Mid-Season Flower Bed Clean Up

Today the temperature was warm and since the snow had melted my husband and I took advantage of the weather and worked to clean up the yard and gardens.   Normally our flower bed clean-up begins in March but this year we got a break in the weather and were able to get many garden chores accomplished.

In the fall we had removed the leaves and sticks from the lawn and gardens but since then the leaves from our maple tree finally fell and the yard and gardens were covered again.

  My husband raked all of the backyard gardens and to our surprise, we saw that the spring flower had broken the soil line.   I am so thankful that we were able to rake and remove the leaves because now the flowers will be able to get sun and better hydration when it rains.

Snowdrops and crocus are blooming and soon the daffodils and tulips will emerge.  I felt excitement when I saw all the greenery in the garden when we removed the leaves.  Spring is coming soon.

We had some topsoil in the shed so I added that to the gardens to fill where there was runoff.  And I took note as to where I will need to add mulch.  Tomorrow we will be pruning the dead branches and plan to remove any weed growth in the garden beds.   After weeds are removed I will fertilize. 

Spring Rain Makes Flowers and Weeds Grow FAST

April showers are welcoming to any gardener but when it rains too much then it creates a horrible mess. During the month of May we had horrific rain storms every single day which left standing water and a whole lot of mud in my yard.

The back lily garden has grown in too thick, It must be thinned out. 

My home is on a hill so my neighbors new top soil traveled down his yard and is now backs up against my river rock wall and some top soil backed up onto my patio.

Yes I need to clean up a muddy mess plus cut the grass, trim all the new brush that has grown in and weed the gardens again. I like to have all this yard work completed before June but all the rain sure did make a mess out of my yard.

Today was first day of part sun but not enough to dry out the grass or to evaporate the standing water in my yard so hopefully by the weekend I can address my yard and garden issues and get it cleaned up and looking presentable and not like a jungle.  

When the weeds are all hand pulled in the gardens I will treat them with weed preventer Preen

Gardening Today: Cutting back Brush

Gardening today took me to the side yard where there was a lot of underbrush as well as low-hanging tree limbs that needed to be trimmed. 

For this project, I needed my rose-trimming gloves.  I found a pair of Terra Professional rose gloves at Amazon.com that I really like because these rose gloves protect my hands and my lower arms from cuts and scratches.  When I have my hands in the brush you never know what you will find and the wild roses will really hurt if I don’t protect myself.

Then to tackle the tough weeds and tall grass that was growing under the shrubs I used my Black & Decker 14-inch curved shaft electric string trimmer.  This trimmer does a good job of taking down the overgrown brush.  When it comes to manicuring the yard I don’t mind doing the trimming as long as I do not have to use a gas-operated trimmer.

Whenever I take on big projects I always wear safety glasses because my trimmer might hit a rock and push it back into my face and that would not be good. I also wear thick weave jean or khaki pant that is tucked into my garden boots.  

It is best to dress for this garden clean-up job because of the snakes, rodents, and other garden pests.  It’s a good idea to spray your clothing with deep woods off to prevent chigger and tick bites.

I went out early to clean up the yard and it was completed by noon.  Now all that needs to be done is for my husband to follow up with trimming back the low-hanging branches by the chain link fence as they are growing in to thick and blocking the sunlight. 

I am glad the brush is cut back because while working I found mole holes.  I had some scoot mole repellent in the garage so I used the garlic and Castor oil concentrated treatment and sprayed the surrounding area by attaching my hose to the formula. The moles will move on now that I used a safe environment repellent.

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How to Dress when Working in Yard and Garden