How I got a farmer's tan

The weather has been warm enough lately that I've been thinking about yard work. I've decided that I really want to try harder this year to learn what I am doing and work to make a decent vegetable garden. I also have been unhappy with the front flower bed since we moved in. Looking at this picture, you can clearly see why:Ugly plants and little greenery.

Ryan went out of town last week, and I made a secret plan to do something about both the garden and the flower bed. I figured it would give me and the kids something to do, and that it would be better for Ryan to not see all the mess involved in the process!Monday I went with my neighbor, her 2 kids and my 3 youngest to the nursery to pick out plants. The kids had a great time following each other (okay, I'll admit that they were running for a good portion!) around with red wagons while the moms looked at seeds and plants and bushes and more plants. After about an hour and a half, I walked out of there with 3 seed packets, 3 bags of compost, and 18 plants!

It was already mid-afternoon. I knew that although I had only marked 1 day on my calendar for planting, that it was going to go all week. I began by planting the peas, spinach, and lettuce in the garden. Then I moved to the front bed where I scraped off all the existing mulch and then started to dig off a lot of the dirt. When the builder did the yard initially, they made it a raised bed. But I thought it was up too high in comparison to the lawn and the way the yard slopes to the side . . . it made all the water run off. So my goal was to make everything a lot more level. I thought I'd have the boys help me for Family Home Evening, but they were so tired from playing outside all afternoon that I let them have a movie and popcorn night inside while I moved a few bushes around outside. Yes, besides purchasing 16 plants for the front and 2 strawberry plants for the back, I also moved around other existing plants! I'm crazy, I know!

Tuesday was cold and rainy so I spent my energies on other things that day. But Wednesday was nice and sunny again and so I got back to work outside. I bet by the end of the week my neighbors were tired of seeing me out there! Before I could plant anything, I wanted to get some rocks for the sloping side, to help with the drainage issues and help prevent the bed looking lop-sided. Lucky for me, we have some empty lots close by that have some nice rocks. Although yoga has helped tone my arms slightly in the last few months, my muscles were no match for the rocks! So my kind neighbor was home and he helped me bring 3 rocks over to our yard. Soon after that, another neighbor came out to see what I was up to. She was so kind to help be another set of eyes to decide what would look best for the rock placement. She even got in the dirt with no shoes on to help move things around! About the time we were done with that, my other neighbor came out and helped solve a plant placement dilemma. All of my neighbors were so helpful all week, and I couldn't have done it without them!

I did a lot of the work while Elizabeth was sleeping. But there were times I wanted to be out there when she was awake, yet I couldn't just let her crawl around the grass. Nathan and Benjamin LOVED taking her on walks around the cul-de-sac in her stroller, and she loved it too. It was so helpful for me to get things done! With some "help" from about 5 of the boys in the neighborhood, I got about half of the plants in by Wednesday night. By Thursday dinner time I had all the plants in, the weed blocker tarp on, and almost all the mulch back on. Plus an arm tan, stronger biceps, and sore muscles to show for it!

The "after" shot

I got the last of the mulch on and all the trash and dirt cleaned up on Friday, just in time for the weather to snow/rain a little. Ryan got home that evening, and just as I had predicted -- he didn't even notice when he pulled up! That's okay, I did this surprise for him more as a treat for me :) (To be fair to Ryan, he was just focused on getting home from being gone a whole week. Now that he has seen it, he loves it!)

This side view is from the sidewalk just leading up to the porch and front door.

There are 4 Japanese eunonymous bushes, 6 asters, 6 columbines, plus 2 Pot of Gold I brought up from the backyard (to make room for the strawberries in the back). Plus the burning bush in the middle that was there before, and 2 other plants that were there before that got moved around. All perennials, many of them that will flower, so it can hopefully be fairly low-maintenance.

before
after (LOVE the rocks!)

My teenage self would be shocked to know that I ENJOYED doing yard work this week! It was hard work, but it feels so good to have a vision and to put in the work to make that vision come to fruition. I am so happy with how it turned out -- I keep peeking out my front window just to see it! And I am so glad to have gotten it done so early in the season so we can enjoy it all spring and summer!