That will be great once you are done. I'm just trying to get weeds under control in the back yard. I think I was diligent enough pulling the last two years to have the front under control.

I redid my front yard over the last two years, so I'm hoping for just maintenance up there this year.

This year I am finally starting on the back yard. I planted two redbuds in early March while they were dormant. One has not budded out at all but is still green if I scratch the bark. I'm on the line about just buying another one or if it really has gone into a deep shock.

I also need to replace a section of wood fence that is rotting. I have been working on getting rid of the Virginia Creeper that was on it and digging out roots. As it stands, there are so many big roots I wouldn't be able to put in new fence posts yet.

And if I happen to get all that done, a new bed for some daylilies I picked up really cheap at the garden club sale. Right now I just have them all potted up and growing.

String Weaver, you need to sit with Shades on the tea thread. The sheer amount of work you're doing makes my head spin.

Here's my first goals for my Yardening 2017. I love the "Yardening" term!

I've decided to not hide my Fairy Garden next to the wonderful, but more useful-than-beautiful Air Conditioning unit. I am going to place the huge ole concrete birdbath/Fairy Garden at the front end of the Hosta garden. I will be able to see it when I sit under the bird-feeder tree and watch the Purple Martins. People will be able to see it when they come up on the deck to the front door. I won't have to worry about trying to get a lattice screen properly placed away from the A/C unit. If I do get it built, I could always move the Fairy Garden, or not.

This is my first task I outlined on the tea thread...

~ I have one - that is one as in "1" - round, exposed aggregate, 20" diameter paver to move to a new spot in the hosta garden. It will have to be leveled, then the birdbath base, now the Fairy Garden pillar, set on it...sometime in June. And I'm dreading it.

~ I want to find a plant an "Almost Wild" rose in the front left garden. It's supposed to be as hardy as the native wild roses here. It's a small, about 2 1/2 x 2 1/2 foot, shrub rose that blooms in spring and fall.

~ I am hoping to plant fewer tomatoes in the South Garden this year; or just top it up with horse maneuvers and let it rest this season. I can stick a few tomatoes here and there in the front yard garden.

~ I am going to try to find someone to hire to help me, once again, set all the huge granite rocks around the two front gardens. The planting areas are too large and I can't get the right hand curves to shadow the left hand curves. I need two or three young, strong, hard-working men for about four days. That's not happening, but I'll continue looking.

~ I will continue to whine and plead about planting Clematis vines along the front deck. I will Beach & Moan until he breaks down and lets me plant them. The only reason I wanted this honking huge front deck, instead of just steps to the front door, was I intended to put five clematis vines all along the front.

Now I'm more tired just thinking about what's ahead! I'm going to go finish dinner and dream of completed gardening areas!

This is the north side of the house right after the A/C was installed. The birdbath, soon to be unveiled as a plum and green Fairy Garden, is too close to the unit. I think I'll have it placed in the center of the roughly 6'x6'empty curved area in front of the drain hose. There are hostas and violas that fill in this area.

Here's that corner of the garden a bit more filled in. St. Francis had a terrible accident during a bad storm and has gone back to Heaven.

Stringweaver I LOVE your plans and it will be so pretty when you get it all put together. It does look like a large amount of veggies to deal with. You might add flowers in a few of the raised beds. Make it a true potager garden. Such a great design though.

Aw Caroline I a so sorry about St Frances. Your lard is always so pretty.

I will put my photo here of my efforts today. this keeps it in the Yardening thread. The patio. I was reading about grasses that grow long and fall over . It is a fescue. I am slightly considering that to fill in my squares even though I have put the hens and chicks in again. They move easily since the ground was so wet and they have small root balls. the grass would be pretty and soft on bare feet.

More plans for me is also to spray seedlings now coming up where I do not want them. I do not like to use spray but it is the only way I am going to gain any kind of control. Now if I can only have two sunny non windy days in a row.

Next I am going to be brutal after this one batch of plants bloom and before they set seed I will cut them off and that will be the end of them or close. Name is Dames Rocket and they are pretty and smelly in a good way but so invasive. They grow one year them bloom the next set seed and die. After two years you have constant seedlings that keep spreading. The seed pods when dry fling seeds for miles around the yard. Or so it seems.

I also plan on doing the same for the hollyhocks. I have had enough of them on the bank and will keep them cut back and spray the seedlings and in a couple of years I should have them gone too. Maybe just a couple over in the far corner of the lawn. I have some coming up there and it will be pretty to look at.

I think I have a pretty good handle on the court yard flower beds and will continue to spray them as needed. Again I hate the spray. Once you get the weeds knocked down and keep everything mulched you usually can keep a pretty weed free yard. I am including flowers in this weed comment. LOL Neighbor across the street will be mowing his daughters lawn so I will have a big weekly supply of grass clippings and it is clean grass no weeds in it.

So for me this is it for now.

OK Second trip to town in two days and 8 bags of garden soil and grass seed bought and planted in the center 9 empty squares. I will try to get a photo later. It is just starting to rain again and I am tired of being in the rain today. And WIND!! wow it is windy. I fenced of the new patio area from the dog for now. The plants need to establish before the dog trounces on them. Not to mention the garden soil has now turned to muddy soil. When dogie needs to run I let him out the side door. No biggie. I think he prefers the lawn anyway.

Slow progress But it is progress. all empty squares have been planted. to grass and succulents now.

I also bought 4 artichoke plants and two tomatoes. I hope to get them planted tomorrow. One is a small patio tomato and I would like to plant it into a pot that might be able to come into the house in the fall to maybe extend the growing season. I am not sure the tomatoes would be as good not getting the sunshine they do outside. Will give it a try. Need one large container I can put a saucer under.

I thought about asking my friend to build me a planter box so I could have 2 tomato plants... then I remembered I'd forget to water them and they'd die.

that's the extent of my garden planning...

String

Lovely pattern of beds! And super ambitious. How do you attach your timbers to each other for raised beds? I was hoping to build 1 or 2 this year.

I want to rework my garden a bit - perhaps raised beds and heavily mulched paths. I got a load of weed seed with manure one year. I spent more time last year weeding paths than the actual beds. And it still got away from me. I still have to face that disaster. If it stops raining for a bit.

I may invest in a bunch of black plastic and straw. Just to start smothering the worst of it.

Our 'yard' is still in the rough-in phase! Most of our property is mature forest, and we are going to leave it that way. Since finishing the house, I've yet to even do the final grading! I'll need dumptruck loads of fill and topsoil. I have the tools, though. This winter, I bought an old but serviceable tractor with a payloader. It's good enough to move dirt around once I get some delivered.

Last summer, we bought an additional 1/2 acre, mostly because it gives us more frontage so no one can build right in front of us. It's a mess, having been logged off a few years ago. It's full of pine stumps and new saplings, which are growing like weeds. We have a lovely distant view from our front porch, so the saplings need to go. When I get it cleared, I'll keep it as a pasture-like area, mowing it a few times a year. Since it faces south, I'll probably put a vegetable patch out there, too, as the rest of our place is too shady. I've been using the tractor to yank out the saplings (some are 4" in diameter and 25' tall), and I bought a wood chipper to grind them up. Hard work, but actually kind of fun (it's a guy thing). The stumps are rather solid, and I may hire someone to dig them out. Eventually, I'll plow the whole mess and groom it into a pasture. Phew!

I've been told that with 7 acres, the yard work will never be done!

Mushcreek that does sound very ambitious. Knowing you it will get done. there is 1/2 acre here so I can get a mental visual of what you are working with.

Well even though the tall winter kitty kennel is not actually dirt work in the yard it does go into the yard. Still painting away on it. Even with many things cleared from the garage I only have so much room with out removing the cars. So painting in shifts. Hopefully today will be the last of it then I can start to assemble. I will have to do the final build on the patio as I will not be able to move it much once built. Too heavy. I also had to pull out some left over green paint because I am running out of white. It will be two toned. That is fine.

I put up a bottle tree yesterday and need to find some thing for the top. And do some planting around the base of it. This is in the worst area of my yard so please excuse the mess.

In the south they are supposed to keep evil spirits away. Here I hope they keep nasty neighbors away. I need to find some more blue bottles. These have been waiting for a tree for years in my garage. I do not drink beer or vodka so need to find some one that does.