Side Yard Shuffle

Last Thursday the sun came out of hiding, and though chilly, it was the perfect day to cut back the liriope , rake out the garden beds, and spruce up the side yard.




There was quite a bit of shuffling going on.

The house being flipped next door will soon be on the market so I thought cleaning that nasty area facing its master bedroom would be a nice gesture.

I do wish I had taken a before photo to show the debris and leaves piled here.

Along with a bunch, no, a herd of rusty things.

It is an area only seen by us and whoever may be living next door.

The electrical lines come in on this side as well as the telephone cables and cable TV.

I started by moving the old green shutter down to the back fence for the clematis to climb.

There are bunches of liriope and lilies here - high enough to cover the cables.

While sorting through the rusty treasures, I found the bottomless bucket and the white iron wheel to go at the other end.

That stick in front is my nandina bush which was crushed during the ice storm.

I am giving it another chance.

I know it looks pathetic.

I have faith in its ability to recover.

This was my pile of maybe's.

The screen I use to line wire baskets before adding potting soil.

A great deal at Habitat at fifty cents a screen.




Some things will stay, and some will be cleaned for the booth.

I only had three broken pots and a bent bucket.

The vintage patio set is the one Mr. Flipper wanted me to throw in his dumpster.

<No comment.>

I am thinking of sanding the set  (two chairs and a glider) to repaint.

The metal plant stand is made from welded pipe pieces.

The guy at the flea market had quite a tale about a sailor making it for his wife.

Really?

All of this needs cleaning and sprucing.

The big pot I was using to hold potting soil - it will get a bunch of annuals when the time comes.





Homemade animal trap under the chair will go to the store. 

They are great for creeping plants - a square of plant!

I did buy lantanna, speedwell, and salvia - I knew these would hold up to whatever weather is coming the next few weeks.

I also dumped several pots of stonecrop and sawed them into quarters.

I scattered leftover seeds from last year in the bed and the containers.

There are underground electrical wires running through this bed to the shed and pool. 

I put the table there to remind me not to dig more than a few inches.

Yes, it is a leaner.

It has been a great outside table for years.




Concrete planter of stonecrop and some annuals yet to be purchased.

On the other side of the gate from the green shutter is a ladder birdhouse where I attached a wire basket, lined it with screen and planted more stonecrop.

The casement window has a hanger for a future planter and an old metal mesh record stand holding a wire basket.

This is where my impatiens will go.

The other junk is just strategically placed for now.

My footless angel stands in the middle of the bed.

She is a bit distressed - I love her.

I am a patient gardener.





I do not mind waiting for the full effect of tall, bushy plants blooming.

It all looks bare now, but it will fill in.




The white birdcage sits on my paint frame.

Keep or sell?

I usually plant a sweet potato vine in it.

Can't decide.

Could not find a place for it here in the side yard.

It just refused to do the shuffle -

It was a bit like musical chairs.

If something did not find a place, it will have to find a new home.

Tough love.

My motto for the garden plants?

Live dry or die!

I only water when they are putting out roots.

After weed-eating 300 feet of liriope, raking seven carts of leaves, hauling bags of potting soil and mulch, and making tough decisions, this is how we both felt.

 
Shaky, but still standing after the side yard shuffle.

When it turns beautiful, I promise to show you.

See y'all!

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