Our Flower Oasis

Here is the  before shot of the flower bed we were planting on the hill in late April early May.  I wanted to create an oasis of flowers for our daughters 16th birthday.  We planted this same spot last year, our first year in the house, but added more square feet to the bed, amendment and more flowers. 
The added benefit to this location, it is the view we see from the kitchen window, and in light of the fact that essentially we have a barren dirt hill (since we cleared the pine saplings and the attempt to seed with grass failed) it adds a touch of color to an otherwise bleak landscape.

We have had a lot of rain this spring and summer and cooler temps (not that I am complaining) but it has translated to delay growth, still all and all it is taking off and I thought you might like to see an after shot.

Ode to Paul Bunyan

Well today they arrived to start taking down the 100 – 120ft pine trees in our front yard.  They were tall things with very few limbs and getting fewer with each passing wind storm.  The only living thing that enjoyed those trees was the red headed woodpecker because he could depend on a pounding out a beetle feast nearly every day.

So today, Cuz arrived with his side kick in hand.  They decided due to the enormous height of these trees to rent a bucket lift vs. simply climbing them.  The only problem, the lift didn’t reach high enough, so whats a fella to do?  Climb up out of the lift and into the tree of course!

My Mom was home to watch all of this action first hand and to snap photos as the action progressed.  So far, there have been very few incidents.  They did break a sprinkler head, which will have to be fixed but that is what happens when you are working in tight quarters.  Not too bad given at any given time we had a full size dump truck, bulldozer, bucket lift and several trucks in our yard.

So a big thank you to Ricky Isbell for clearing the trees once they were down.  It was a lot of work and it took a coordinated effort of (5) guys to get it done in one days time! Here is the photo show I put together so you can mark the progress with us!

Dinner and a Drink?

I spied this vase fountain at our local Sam's and thought it might be a good addition to our front paver patio. So, prior to my husband's departure he purchased it and installed it in about 10 minutes flat. I would have to say without any hesitation this is the easiest fountain we have ever purchased. It came in (2) pieces, had (1) submersible pump, you put the pump in the water reservoir, insert the vase onto the basin plug it in and you are ready for business.

Of course my husband had a comment for our latest yard feature, which was "You know the deer will be in business now. Not only can they get dinner, but we will also serve them a drink!" Whatever....in the meantime I am going to stand back and enjoy our Dinner and a Drink yard addition!

Grandma got run over by the lawnmower!

Not that this is funny in any way, shape or form, but it does bear mention that recently my mother had an accident which involved the lawnmower and our ditch. She was attempted to get ahead of the upcoming rain showers and decided to mow the lawn one last time before the rain set in. Unfortunately, she did not fair so well when she took a stumble on the side of the ditch and came down on the lawn mover, bruising herself from her left shoulder to her knee and and cutting a gash in her arm, which took (16) stitches on each side run in a baseball style fashion to close up her arm.

Thank God for our wonderful neighbor who happened upon the scene as it was unfolding. He took gauze from his truck and tied off her arm to keep the bleeding under control. He was ready to transport her when my husband arrived how and they "tag teamed" her over and off to the emergency center he went.

She had a good doctor who told her she needed to take it easy where lawnmowers and ditches were concerned and while she was in no form or fashion ready for an "ole folks home" he did want her to stay out of the ditch or she would have some major explaining to do!

So now that all this has passed and her arm is on the mend (stitches have to stay in for 14 days), I composed a few lyrics to the tune of Grandma got run over by a reindeer. You know the tune, so hum a few bars and you read the following words.

Grandma got run over by the lawnmower mowing our ditch yesterday

Now you may say there is no danger in a toro as for Grandma's arm its a different display!

Now it's not lawn and garden without Grandma

The grass is getting high

Lost the dogs in the back yard

Now all my daughter does is sit and cry

Oh....Grandma got run over by the lawnmower

Mowing our ditch yesterday

You may not believe in the danger of a toro

As for me and Grandma we believe!

When breaking the news to some family members I gave them the "song" version, and while they found it funny (even my mother got a chuckle) my Uncle had the following advice. While the lyrics were funny, the vocal quality was not so I would be money ahead not to quit my day job! Shoot, and I was hoping to take this act on the road!

Fall Clean-up Before Meets After

We have been working on cleaning up the front and back yard in preparation for new landscaping and curbing. It has been a long process, some enjoyable....some not! Mom and I did a lot of the excavation work ourselves our sore backs were living proof of our efforts. Mom and I attended the home and garden show in Nashville two years running and as such found a wonder guy ( Troy) who owns The Curbing Edge. He was terrific to work with, prompt, professional and a true pleasure. Our landscaper...not so much! He was an alright guy, but Mom had to spend way to much time reminding him he had a job to complete and calling him to make sure he actually showed up...forget being on time! In the end we persevered and we are glad to say it is finally done! Here is the laundry list of all that was accomplished.

1. The majority of the existing plants in the flower beds were removed. The ones that remained were trimmed or relocated to new areas.
2. Layout and selection of new plants, which would bring color and variety to the new beds.
3. Removal of existing edging materials
4. Removal of flower bed located to the right of the front steps
5. Reduction of existing bed sizes, planting of new flowers, trees and bushes
6. Aeration, seeding and fertilizing lawn
7. New concrete curbing colored to match brick on our house
8. Construction of paver bed in flower bed next to front steps
9. Dressing of flower beds to include new mulch and weed prevention
10. Planting of fall mums and the addition of a fall display

We are thrilled with the way the front and back yard looks. We still have a few projects left to do such as new landscape lighting, adding new rock to the lighting bed and reducing the latice for the clementis in the back yard, but I am guessing that will have to wait until spring. For now, we are going to kick back and enjoy the fruits of our labor and hope our neighbors will do the same!