More Destruction!!

This is what the house looked like last summer - but there will be big changes this summer!! At least to the flower beds, because this is what happened last night:

Rose bush - gone! Weeds - gone! Random perennials - gone! My neighbor across the street was kind enough to let us borrow their tiller, so we got right down to it and got the job done. So much better than using a shovel and a hoe! It has been at least several years since these flower beds have been worked, so the soil was pretty compacted. I'd also like to get some old composted manure from up at the ranch to mix in with the soil and bring it back to life. We decided to get rid of the rose bush because it didn't winter very well, wasn't budding well, and neither of us really like roses anyway, at least in that application. In its place I'd like to establish some evergreen shrubs, perhaps, or maybe some perennial bunchgrasses in the corners of the bed to surround with bulbs and annuals.

This is the north side of the front porch, where there's a little bed right next to the steps, and another bigger one between the bush and the basement window - that's the window in the baby room. I'd like to establish some type of shade-loving perennial ground cover there, because it can't really be seen from the street or sidewalk, and it just needs something there instead of bare ground - as it is, Link tends to think it's a litter box.

Another project for a weekend this summer will be to replace the lattice in the porch. I'm still trying to decide on the best strategy - vinyl lattice would last a lot longer than the wood, which is rotting and falling apart, but I'm concerned it would look funny to combine vinyl lattice with the natural wood railings and steps. Another idea is to get dark green vinyl lattice to coordinate with the house and contrast with the natural wood, but I'm still not sure I'd like that. At any rate, it needs to be addressed.

You'll also notice in the photo that there's bare ground around the outside of the beds, where I sprayed Roundup last summer to kill weeds. We also seeded that patch and several others in the yard, because we're forecast to have rain the rest of this week.

Now the beds are all ready for my little seedlings that are still growing away in the basement under my grow lights. So far I still have cosmos, gazanias, zinnias and some snapdragons, although I don't know how successful the snapdragons will be. They sure are small and slow-growing. I still have yet to seed my lettuce and spinach gardens, as well as the last of my herbs.

Here's to growing new things in the yard!