MY POOR TREE

As you can see the poor tree has a health problem. You may remember the yard reworking. While I was putting the weed barrier down I noticed the problem. This little tree in our front yard has had a very rough life. When the builders installed the front yard they brought in this Canada Maple and left it on the ground with it's root ball exposed during the heat of the summer for several days. When they planted it the poor thing never really got a good start. We would give it extra water, fertilizer, bracing stakes, and a lot of attention. Nothing seemed to be working. The tree was in the ground for about ten years with no major change in growth. A friend told us about this miracle hormone for plants. After three years of feeding the trees with this hormone (Super Thrive) the trees have doubled in size. I will have to tell you I did threaten this one tree that if it did not start growing I was going to rip it out of the ground and plant something that will grow. So, to tell the truth I don't know if it was the threat or the plant hormone. My money is on the hormone but, you never know.

So, after many years of tender loving care and a little threatening the tree has started to really take off we find the tree has been invaded by some horrible pest. BORES! I took this picture down to the local nursery and had the specialist look it over and give me the solution to fix it. Had to use a fairly harsh pesticide with a tree paint to rid our little tree of it's pests.

I hope this will work because I know I don't want to replace the tree now it has become apart of the family. It is really gratifying to see that it is growing and doing well after all of the care.

I hope my tree has Life in Celebration.

YARD WORK UPDATE JULY 11, 2009

Notice that the grass is gone around the tree.

This is one of the workers who dug and dug and cleared all of the grass out.

There is not dirt filling in the beds and they are all but ready for some mulch and plants. I have spent this Saturday getting some peat moss mixed in with the dirt. I should get if finished after we get done playing golf on Sunday. I will have the next update when the beds are ready to plant.

Also, I am not doing too bad without caffeine this week. I just miss the tea in the afternoon. But, still not too bad. If I can give up tea I can give up almost anything for 7 days.

Remember there is always a reason to live your Life in Celebration.

YARD WORK UPDATE: JUNE 6TH 2009

THE DUMPSTER

CLEARED ALL OF THE TULIPS OUT

TO BE CLEARED OUT

CLEARED!!!

Saturday was a beautiful day with the sun shinning and the birds singing. We woke up with a loud noise out the front of our house that sounded like someone tipped over a big truck and it landed on its side. What did we find but the big dumpster sitting across the street. What a great surprise! We have been hoping that the city would bring them around soon. 

We are are always filling up our trash cans with lawn clippings, garden debris, and the regular household trash. So, with this major change in the yard we have not been able to get rid of much of it because it makes the trash can too heavy and the trash collectors will not take the cans because they are too heavy. They left us a nice little note one week to let us know that when we take some of the trash out of the cans they will come back and pick them up if we give them a call. Needless to say we just took out some of the sod we had loaded them up with and waited until the next week to spread out the weight from week to week.    

We have not really done any clearing of the sod because of the last trash can episode and the decision  was made to wait for the landscapers. So, when the dumpsters showed up it gave us the opportunity to get rid of all the stuff around the house. I made the decision to stay home while the hubby went and played golf with the friends. I wanted to get most of the work done that I needed to do before the landscapers come at the end of the month. I pulled out all of the tulips and daffodils, pulled up all the plants that were not doing well and the ones I wanted to get rid of anyway. The garden is quite bare at this time. I think it would be best to get most of the plants out so I can back fill all of the flower beds with topsoil and start all over again with new plants. I want to be a little smarter with the type of plants I plant. I want to make sure the plants will grow in the areas where I plant them. I have had some plants that needed lots of sun in shady areas and plants that need some shade in the sunniest of places. I also want to plant plants that I don't have to replace too often. I know I want to do some annuals but I do want mostly perennials to make the yard very easy to care for. 

A yard that can take care of it's self is Life in Celebration.

YARD WORK UPDATE

Evidence of work has been done.

Work still to do. Notice the grass around the trees.

After digging up the sod on the patio I thought, why dig it up then pile it up then move it again. So, my great idea was to just break it up then load it right to a utility trail. Problem, no utility trailer.

I have done a lot of digging up. Almost got it all done as you can tell by the dead grass.

The front was done first but as you maybe able to see we are a little low on the topsoil for the planter.

I have spent a great deal of time contemplating all the work that has still to be done. Then I realized I did not want to do it. I was being really out of touch with what I am capable of doing at my age. When I was 20 years younger this would not be all that much. But, now with me going on 57 years of spunk I think I got myself in over my head. Where are those guys from HGTV when you need them. I would think I qualify for them to come to my rescue. I would hope they would put in a new patio with pavers and more plants along the fence line to give us more privacy along with a nice little fire pit and a water feature. Well it must have been all of the contemplating of the work yet to be done that I thought that it would happen.

 

My dear and sweet loving husband gave me the go ahead to call in a landscaper to finish the work and to make it right before the next decade is over. That would be 2020 if you were wondering. The first of next week will bring them on. I have two companies coming on Monday to give bids with another one on Tuesday. I just hope I will not have to hock the casa to pay for it. My husband and I realized after the curbing was in the amount of work needed to do to get it to the point we wanted to be WAS MORE WORK THAN EITHER ONE OF US WANTED TO DO. I know it will look fantastic and all of the new plants will add a great deal to the look of our house but, WHAT WERE WE THINKING. All of my friends who are reading this if you ever, ever, ever... hear me talk about doing any type of changes to my yard "SLAP ME SILLY".   

Life in Celebration is when that first landscaper drives up to the house.