Work it, own it

One of the things I hate about home ownership is being in charge of maintenance. Like everything else in my house the yard needs a lot of attention. The former owners/tenants had an above-ground pool that left a bare patch in the backyard. It also left a ditch where the water flowed out when they emptied it. I naively thought that if I let the grass grow long enough to go to seed it would naturally fill in the bare spots. I was wrong. The bare patch filled in with weeds and the weeds began spreading.


I've been working on this problem for the last few weekends. I started by walking up and down the length of my yard spraying every dandelion and patch of clover with Weed B Gon. My back was killing me and I think I inhaled some of it (yuck). No fun. The very next morning we had a load of rain that washed everything clean. Even though the product claims to be rain-proof the dandelions survived.

I talked to a lawn and garden pro at Home Depot last weekend. He recommended Scotts Turf Builder. He said it would work better in the rain than a spray does. He also said it would be safe to spread new grass seed after a few days. I put it out on Monday. I haven't seen any results yet. Maybe it takes a while?

Yesterday morning I mowed the lawn and raked the weedy patches to get it ready for seed. I filled in the ditch with 80 pounds of topsoil. I used a hand-held spreader to seed the area, then I watered it down. Funny that three hours of intense work can be summarized in three sentences. I really hope the grass takes hold and the weeds start retreating. Here's a shot taken from my deck:


I'm also wondering what to do about this marshy patch on the edge of my property. I think my neighbor curses me every time he has to mow around it.


While I'm at it, I need to deal with the obvious erosion around my terraced flower beds.


By the way, I love the jonquils. They remind me of my sister. I wish I'd thought to take a picture when they were all in bloom.

Honestly, if I had known how much time and expense would go into fixing up my yard I might have considered getting a condo or townhouse. I didn't want to spend the extra money. Maybe next time I'll change my tune.