Saturday gardening

I didn't workout today, technically. Hubby went off to Kettlebell class, but as we didn't have a babysitter I opted to stay home with the kiddies....and garden!

I have to say I've been worried that my gardening drive hadn't really kicked in, but after today I'm in the grove. I had been dismantling a flower bed in the far corner of the property that was redundant and things weren't really growing there. It was one that we inherited with the property. So, frugal gal that I am I reused the concrete retaining blocks (to a bed I wanted to keep):

Above are the before and afters. A few weeks ago I dragged these blocks across the backyard and re-set them here. I think it looks much better, and its safer.

Here's where the blocks came from (again before and after):

I'm hoping to seed the area where the bed was, and I relocated the compost bin out of sight behind the large maple. I took all the soil and composts (mixed it well) and top dressed the really bad area in the front lawn.

A few years before we bought this house the sewer lateral (from the street to the house) was replaced - a good thing as it saved us substantial money not having to do it. Unfortunately when they do this they use the crappiest sod EVER. Therefore, this area is ALL weeds and the grass never does well - you can CLEARLY see where the work was. So, topdressing means that this good soil will start to feed the grass, make it heathier, and hopefully out-compete the weeds. I believe I moved 5 wheelbarrow loads and spread it. 

So, while I didn't have an official 'workout' I did spend 4 hours in the yard moving soil, picking weeds (and dog poop!), mowing the front yard, and cleaning leaves and garbage out of the hedges.

Here is the next project (I started many projects last year and sadly didn't finish them) that I want to finish, and may even start tomorrow (weather dependant!):

 

Again, when we bought the house (on a busy street, but also on a quiet side street) I cut a hole in the hedge to get the kids to stay off the busy street. The hedge hole was such a sucess that the heavy traffic began making a mud problem. So, I pilfered stones (from a nearby re-development project) and started placing the stones. Worked pretty well, except that now that a winter has passed I see I have a grade problem (path is lower than the ground so water sits on it, and drainage problem - there is no drainage!  So, I need to pull the stones up, dig a trench, lay gravel, re-set the stones and change the grade! Phew! Another great non-workout porject!

I'll leave you with a few other shots of the yard that I took this afternoon.

Nitey nite!