The Slow Progression

Our home has been an evolution, as you well know.  We have a constant lineup of projects.  Our yard was secondary to the inside of our home, but now that the inside is pretty much complete, until we decide to remodel the whole darn thing again, we can be found working in our yard until the sun sets.  And...I'm really not exaggerating.  Because B and I have bouts of discouragement, fearing we will never be done, and that we are making no progress toward a comfortable yard, it seems essential for us to look back.  Searching for some "before" pics has served as great affirmation: we truly have come a long way.

Stage 1--giant Siberian Elm that and Fir needed to be felled (is that right?)

 

Stage 2--tree debris needed to be cleaned up, and removed from our yard

  

Stage 3--all ivy and wildness was scraped clean 

Stage 4--NOW!  Our garden is flourishing, and it makes my heart leap.

I planted a few different seed packs, which has been incredibly fun to find popping up throughout our garden.  I also ordered several dahlia tubers from these guys, thanks to this girl, and I couldn't be happier.  I go out twice, if not three times a day to see the sweet blooms.  I have LOVED the revolving door of fresh cut flowers in our house!

Sadly, another tree is needing to go.  This Douglas Fir's days are numbered.  Oh, boy...here we go again.

The front yard went through a similar evolution, though on a much smaller scale than the backyard.

Stage 1--fall the sad Maple

Stage 2--clear all the debris, live with a mud pit, plant barley and oats that tricks neighbors into believing it's a lawn (and let it grow to 3 feet before mowing it), let it die and turn to yellow weeds, and be embarrassed to claim house as ours. 

 Stage 3--Andrea finally gets impatient and all willy-nilly with a shovel, and starts carving the crap out of the "lawn", (im)patiently awaiting Brett to board the crazed ship, but go out of town for a month with yard even more of a disaster than with the earlier weed patch.

 

Stage 4--Brett finally gets on board, and ultimately teaches the yard (and his wife) a lesson, and busts out the irrigation, and that (effing) path.  Brett and Andrea go to bed angry for almost an entire week out of frustration that the (effing) path will not cooperate, and we again fear that our yard will never be completed...ever.  Brett finishes the path out of pure spite.  We high five, kiss and make up, and do laps up and down our gravel path.  Brett learns supreme lesson that his wife is always right.

Annnd we utilized free rock that we acquired down the street, thanks to the "free rock" sign that old Eagle Eye spotted.  The Zundel motto is "If it's free it's for me."

 And we live happily ever after, with great anticipation of being Garden of the Month.