New Series: Weekend Workdays

As you know, recently we moved into a house.  I was sold on the house because of the screened in patio...

...and the fenced in backyard for our dog.

Sure, the backyard looked like it needed a little work, but I figured it might be fun to do some gardening.

Little did I know the backyard was a complete jungle.  A JUNGLE.  Yes, it's so bad it was necessary for me to use all caps, italics and bolding.  That's how bad it is.  Don't believe me?  Click "read more" for the proof.

A few days ago I went out to do a little work.  I started by raking up some of the leaves.  And I quickly realized there are about six inches of leaves on the ground in some areas...

 And no grass underneath.  That's right.  Just dirt...

 

Oh.  And poison ivy...

And poison ivy...

And poison ivy...

 

 

 And then there are the weeds.

And the trash...

And the tree limbs...

And the rotting picnic table, of course.

And it has a tree limb on it.

Kind of pretty with the moss, actually.

It looks like at some point someone had the backyard landscaped.  There's liriope growing sporadically around the yard.  It's quite pretty, but patchy and looks like it's spread to where it doesn't belong.

And there are a bunch of these plants that I think might be rhododendrons.  Opinions?

And there is this beautiful old tree.

The roots are huge and exposed.

And it's covered in moss and ferns and ivy.

I could only imagine how lovely this yard must have looked when someone actually cared for it in the 1960s (when the house was built).  Now the yard needs a ton of work and it looks like it's going to take a lot of time.  And patience.  And maybe some getting-poison-ivy.  I was so disappointed since I'd already imagined us have back yard parties this fall for Halloween and the yard surely won't be ready by then.

So, what's the point in me telling you all this?  Well, since it's going to take me so much time and I'm not so patient or happy about that, I decided to document the process.  Each day I work on the yard, I'm going to document the before and after pictures and share them with you here!  That way I can share the progress I'm making and hopefully make the project a little more fun and interesting!  And, who knows, maybe my landlord will lower my rent if I give her the before and after pics. ;)

--CC