Our #1 mistake when moving into this house, was assuming that the small back yard meant less maintenance. With lots of parks and a nature preserve within walking distance, we'd prefer lots of deck and patio space to grass in our backyard. (You don't have to mow a deck.) What we didn't take into account was the huge undertaking that would be the retaining wall.
Listing Photo- April 2010 |
Listing Photo- April 2010 |
Listing Photo- April 2010 |
April 2011 |
April 2011 |
And the shrubs in the retaining wall above my garden really came in.
By the end of July the vegetation in the land behind our fence (still our land) was getting down right hostel. I had to fight hanging and creeping poison ivy with a hedge trimmer.
Which is why I was pretty shocked in August and September when this area finally bloomed. I mean in Minnesota, late August, early September, usually the only thing blooming is mums. I couldn't believe my spring like garden. It was a double rainbow. Magical.
It wasn't all pretty though. See that ugly guy in the back ground? Here's a close up.
There were three of these in the backyard, and they grew to be literally 6 feet tall. I was curious all summer to see what they would be, and in the end I was super disappointed. It just looked sort of sick and dead. Large, imposing, sick and dead. I'm definitely pulling these guys up next season.
In the end I'm glad I took the summer to stop and smell the roses, because it gave me an excuse to be lazy allowed me the chance to see what this yard has to offer. And now that I have a little road map of sorts to know what is blooming and when, I can do a little transplanting and adding of additional plants so that next year everything comes up a little more even. Hopefully by next summer we'll be done with some of the bigger projects around here (two more bathrooms...ugh!) and I can take the time to work on the yard. Not that we'll be done in the house by any means, we've still got dozens of items on The List and more inspiration projects on Pinterest than I know what to do with. But I'm crossing my fingers that we will at least feel a little more settled on the inside, so that we have a chance to spruce up the outside.
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