What Ana Does

When we returned from our RV trip we found a citation for an "unkempt" yard from our town hall. No fine but it was still very annoying. YES, we were aware of the state of our yard but we went on vacation. We also got one from our neighborhood association, thanks to a nosy neighbor who took a picture of our yard (with the RV in the driveway) to report us. Really cool.  The truth was, we had already called a landscaping service to pull it all out, and, in fact, had been waiting for their estimate when we got the city's notice. We quickly learned landscapers have been abnormally busy this year, so it took a few weeks to get the estimate and on the schedule.  Finally, I have some before and after photos for you ...  We also did the other side of the house, but I don't have photos of that side. It's much the same: weeds to grass seed.  The plan is to sod and get grass growing in all the cleared out areas. And, eventually, add something like hydrangea along the front po...

Let's overthink my lawn for a post, shall we? Leah Mowing Like a Pro While we were in Paris, my Mother moved into my house (temporarily, as it turns out), fired my lawn guy, bought a gas-powered mower and was planning to take care of the landscaping herself. She enjoys it. But circumstances took her to Florida and now I'm left with no lawn guys and long grass. No big deal, really. But it started me thinking about lawns. Then I read this article  that summed up the environmental issues of our lawn obsession. We, as a nation, over-water, over-fertilize and over-mow our lawns. And it's having a negative effect on our environment. While, yes, there are absolute positives for having a lawn and taking care of it, we're often doing way too much . Sure, grass is a plant and pulls a little carbon from the air, and is way better than paving or anything else, BUT it's doesn't need to look perfect all the time. I live in the midwest, so I only need to worry a...

As you stare at this BEFORE picture, let's remember it's early spring and it's been raining for the last six days. Also, please notice the crumbling brick stairs and sinking pavers.

Taking advantage of one of the last good weekends before the cold weather blows in, I finally got down and dirty with the front garden. I've been feeling bad about our low curb appeal. There's a house for sale just two doors down and if prospective buyers are looking for this sort of thing, they're definitely not thinking too highly of the neighborhood. My goal is to make this garden smaller by adding these paving stones from Home Depot. As it is, it's too much upkeep for me right now. So, for about $30, I loaded the trunk with pavers and dedicated about an hour to cleaning it up. Before: A Hot Mess and Stanley the Scarecrow It's a good start. I want to add more pavers -- maybe even a third layer. And I'm definitely going to need more mums and choose a few perennials along the back. Plus, Stanley needs a scarf or maybe some clothes.  After: All Cleaned Up The dirt along the front is getting seeded on Monday. I took about a quarter off the gar...

I'm not exactly sure how it happened, but the area around my two raised beds turned into a jungle of weeds. Some, as tall as me! Maybe it was all the rain we've had, my total lack of interest in pulling the weeds when they were a reasonable size, the failure of the weed guard lining I put down last year, and not getting the mulch down as planned. Ok, so I know how it happened. I should also point out I only planted half the raised beds this summer. Sigh. And the cucumber vines are harassing the tomato plants, but more on that later. Anyway, what we ended up with is a freaking disaster! And breeding ground for mosquitos and other pesky insects. Can you even spot the two raised beds through this tangled mess? Before: Overgrown Weeds and Raised Beds  Never fear! I called in my landscape guy and he's sending a crew this week to clean up the weeds, put down a better weed guard and mulch. All hail contracting out tedious work! After picture coming soon .... ...