yard!

    1. Dena

      May 21, 2014 at 8:08 am

      Thanks, Julie! It really is beautiful. It’s definitely out favourite part about the house and what sold my husband on it.

  • Tina

    May 20, 2014 at 4:58 pm

    Beautiful backyard!

    1. Dena

      May 21, 2014 at 8:09 am

      Thanks, Tina! xx

  • Kay

    May 20, 2014 at 9:32 pm

    Your yard is so beautiful, I love how big it is!

    1. Dena

      May 21, 2014 at 8:09 am

      Thanks, Kay. It is a great yard — lots of space. We’re on about 3/4 of an acre.

  • Erin

    May 21, 2014 at 7:18 am

    Oh I love your yard, Dena! We’re about to build a retaining wall and I can’t wait to have it all set. Excited to see your garden grow. 🙂

    1. Dena

      May 21, 2014 at 8:09 am

      Thanks, Erin! Me, too. 😉

  • cynthia

    June 4, 2014 at 5:47 pm

    What a nice big lawn! I’m jealous! So rewarding to make progress, isn’t it?
    We are working on plans and getting quotes right now for a new fence/wall. Once that’s done we’ll work on the landscaping aspect. Right now we have dead grass (which I’m sure our neighbors love! haha) because watering it all was getting expensive and we knew we would be making changes relatively soon.

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