When we bought the house
By the time we'd moved in two months later it was full bloom with clover.
Honestly, I was content to let the back yard sit for a while. We're on an 8,000 foot lot, most of which is in the back and the whole thing isn't irrigated (required for your sanity in California). I live by myself as my husband is in the Army. I work full time too, nor could we afford any professional help. We've still ended up landscaping
My mother-in-law lives just far enough away to make visiting frequently not possible. She is a landscaper by trade, living and operating out of San Franicso (and used to its tiny, high maintenance back yards), so their is a bit of living vicariously going on. A back yard, including a rose garden, was quickly designed up for us. With a kids play area in the sketch (we don't have kids).
She got family to come over this summer and work on the garden, without really asking if we were ready to take this on. We weren't about to reject help if offered (or really, pressed into) You can see the fruits of our labor here
Very pretty, but with the boy deploying to Iraq again I just didn't have the time for it, especially with out an irrigation system installed and a clover infested yard. This is what resulted:
It is quite a pretty little meadow, though not good for anything trying to survive under the blanket of clover. This was after a 5 month maintenance moratorium on the back yard (the front was only mildly better). I knew she'd be asking about the garden, so I weeded about half the center planting bed and part of the walk way, as well as around most the roses about a three weeks ago. Save the roses most of the plants had died, though some of the bulbs had managed to push up in spite of the clover.
My in-laws came over yesterday and we did some more weeding, getting the whole of the circle cleared and the roses cut back and fertilized. She's going to come back next week so she can finish the roses for me and so we can put down plastic to block the weeds in the walkway.
I love the fact that she's willing to help out and work of my garden, but sometimes I really wish she'd let me get to this on my own speed. There is *so* much that needs to be done with this house but I'm having to spend lots of time on the yard or risk disappointing her or acting ungrateful, which I'm not. I wish I could find that middle ground - she wants to get ready to put grass in this summer.
I'll take some photos of the yard's current state next week.
2 comments:
i like the yard, even with the clover. i can commiserate with your helping hands dilemna. i run into that kind of stuff all the time.
Hey -
I can relate to the clover meadow. When we got our place the yard was 80% crabgrass. Looks like some progress happening though!!
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