Typically during the spring and summer months I do a post called Saturday in the Garden. It’s just a re-cap of our week in the yard. I report on anything we harvest from our garden and I blog about playing in the dirt.
Today my husband and I spent a good four hours in the yard. It is hard work. I’m exhausted but I’m so relieved at the progress we made in our backyard. Here’s a short list:
- Took down and removed trampoline. That stupid trampoline was one of my worst ideas ever. I was able to get one free about two years ago and I had fond memories of playing on one growing up. But I think my kids are too young and accident prone for it. And not to mention it was a major eyesore. I’m glad it’s gone.
- Weeded the pumpkin patch
- Went around and dug up dandelions. I filled my kid’s wagon FULL of them.
- Pressure washed and wiped down Little Tikes playhouse. Spiders, grime, it needed it!
- Moved dirt and leveled out all the raised beds.
- Moved the sandbox my kids NEVER play with over to the garden area and filled it with dirt. So there. It’s now a raised bed. And it saved us the hassle and money of building a new one.
- Trimmed tall grass along edges of fence and raised beds
- Cleaned deck, put out barbecue and table/chairs
Whew. Thankfully the kids were at grandmas and it wasn’t raining! Here are some photos.
I don’t know why I didn’t think of this one sooner. The sandbox had been over under some trees and the kids never played in it. Ever. We just removed a large bush from this spot this past winter (damaged by ice storm), so a square bed was perfect for this spot. Yes, it is treated wood. Don’t freak out. Although it would be ideal if it wasn’t treated, I’m not going to lose too much sleep over it. I love the little sitting areas, I think those will be fun for flowering plants, to attract bees, or maybe some herbs.
We weeded and leveled out the dirt in all the raised beds. We have some major planting space this year – I’m excited! We have 6.5 raised beds. I want to pick up some lattice and put it against the back fence for things like peas.
This is our pumpkin patch. It’s just a big dirt hill, but it sure grows some pumpkins! I have a thriving strawberry bush and baby strawberries already – no thanks to any work I’ve done. 🙂
Remember those fall bulbs that I didn’t plant until this February!?! They are coming up! I have a few blooming daffodils. I’m excited that they decided to bloom.
The big gravel spot to the left of the chicken coop was where the trampoline was. We need to weed that area badly – hopefully this week or next. The chickens worked on it today. 🙂 I want to build something to block/protect our wood pile to the far left. And I’m dreaming of putting a greenhouse right next to the chicken coop. Wouldn’t that just be divine? What else could we put there? Any ideas?
We want to do a thorough clean out of the chicken coop in the next week or two – completely removing all the old shavings and washing everything down, so we can start the spring off with a fresh coop. I’m sure I’ll share about that when we do it. I’d love to find a good deal on cedar shingles and cover the coop, I really do NOT like the brown color that we painted it. I have a horrible history of selecting paint colors.
The “girls” ran around the backyard the whole time we were cleaning and working. I tossed a mushy tomato out for an afternoon snack – they go crazy for them!
We have a lot more work to do. We have areas where we need to plant grass seeds, three side beds to weed (later this week) and lots of plants we want to get in the ground. I am just dreaming of a sunny day in July, swinging in the hammock with an ice cold lemonade, while my garden grows and kids play in the backyard. It can’t come soon enough!
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Did you get out and enjoy the rain-free weather today? How is your garden doing?
Jenna says
I see you have galvanized metal cans outside your coop, is that where you store your chicken feed? I have been wanting to put our feed outside near our coop (currently it’s in the garage) but my husband insists it will get moldy if it’s outside. If that’s where you store yours have you had any issues with moisture or mold in your feed?
Heather says
I will ask my husband, but we’ve never had a problem. We put the entire bag of feed, including the bag in there. Then we scoop it out of the bag (inside the tub). We do not poor the feed into the galvanized tub, does that make sense?
marie says
For a greenhouse, if you’re handy, You can find free sliding glass patio doors on Craigslist. Build a raised bed and put the doors one on each side. Then you have access to all sides.
We have to do this to grow tomatoes. We live at “1000+ feet, so tomatoes take forever to ripen.
nwgardener says
That gravel space next to the chicken coop is crying out for a greenhouse or potting shed!!! My chicken coup and potting shed are right next to each other and I Iove it! I start many of my garden plants under grow lights in my potting shed and spend a lot of time out there. It is SO nice to have my girls for company. I can just picture a greenhouse/potting shed with a nice “thinking chair” to admire all your labors!
Angela says
Awesome yard! I’m a bit jealous….
I was out in the yard today too; taking up the rest of the leaves we missed last fall.
GlitterMamma says
You have a great backyard!! It looks awesome!