I get the biggest thrill of excitement at creating something beautiful and watching it grow.
At our beach house we are working with a completely blank canvas… well sort of. Our front yard has random day lilies all over that are nestled in this crazy network of very strong pine tree roots. Meanwhile the back and side yards are totally empty. This weekend we fixed that. The front yard remains a mess because honestly I just don’t have the strength for it right now. The back yard is gorgeous and here’s how we did it.
Greg and I loaded all 5 of us into the car for a fun 7am ride to Lowes for “some” plants. We bribed the kids with donuts on the way so they seemed somewhat content. They were also excited to pick out some of the plants. About an hour later with kids grabbing plants from God knows where and two carts loaded down we filled the minivan to the brim and set out for home.
The previous owners had a fish pond in the backyard, and while I am sure it was nice it seemed like a lot more maintenance and quite frankly I didn’t need another water feature that the kids could fall into. We got 3 cubic yards of dirt delivered to our driveway where it was then wheelbarrowed to the back and filled into the pond. Just that was a huge improvement in the yard! The most fun might have been doing all of the planting while I watched the kayakers and paddleboarders paddle by during the day. Yes, it took all day and we sweated and got frustrated as the kiddos tried to help.. but the end result is pretty amazing.
My kids have always been pretty good about gardening with me. They know that when you pull weeds you have to get the root and that to have certain plants re-bloom you must deadhead them. They also are interested in learning the names and the different between perennials and annuals. I think these are some of the best life skills, so here’s to hoping that someday they will continue to help me garden by the water.
