Our Yard in Spring - Garden of Hope

Mother's Day 2016

I heard from all three daughters today for Mother's Day. Unfortunately, none were able to spend time with me in person today. So Dale and I spent the day in very comfortable companionship. We had breakfast together at home. Went to Home Depot and Lowes to buy some stepping stones, edging, bark, and flowers. We watched a bit o' TV. We bought a few groceries so Dale can cook me a nice dinner.

Looking down from the porch

Dale went to spend a little time with his mom while I refreshed our Garden of Hope. I tease the readers of this blog into thinking my yard is full of flowers. The truth is, Dale keeps the lawn in beautiful condition. My part is to keep things tidy around the edges. The flowers I photograph are around the edges, but they are sparse. (That's why I take close-up photos!) In the larger picture, there's a lot of work to be done.

So today I took on one of those "bigger" areas. It's a little odd-shaped plot that slopes down from the front porch and walkway to the driveway and the garage. It's 5 feet across the back. When it rains, we always walk through the garden to keep from getting wet on our way from the porch to the garage. In winter, we pile snow there as it's shoveled from the driveway. The poor garden doesn't have much of a chance.

Today, I decided to spruce it up for summer. I removed five 5-gallon buckets of dirt to make way for the hardscaping. I added edging to keep dirt from sliding down the slope. I placed some stepping stones along the back where we walk ... and where it's so shady no plants like to grow there anyway. I planted some bluebells and viola. Then I covered the dirt with mulch and gave the garden a good watering.

Looking toward the walkway/porch from the driveway

I'm really not much of a gardener. Every now and again it's awfully nice to go play in the dirt, though, especially on a beautiful Spring day like today. As I worked, I listened to one of my Harry Potter audio books. It was quite a Zen experience - and a lovely way to spend a Mother's Day.

Next? Barbecue!