LANDSCAPE - LOVE OR HATE

Once we got the branch clean up out of the way, our #renobyretirees landscaper Kate and I got going on raking, discovery and planting. I say discovery because as its our first season in the house we have no idea what will grow... except for Poison Ivy. We know that grows here... 

We had a rough winter. The weekend before of our closing we had a big storm that knocked down a bunch of tree branches. Then the day of our closing was a huge snowstorm. So once the snow melted we knew we would have some clean up to do. The Town had a free branch cleanup in April so we got going on moving the branches to the edge of our property, chopping the big branches to about 4-5 ft. Take a look at this insane video which shows just how much was on our property... The Poor Branch Guys... 

Here are some Before/Middles/Afters of the strange but cool rusty pipe arbor. We removed the Dead Wisteria and leaves. Then I went to Fairfield Garden Center to get 2 Eden Climbing Rose bushes in pale creamy pink. They took right away. I was testing Deer Mesh fencing vs the actual metal guard fence. I think between all the eggshells and coffee grounds I throw around these roses, the deer have moved on (I hope). So far I have had some really gorgeous roses sitting on our makeshift kitchen island. And my 1 rule of thumb for this new house is Perennial... Other than vegetables I don't want to repeat all this again next year. I want to help grow. 

A few months in and here are some glamour shots of what this yard grows in Spring:

The other thing Chris and I both really love is a Vegetable Garden. But with all the crazy tall Trees on our property its hard to find a spot with good sun, except for our back "Field" section. And I wanted to keep that open for now. Plus I don't want to walk the mile back there every day to water and weed.

So we cleared the side of our house that had been overgrown with weird bushes, weeds, a vine that tried to eat the Rhodi tree and of course poison ivy. You can still see the weird viney marks on the side of the house that would't power wash off. Pretty.

Chris' Dad started tomatoes, green beans and lettuce from seeds and he gave us the plantings which was great since we were late in the game on this gardening due to the move. I used our old ladders for an impromptu herb container garden right outside the back door to the kitchen. So far so good. Once the plants get bigger we have a fence to put up to keep the animals away. 

We still have a ton to do. A few trees to take down, branches to trim but we are getting there. We have the summer to be outside and clean up. And of course there will always be pinecones....