You can tell it's Spring.....

.....at my house.

Yesterday was the first productive day of this Spring clean-up. The front garden got it’s seasonal haircut and sprucing up. I cut the roses back last weekend and yesterday I cut back the barberry bushes and cut the liriope to the ground. The garden now looks fresh and the hidden crocus and daffodils now can be seen. I’ll need to add bulbs in the fall to the rose garden. I’m not much of a rose person, but I seem to be able to grow the “Knock Out” roses. The pond garden got a little cleaning up by cutting back the lireope, but I’m still trying to decide how to transform this garden. I’m growing tired of the pond, and I think I want to remove it and turn the area into a sitting area with a bubbling water feature and a fire pit. The pond requires a lot of work cleaning it out and I just haven’t been happy with the layout since we put it in.

The bird condo that I purchased at the Maryland Spring Home Show went up and looks great. I saw the birds checking it out and they seemed to be pleased with it. Maybe it will get some occupancy real soon. (Yellow jackets or wasps occupy most of my birdhouses!) I already have a pair of chickadees in one of the birdhouses in the garden; it may even be the same pair that was there in the fall.

The list is long for spring clean up this year….
In no particular order: (and this is only what I can currently think of!!!)
Clean up gardens - I already made a dent in this
Cut back butterfly bushes
Take out pond and convert area to small patio with a bubbling water feature
Complete deck expansion (started in fall after pool was removed)
Sand and repaint deck and rails
Put up posts to support new retractable awning (leftover from last sales)

Plant new garden around the expanded deck
Take down trellis in raised bed at top of hill and convert this bed to a cutting garden
Paint raised bed
Mulch gardens (usually takes 3 – 4 yards)
Create walkway in front of new cutting garden
Plant spinach, plant onion sets, plant broccoli, plant lettuce
Convert pool shed into a garden shed
Make a table for the deck using leftover tiles from the sun room

The goal is to have the list completed by Memorial Day. Boy am I glad I don’t have to do this by myself! All of this on weekends and evenings. Hopefully there isn't any rain to set us back. I'll post pictures as I complete my list to show my accomplishments.

In between doing my own garden, we offered to help our daughter and her husband take a tree down in their front yard, complete a flower bed we built in the fall and put up a fence around their property.

So much to do.... so little time.