Oh hai

As I walked outside this Saturday, here is what was going through my mind:

"Oh hai, cute little almost flowering fall-inspired Chrysanthemum! Aren't you so gorgeous? I bet you give warm fuzzies to all the people who see you from the street!"

"Let me just step back and see what you look like from afar!"

"Hmm....giant bush in the way. I hate these bushes. Let me step back further."

"Yep. Totally obscured. And jesus, what is going on with that other bush?!  Has it really looked that bad the whole time?!? Let's get a closer look."

::shudders::

3 hours later.....

"Peace out mother fuckers." ::Satisfied sigh::

So the ultimate plan is to move the four white azalea bushes back into that spot, but closer to the house, plant annuals in front of them and then fill in the spot where the azaleas were with daylilies, bearded lily bulbs, seedlings I'm growing, etc. What it will do is provide a visually sloped line up to the house with the tallest plants closer to the house so you can see everything, instead of everything being blocked and looking closed off. Also, since the azaleas are technically evergreen, they'll still provide some winter interest and the house won't look bare.

So I dug four massive holes for the azaleas and then realized I was too tired to transplant the azaleas. So the house is going to look crappy for a while because I don't think I'm going to have time next weekend between camping and our anniversary plans. Oh well. Progress is not always pretty in the between phases. Hopefully my neighbors will forgive me. Or not even notice because there are still giant bushes in front.

Big garden update

I know it's been ages since I updated. The best excuse I can give for that is that big changes were happening and happening slowly. Let's take a look:

1. I have successfully cleared out 75% of the ivy from the garden, earning more bug bites than I think I ever have in my life. I WILL finish the rest by the end of the season. 

2. With the help of my uber-manly husband, I installed lattice to cover the nasty broken fence and to support the climbing roses I planted and morning glory I will plant in the spring. These plants will offer even more coverage of the nasty broken fence.

3. I transplanted plants from the old St. Paul apartment, some I bought from Lowe's, some I got from my mom for free, and some I bought off Craiglist. In the mix we have daylilies, bearded iris, echinacea (coneflower), black eyed susan, sedum autumn joy, shasta daisies, yellow climbing roses, and two butterfly bushes. 

4. I used the crazy amount of rocks to enclose the tree in the backyard. I'm starting the process of mulching underneath and filling it with shade-loving plants like hostas, liriope, and ferns. This doesn't look like a big deal from the pictures, but in actuality, that area is pretty rough. Grass won't grow because the area is too wet and shady, but weeds and ivy love it. So it definitely needs some mulch and shade plant love. 

So let's just revisit what it looked like when we moved in:

And what it looks like now:

And the tree before:

And after:

Wahooooo!