Thus, the adventure begins.

Ok, here's the historic "First Post."
*Fanfare*
*Throws confetti*

Web Site's Mission Statement: Herewithin I shall track the progress of my new landscaping, including a new sparkly rock garden, a shade tree for my hot southern-facing front yard, and my deep-rooted desire to tame the outside mess in the front and back yards. My quest for low-maintenance gardening has begun. May I find solace, release some creative demons and save myself from the dreaded "new-stay-at-home-mom" stupor.

A Little History: We purchased the house in February 2001. It was the worst house on a nice block. Now that we've (mostly) finished renovating the inside, I've started to focus on the jungle outside. The previous owners were master gardeners. But they were not master planners. At our closing they had confessed that they had once planned to turn the front lawn into one enormous garden. They were getting close. (Picture below was taken before we bought the house).



After a few years of watching things grow and reproduce at an alarming rate (they had great dirt), and after quitting my job to stay at home with the new baby, and quickly realizing that all the time I thought I would have to blissfully tend to the garden was being sucked away into the baby vortex, I decided to take drastic measures and start over from scratch. The goal is to make it easier on myself. Isn't that how the most tangled webs begin?

The house & garden today:


Recent Garden Notes:

1. Mid-summer 2005. I feverishly obliterated the weedy overgrown jungle in the front lawn with trusty hatchett, rusty shovel and industrial-strength pruners. Oddly therapuetic, released much rage. Neighbors quivered in fear and refused eye contact, lest they fall prey to the clippers.
2. Soon after, with Husband's help, carted 4 yards of sifted dirt into large polymorphous mound. Curiously, Husband believes baby would like to go off-roading on the dirt pile. Indeed, baby enjoys it.
3. July 2005 went something like this...GardenVixen: "We need a few rocks." Husband: "I am morally opposed to paying for rocks. I shall become Mountain Man and find rocks of great caliber on vacation Up North." Flash forward to our friend's woods and a sweaty, buggy, two track road at the height of July heat. Husband grits teeth and grunts as he extracts mini-boulders from spider-laden ground and swats angry killer deer-flies. The haul: 9 rocks. GardenVixen: "Hmmm, I kinda wanted sparkly rocks." Husband: "Groan." Flash forward to Landscape Supply Company. GardenVixen: "I want that pink one behind the big boulder on the top of the pile." Husband climbs large rock pile, loads truck and forks over cash. Husband unloads truck and sets stones according to GardenVixen's wishes. GardenVixen: "I think we need more rocks." Husband: "Groan." Repeat scenerio. Garden Vixen: "I think that's enough rocks." Pause. Husband: "I think we need more rocks." GardenVixen: "Gasp!" Makes mental note to look up name for addiction to sparkly rocks. So far, no cure found.
4. A week ago. Time to install sprinklers. Well, there is no sense in dropping all this cash on rocks and new low-maintenance foliage without proper watering! (Translation: I hate dragging out the $%#@ hose, especially in this heat). Complex irrigation system is expertly installed in two days by nice teacher and his two college-aged kids in the furnace-like heat. I feel like a tyrant landowner as I watch from my air-conditioned abode. But the job is done and now the Hunter sprinkler heads gleefully pop up every morning at 5:30 to spread their cool refreshing mist on the sleepy grass and on our much-abused early-to-work neighbor. Wonder what our watering bill will be?

So now we have this empty rock-encased mound of dirt (and cypress mulch) and a nifty new sprinkler system. Note the dead tuft of blue grass, installed prior to sprinklers. And the few lone rocks on top, imitating stonehedge. View from dining room window:

See? We need more rocks! We also need sod to fill in the many dead spots littering our crappy lawn due to previous bed removals and the damage done from moving all of that dirt and the installation of the sprinklers. And I think we have grubs. Here you can see the ravaged lawn trying to grow where there was once a much-despised herb garden box.

I want a small dwarf evergreen to anchor the left side of my new rock bed. (That's an Amur Maple on the right). And more perennials. Oh, and I want a Sugar Maple by the house for shade. Don't get me started on the bed by the driveway, or the entire backyard. Or the bed that needs help up near the porch. *sigh*