Backyard Clean Up

I've been spending the majority of my DIY time outside lately, tackling the monster that is our backyard retaining wall and its various platforms.  Back at the start of Spring, our main platform (the biggest at about 15' x 40', in the center), was looking a little hung over.

 

Not that it was much better last summer.  In fact I'm kind of embarrassed to show you this.  We were busy working on the inside of the house and all those hundreds of projects on The List, okay?  Be gentle.

We transplanted some lilies that were in the platform I planned to use as my herb garden, as well as 4 hydrangea bushes that were planted way too crowded in another bed into this main area to help fill it out.  Then I added some fresh new mulch.  Viola!

 

I can't wait until it all starts to bloom!

 

The majority of the time has been spent over in our garden platform though. Here are those gorgeous raised beds I made.

But just in front of them and to the right is where I planned my herb garden bed, which is to the right of the steps as I walk up to my garden.  Previously this was full of a few pretty flowers (those 4 lilies) and a bunch of weeds, so I dug out all the plants, hoed through the area to remove roots and rocks, and then added a bit more rich black topsoil. I have a tendency to tell you all this stuff like it was a quick and easy project, but it was no walk in the park.  All in, over the course of 2 days and lots of breaks it probably took me 8 hours of digging, hauling, tilling and filling.  This preggo mama got her work out in. 

The result is pretty boring right now, but hopefully its more impressive this summer.  That's my "ready for herbs" blank space on the left, and a lavender plant that was already in this bed and I kept on the right. 

On the other side of the lavender plant, I saved a couple of flowering plants and covered the rest of the space with weed block and mulch to avoid that mess of weeds coming up under this tree again. 

Once that was cleared out and ready, it was time to take on the Big Daddy above it.

But that's a project for another day.  What have you all been up to?  Any work outside?  Does anyone have any suggestions on things I can do with my lavender plant?  I actually have 3 or 4 of them in my backyard, and it all smells fantastic, I would love to do something more than just look at it.