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- Apr 14, 2014
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- 3,542
The snow has finally melted, the ground is no longer frozen, and the flowers are starting to peak out in the gardens. That must mean spring has finally arrived. To that end the spring yard work must begin.
Not being as ambitious as I once was, we're starting the year with only a ton of topsoil to refresh some bare spots in the lawn, and half a ton of mulch to freshen up the gardens. In times past I ordered as much as 5 tons of topsoil, and 40 yards of mulch to do a complete makeover. That much energy is long gone so these days we take it a step at a time. We gave up on the bulk topsoil a few years ago since everything we got was full of weed seeds. It was a never-ending job trying to keep the imported weeds from taking over the lawn. The last few years we've been using "Scotts Lawn Soil" for repairs. It's a bit more expensive, but has fertilizer mixed in for seeding, and no weeds.
Along with the application of mulch and topsoil all the gardens will need to be edged. We tried plastic edging, but the frost was continually pushing it up. It started looking ugly and was often trimmed by the lawnmower. For the last 30 years or so we run the edger along the borders then rip out ang grass that has crept past the defined edge into the gardens. In all I would guess there's about 1,500 to 2,000 feet of edge to be refreshed. We have plantings around the outside perimeter of the back yard, on 3 sides of the house, and around half a dozen or so free-standing trees.
Over the years the job is actually getting easier. When we first built the house, we planted so many trees it looked like we built in a forest rather than the corn field it once was. At one time the trees were so close together I had to downsize from a 60" mower to a 48" mower just to get between them. Over the last 25 years we've removed nearly 3 dozen trees making me wish I still had the larger mower.
It's a bright sunny day and the temperature is a bit over 60*F so it's time to get to work.
Not being as ambitious as I once was, we're starting the year with only a ton of topsoil to refresh some bare spots in the lawn, and half a ton of mulch to freshen up the gardens. In times past I ordered as much as 5 tons of topsoil, and 40 yards of mulch to do a complete makeover. That much energy is long gone so these days we take it a step at a time. We gave up on the bulk topsoil a few years ago since everything we got was full of weed seeds. It was a never-ending job trying to keep the imported weeds from taking over the lawn. The last few years we've been using "Scotts Lawn Soil" for repairs. It's a bit more expensive, but has fertilizer mixed in for seeding, and no weeds.
Along with the application of mulch and topsoil all the gardens will need to be edged. We tried plastic edging, but the frost was continually pushing it up. It started looking ugly and was often trimmed by the lawnmower. For the last 30 years or so we run the edger along the borders then rip out ang grass that has crept past the defined edge into the gardens. In all I would guess there's about 1,500 to 2,000 feet of edge to be refreshed. We have plantings around the outside perimeter of the back yard, on 3 sides of the house, and around half a dozen or so free-standing trees.
Over the years the job is actually getting easier. When we first built the house, we planted so many trees it looked like we built in a forest rather than the corn field it once was. At one time the trees were so close together I had to downsize from a 60" mower to a 48" mower just to get between them. Over the last 25 years we've removed nearly 3 dozen trees making me wish I still had the larger mower.
It's a bright sunny day and the temperature is a bit over 60*F so it's time to get to work.
