Backyard Makeover

Make over might be pushing it... improvement tho, yes! So... it has been like forever since I blogged, and for good reason. I have been insanely busy. I will try to blog a few times in the next week to catch my life up. But for now, I will stick to the backyard and hopefully not stray from it too much. I'll start with the playground. It was SO bad that the kids haven't touched it much in over a year. It had really just become a glorified kitty litter box. Really, REALLY gross.

BEFORE PICTURE:

We cleaned out some of the bark, got rid of the weeds, leveled the ground a little, threw away broken toys, moved bikes, laid down weed block, and 3 yards of bark later....

AFTER PICTURE:

Yes... I am a very happy person now. And so are the kids... at least the 2 that have got to test it out so far are very happy!

PROJECT #2: My hostas... I love hostas!! Last year I made a hosta bed and it really has been the pride and joy of my backyard so far. I love, LOVE it! So today I cleaned it out... no big deal really. Just trimmed back some of the ivy. I will probably trim it back a little more in a few weeks, but I just love the green there. It is on the north side of my house so it does get hardly any sun. I call it my little piece of Oregon because it is so green.

Project #3: My bean planter. I got a wild hare this year... I had Rob build me a bean planter under my dining room bay window. So last night, that's what he did. We filled it with dirt, and the kids and I planted pole beans. In a few weeks when they sprout, I'm going to attach strings from the planter to the spot above the windows for the beans to trail up. Those windows face the west so in the evening when the sun is over there, our dining room and kitchen are so hot that it's uncomfortable to even walk through those 2 rooms. Unfortunately, they aren't going to grow fast enough for me! I'll keep you posted on how this works.

Project #4: My veggie garden: This project is far from done. The kids wanted a garden this year, and I just jumped on the band wagon. Ethan built the planter. The tire planters are from a few years ago and they seem to do really well, especially the tomatoes. This area was essentially a junk pile- an old van and boat. So Rob clean this out about a week ago and we were really debating what to do with it since. The kids decided that for us. We'll see who ends up weeding it. In the big planter, I planted a cucumber, courtesy of my mom, and also some lettuce, radishes and parsnips... and then there is something that Brenna got from church that you can supposedly (and hopefully, since I tried it yesterday.. thank God, I'm still alive) eat. We're also going to put in some peppers in a few days. We're seriously contemplating one more big planter. In the tire planters, there is another cucumber, a tomato and 2 zucchinis (all from my mom). I need to do one more tire planter for cherry tomatoes (the girl's and my personal favorites). Behind the tire planters is a little lot of sweet corn. This is the first time I've tried corn... nevermind I grew up on a corn/ dairy farm. I never was the one that planted/ took care of it. Anyhow.... if I'm honest, I don't have a green thumb, except for those hostas! So we will see how this whole garden thing goes. Wish me luck!

And last but not least... our adorable ittle backyard inhabitants... By the way, I will pay anyone who takes them $5 and a bag of food. :) I'm serious! They will be ready in about 4 weeks.