Ready for Football Season

I picked up a new flag just in time for our first game this weekend.  Hook 'Em!

Cushion Down!

Most of the winter I've been noticing white fluffy polyfil littered around the back yard.  I kept assuming Biscuit was taking the guts out of her toys and either bringing them outside or "eliminating" them in the yard.  That is, until I noticed this:

It seems squirrels and/or birds have been picking stuffing out from my chaise cushion and using it for nests.  Do squirrels have nests?  Maybe it's just birds but I like to blame squirrels for things.  Luckily I wasn't too attached to this cushion.  I snapped it up on clearance at the end of a season and never really liked the colors.  I couldn't find any affordable cute cushions at Home Depot or Lowe's so this weekend I headed out to Gardenridge.  I swear their cushion selection and pricing can't be beat.  I picked up this cheerful cushion on sale for $23! 

 

It looks so much better than its predecessor.  And if I kill of my real flowers, at least I will have some blooms in the back yard.  I guess I should thank the squirrels, as much as that pains me.

Backyard Planting Finished

After a ridiculous number of trips to Home Depot and Lowe's, I am finally done planting in the back yard.  This weekend I finished the last of the pots.  Hopefully I can get everything established before the crazy heat sets in for the summer.  I also added new rugs, since the cheap and fun plastic rugs I buy for the back tend to disintegrate after a year.

 My tomatoes are growing like mad.  I've also got some peppers, squash, asparagus and various herbs attempting to grow.

 I got several perennials for this corner that I'm really hoping become permanent.  Meaning, I hope I don't kill them.  My hydrangea is doing so much better than the last one I tried! 

 

The pots have quite a variety of annuals in them.  I know geraniums always work for me but I tried to add in some new stuff as well.

 I bought a mandevilla vine for my trellis (since I killed the previous vine) and until it starts growing, I'm using my solar IKEA bird lights to decorate.  They are pretty cute.

 

Hopefully with a dedication to watering, I will keep the yard looking great!

Backyard...Another Year Later

 

More Back Yard work

 

I've almost finished the back yard for the most part.  Over the weekend I added a lime tree and a lemon tree.  I planted more peppers and some canteloupe back with my watermelons.  I finished stoning the back left flower bed to match the new bed.  It looks emtpy but that is because my lantana is slowly coming back in and it's very tiny at the moment.  My neighbor chopped down 3 trees along our fence line, including one that was pushing my fencing apart!  Very exciting!  Other than that things have just been busy and not a lot of home improvement has gone down.  I'm needing to focus on the front yard now that I have the back pretty much together.

New Flower Bed

I love weekend projects that pack a big punch when they are done.  This weekend's weather was great so I decided to tackle the back fence in my back yard.  I had planted roses at the end of last summer but never got around to creating the actual beds they would live in.

Please ignore the weeds that are all over the yard.  I'm working on getting those out but for now I just welcome the greenness of them.  I had about 20 concrete bricks in the bed on the far right so I headed to Home Depot to pick up 40 more for my expansion.

40 stones at 25 lbs each.  Each carried one by one from my car to the back porch and then from the porch to the yard.  That's quite the workout.

I got them laid out Saturday morning and then Sunday morning went back to Home Depot to stock up on some more flowers and mulch.

Between the hole digging and mulch toting, Sunday was another workout.  It all turned out great though!

I can't wait until things start to fill in a little.  It's hard to see but I added another rose bush, several flowers and then my crape myrtle is starting to grow a little.

If I can keep everything alive I think it is really going to look nice in a couple of months.

Spring Begins

Rainy weekends and late freezes have been hampering my spring yard projects.  I think we are finally past the freezes so in between a few rain storms this weekend, I was able to get a little bit done.  I started with some color to get me in the mood to tackle the larger projects...like my weed issues and building out flower beds in the back.

I also refreshed the soil in my garden and planted a few items.  I am starting with 3 tomato plants, 1 jalapeno, 1 habenero and a squash plant.  This year I've removed the lattice squares.  This will help give the squash room to spread, as it tended to do last year.  In the pots I've got sweet basil, cilantro and then I'm trying my hand at some strawberries.

I actually planted the tomatoes a couple of weeks ago and they have really grown.  The others I just bought Saturday.  I still have plenty of room for a few more veggies but I'm still deciding what to add.  In the mean time I've got beds to build and weeds to kill.  The only thing still alive in one of my back bed seems to be my dog, who is really going to have to find a new place to hang out.

Live Oak Haircut

Last year I climbed up in my tree attempting to give it a trim.  It was a lot of hard work but I enjoyed it.  Unfortunately I just don't think I accomplished all that needed to be done.  I really needed help thinning out the foliage so that I could grow grass in the front yard.  Last week my neighbors were having their trees professionally trimmed and the guys stopped by my house asking if I was interested.  I jumped at the chance.  The price was reasonable and it was bulk trash week so the timing was perfect.  Friday I left for work with a very full tree and by the time I got home it was like a whole new tree!

before

after

It's a little hard to tell from these pictures but in person it is very noticeable   I had neighbors coming up to me complimenting me on my tree's new do.

before

after

You can get a better idea from the pile of branches at my curb.  The pile is about 5-6 feet tall.

Now I just need to do a little raking so that I can try planting a little more grass and ground cover.  I can already tell that more sun is getting through.  I have a good feeling about this spring!

Spring is Near

I'm slowly trying to come up with a game plan for my 2013 landscaping.  I am hoping to put some defined beds in the back yard, get the garden back up and running and make the front yard a little more presentable. In the meantime, my first rose of the year bloomed this week!

All four rose bushes survived the winter and look like they are going to be beautiful this year!

Fall Yard Cleanup

You know you're getting old when you are still sore from yardwork you did 3 days ago.  This past weekend I cleaned up the yard a bit just in time for my bulk trash pick up.  The front yard had again filled with acorns and also leaves from my neighbors' trees.  The back yard was just getting downright shaggy.

I started by cutting back my garden.  I got rid of everything except my pepper plants that are still producing ample peppers.

Next it was time to tackle the alley.  I don't think I've been back in my alley since I cleaned it up in the spring.  It's not a fun place to hang out, but the vines that were growing through my back fence were drving me crazy.

 That vine made a pile in the alley that was almost as tall as I was.  I sprayed a little RoundUp in hopes of keeping it clean back there...at least until next spring.  I think I now have the cleanest alley area on my block.

Next up a mow for the backyard and suddenly things were starting to look much neater.  If I would just get around to building those flower beds along the back fence.

 

I also need to figure out why my roses are laying down on the job.  Oh well, at least they are blooming and beautiful.

Halloween Recap

Last night marked my second Halloween in my new house.  Sidenote, not sure when my house officially stops being my new house but just go with it.  To prepare for the night I first did some basic housekeeping.  My front lightbulbs were swapped out with ones that actually function.  I never even realized I had 3 out.  Then came a little clean up.

Up close everything looked in order but my sidewalk and driveway were covered with millions of acorns.  I did a pretty big sweep a week ago but they just keep dropping.  I had also slacked on getting any fall color planted. 

My trip to Home Depot for plants was pretty sad.  They only had small mums left and the colors just weren't that nice.  I opted for all yellow flowers since they were the most cheerful available.  I got 3 mums, a yellow lantana and a couple of yellow pansy plants.

Nothing too spectacular but it was the best I could do on a Tuesday night.  Hopefully they will blossom and look wonderful for Thanksgiving.  After cleaning up the front, I made sure I was stocked up on candy.  Props to Mom for letting me know about the candy body parts at Target. They are pretty awesome. 

All my preparation paid off and Halloween at my house was a success!  Here are my stats and how they measure up against last year.

Time

• 2011 - My first trick or treater showed up at 6:30, lights off at 8:20
• 2012 - My first doorbell rang at 6:17, lights off at 8:30

Kid Count

• 2011 - 44 tiny people
• 2012 - 45 tiny people

I had a little bit more candy left over this year but that's because I bought 4 bags.  I would say the majority of my trick or treaters were 6 and under.  I had some very cute costumes and a few I couldn't figure out (but didn't want to insult the kid so I didn't ask).  All in all is was a blast and I look forward to next year!  Maybe I'll get 46 kids.

Backyard Update

I've been coming up with various master landscaping plans for my backyard lately.  I think I may be able to get some of my beds formed this fall/winter and then have them all ready and weed/grass free by spring planting season.  This past summer taught me alot about the sun exposure in various parts of my yard.  I learned what plants thrived and which ones just died.  Luckily, my main plants are all doing good. 

The new roses I planted went through a bit of shock at first but they are now sprouting new growth so I think they are going to make it.  They aren't the prettiest things right now but I see their potential.

And my crape myrtle is looking good as well.  I have no idea how long it will take for it to grow another 8 feet but I haven't noticed any movement as of yet.

And of course my garden is still growing like crazy.  I'm picking peppers a few times a week to keep up.

The challenge coming up will be to connect all of these features into some sort of flowing backyard landscaping.  Nothing like a little manual labor.