What's in Your Backyard?....again

Remember this picture from way back in April...when I started cleaning out and reclaiming my backyard?

Well, since my brother moved in, he's been cleaning up in earnest! Out came the fence and all the left over junk; the sand (we used to have a pool in this spot when I was a kid) has been dug down and raked...
and he's even building up a rock retaining wall!
It's just so clean and starting to look so pretty!
Next year, I need a better plan for the garden. I didn't utilize my space wisely, didn't plant the potatoes properly, my beans got mold towards the end, my carrots could have been thinned better and I think my tomatoes are diseased. But my cucumbers did well and I do have one little pumpkin and three zucchinis that are doing wonderfully. Ah, every year with a garden is a learning experience!

A Break in the Clouds

Finally, we're getting some sun! It's been so bleak and dreary (yet muggy) around here, so even thinking about taking pictures was futile! Here's looking up the driveway to where the fence used to be (you can see it at the very back of the picture - it's going to a burn pile along with a few other things soon!)Ah, to be fenceless...I forgot just how spacious my backyard is when there isn't a bunch of crap cluttering it!
My poor peonies have been getting beat by the rain



And the veggie garden is flourishing (though it needs desperately to be weeded). Here are the cukes and radish.

the peas and beans climbing for all they're worth
pumpkins
Tomatoes (lets hope they do better than last year!)
and Zucchini with some morning glories growing in the corner.
I really need to get in there and clean up, maybe tonight after work...maybe. Who's to say that I'll be in the mood?

In the Ground

Mt. Vernon St. is greening up, so be prepared for many posts dedicated to the green space outside my house (the backyard, the veggie garden, the flower gardens). I’ll throw in a few crafty posts too, here and there, but with the sun and warm weather we’re having, all the crafty stuff has been relegated to rainy days! I do owe you another “Week of Mondays”…as soon as I finish the mini-quilts. I have two done, but am still behind by 4. This may be on the agenda for the weekend…if it rains like the weatherman is predicting.

But I digress…last night saw me and my little helper (wish I’d grabbed my camera while she was out there rolling in the dirt, all glassy eyed and in 7th heaven…she's an indoor cat who is too fat to jump over the garden fence) planting the cucumbers…

the peas... (beans to the left)
and the pumpkins.
The rhubarb has popped. In another month it will be time for more of this, so I can make another few of these :^)
And...any day now, those lilacs will be bursting through (maybe even today!). I can't wait for that lovely lovely smell...mmmm.
Everything is so green,
I just don't want to be indoors! I want to be out, playing in the dirt and strolling amid the flowers (despite it being black fly season). Every moment I'm forced to be indoors, I feel like I'm missing what's growing!
I noticed just this morning that in one week, the clematis practically exploded! It's already a foot high!
Well, back to work - happy gardening!

The Garden that Tiff Built

It may not be as nice as the house that Jack built, but it'll keep the critters out!

I know it looks so empty...soon it will be a lush little jungle of veggies! I can't wait for cucumbers and lettuce, tomatoes and carrots, potatoes, onions, green beans and sweet little pea pods....yum!
On Saturday, I tilled and raked it twice, set the posts and wrapped the fence. The bean trellis is made from posts, a 2x4, cup hooks and bird netting (it'll be easier for the beans and peas to climb).
I even got the beans planted yesterday morning. I had to get them off the porch, they were already a foot tall and falling over! I wish I had had more time to plant the peas, as they're getting HUGE (maybe tonight)! The potatoes and pumpkins can go out anytime since they're rather hearty, but cukes and zucchini and...well...everything else, will have to wait until the ground starts to warm up and the frost potential is over (another month? I hope they can hold out on the porch that long!). As it is, the peas and beans will have to be covered any night when there is a frost warning. I'm thinking of starting the lettuce this weekend. Oh...and I need to get onions! I completely forgot!
I had to share my funky orange tulips...they look fake, I know. The funny thing is, they weren't there last year - do you think that the red and the yellow tulips cross bred? Is that even possible? I know irises can do it, but I'm not so sure about tulips.
The backyard will be an on-going project, but it's already halfway to being reclaimed, so I'm okay with not having it done - right now (which is what my immediate gratification side normally wants).

What's In Your Backyard? - Update

Had to show off pictures from the midpoint (or what I like to call the "so close to being done, I'm surprised that I'm not yet" point):

Friday night saw my sister, my nephew and I hauling cinderblocks from behind the fence to behind the shed (did you know that cinderblocks gain weight the longer you lug them? Maybe I was just getting weaker with each block, because it sure felt like they went from weighting 10lbs each to 100lbs by the time we finished!!)

(if you click on the picture, you'll see it larger than life)

Saturday, I hauled all the pipe and metal to behind the shed and raked.
I know it's not 100% pretty yet, but it will be soon. I have to figure out what to do with the old cook stove (hiding under the tarp), dismantle the fence and take care of the wood splitter. I was just so tired and sore that I couldn't have done more if I wanted to on Sunday!

I can't wait to see that space totally empty, to get the compost in, seed it and have a lawn again!! I'm giddy with the thought!

What's in Your Backyard?

backyard
Originally uploaded by faerytreecreations

I know I blogged about this last year...but tis the season and this year, I'm actually getting stuff done! The picture is tiny here, but click over to flickr and you can see it a little larger (esp. if you go into all sizes). This is the before picture. I took Tuesday and Wednesday off from work for a 5 day weekend (Monday was Patriot's Day - observed only in Maine and Massachusetts) and all I did was rake and rake and rake some more!

My brother helped on Sunday - we got rid of all that rotting wood behind the shed and two truck loads of leaves. Then I borrowed my parents' truck and got rid of another 6 loads of leaves! My nephew will be over tonight to help me move all the crap and cinder blocks from behind the rotting fence to behind the shed (out of sight, out of mind). Then the plan is to take down the fence and when the transfer station starts giving away it's free compost, I'll dump it in that soon to be crap free area and seed it, thus reclaiming a portion of the yard that hasn't been used as actual "yard" space in YEARS!

I'm hoping that I can get the garden tilled tomorrow and the fence up (to fend off any future veggie munching visitors) and possibly get my peas and beans in, as they are getting a bit big for their britches...er...pots on the porch!

As soon as I get the "After" pictures taken, I'll be sure to post!

Oh, I'm hoping to make next week a "Week of Mondays" - miniquilt Mondays, that is. I have a bunch done and photographed...just waiting to be posted!

Have a fantastic weekend!