Pretty Little Ones

Title side note: Do you know Steve Martin is an amazing songwriter and banjo player? I love him.

I feel like I've talked about the backyard so. many. times. on this blog, but never really touched the front. It's just that the backyard is a jungle of, well, jungle, and the front yard is relatively tamed. But that doesn't mean it can't get a little colorful TLC from time to time.

With the front yard in mind, we headed to Home Depot and picked up a few perennials to spruce up some bare patches.

First up, tackling a suddenly very dead boxwood-esque hedge in the front planting bed. I suspect the cats in our neighborhood had something to do with this plant's demise, but [thankfully] I found no... evidence. Regardless, it was way past due for a serious weeding and some trimming of plants around it. In went the Dwarf Rhodie.

Next, a seriously sunny spot in the planting area right in front of the house. There's already an Andromeda in the row of mature landscaping, so I figured one more might balance things out. Plus, these get nice and bushy and are pretty hearty around these parts.

 And for color, a 'Tequila Sunrise' Avens on either side.

Last but not least, a large pot by the door I usually stick some annuals in. This year I went for more perennials, and one of my absolute favorite flowers at that: Anemones. These are shade-lovers, so tucked up on the sun-for-only-two-hours-in-the-morning front steps is a perfect spot.

Nate would still like to pop in some annuals around the cherry tree right that butts up against the sidewalk, but I'm wondering: Maybe some shade-loving year 'round green kind of options? Hostas maybe? I need to do some research. Or leave me a note in the comments if you have suggestions!

Frost Flowers?

I've seen those viral emails showing amazing sculpture-like crystals called frost flowers, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it phenomenon where the atmospheric conditions have to be just so. They're gorgeous and rare, so you can imagine my excitement when I thought I found some in my own back yard during this past week's snow.

A little research tells me frost flowers may not be what I have here: The internet seems to think they only appear in certain areas of the US (Washington isn't one of them), and are actually attached to certain kinds of plant stems.

The patches I found came straight out of the ground, in an area of our back yard that is straight up dirt/mud (stop judging - we have moss issues in this part of the world). The vertical crystals had even absorbed a good deal of the soil from which they were rising.

So what do you think? What are these pretty little growths I found? They are long gone now that the temp has warmed and the rain has returned, but I'm glad I've got 'em on digital film. Nature is pretty fascinating!

Hit The Deck

I told you monday that it was a hardworkin' homeowner weekend, and here's the proof.

There's been talk of re-staining our deck for about a year now, and it just didn't happen last summer. Well the time had officially come this year, with a couple spots wearing bare and the rainy season coming quickly.

I saw a stretch of nice weather coming, and decided to seize the weekend. Off to the hardware store and home with a gallon of stain and a wide brush made just for the project.

Picked these up at Home Depot.

Luckily, we already had cleaner and a spray pump on hand, so that was step one. I followed the directions on the cleaner (mix with water, etc), sprayed and let it sit for the recommended time (5 minutes in this case), and began the real work: Scrubbing.

Ohhh the scrubbing. I ended up doing every board and the top of the railing three times apiece. Rough. But with the requirement of a dry deck to apply stain and a very wet one in front of me, at least I was done for the day.

More bare spots than I ever imagined appeared once the deck was clean.

That's the brush I used for scrubbing - It's day job is sweeping the garage.

The next afternoon (once the damp from the morning dew was long gone), I slapped on some old clothes and rubber gloves and got down to work. Here again I trusted the expertise of the container, applying a moderately thin coat and trying to avoid drips. It was a fairly quick process compared to the previous day's cleaning extravaganza, and wow, the results were immediate and spectacular.

Looking from the screen door to the bottom level.

After 24 hours of drying time, I applied a light second coat to a few of the heavily worn areas. They looked exactly the same, but at least now we know for sure they're protected.

From top: Before, post-scrubbing, and after.

This 'after' shot looks crazy red - It's not quite this day-glo in real life.

Just shy of a week later, the deck is still ever-so-slightly tacky, but we can walk on it without leaving marks. With rain expected this weekend, I think I snuck in just under the autumnal gun.

Where There's A Willow, There's A Way

A little over a year ago, I told you about the trouble my beloved curly willow tree was in. It was bending, breaking, and basically on it's way out. I knew I wanted to do everything possible to keep it alive, but for quite a while, we weren't sure what those actions were.

Check out the bend on that guy - It would touch the house when it rained. Not good.

Finally, it came down to the fact that the tree just had to lose some weight to even have a chance. So, after snipping off a few branches to propagate in case our trimming killed it, my parents brought over the chainsaw and we cut off two very major branches. And when there are only three to begin with, that makes for a pretty severe shear.

Branches off and bucked for winter firewood for my parents.

It's been a little over a month since the branches came down, and I'm thrilled (seriously, it's probably too much excitement over a tree) to report that the willow is flourishing! It's now straight and tall and has a bunch of new growth. Woohoo!!

Look at all that new growth at the saw spots!

As straight as a curly willow ever could be.

I promised an update so long ago I'm sure you'd forgotten, but just had to report the happy news. And take note: If you are cutting off a branch, make sure to angle your cut so any rain water can run off. It will give the tree a much better shot at not getting diseased at the saw spot. You can thank my dad for that hot tip.

One of the branches I cut for propagating is flourishing too. Yay!

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 Have a great weekend guys!

Side Yard Success

I went out to trim a hedge. Fifteen, twenty minute project.

I ended up with an extra foot of width on our side yard path... and a few more than fifteen minutes burned. But so satisfying - I didn't even know it was bugging me until I fixed it!

 We don't use the gate to our backyard on the daily - It's more just for getting the lawnmower back there and storing the yard waste bin. But our neighbors were gone for the long weekend, so I decided to seize the moment and trim our side of their hedge (we're friendly, don't worry). Hedge trimming turned into weeding... turned into getting rid of some of the vines (shown on the right)... and of course, it wouldn't be our yard if we didn't find something random:

Maybe camouflage Easter eggs are taking the hunt one step too far...

Gettin' after the weeds and vines...

And then, suddenly, I realized I'd been working for over an hour, there was a drip of sweat dangling from my nose, and I had made some serious progress:

Let's get a little side-by-side action, shall we?

I have to admit, I'm kind of looking forward to hauling the yard waste bin to the curb tonight, just so I can take it all in.

And I know I teased Tuesday that the cabinets are finally getting their long-overdue makeover, but I want to wait until there's a little more progress to photograph. They're coming right along though! Updates soon.

Random Round Up: 50 Shades of Purple

I think I've mentioned it before, but the previous homeowners who managed the landscaping for our yard had a serious love affair with purple.

It's my least favorite color, but it's pretty hard to hate on flowers this pretty no matter what their color. Here's what's currently blooming:

A horticulturally-inclined friend said these might be some derivative of Chinese Houses. So pretty!

Don't know what this guy is. Any opinions out there? Tree-like.

Azalea, almost done blooming.

Dining room window Rhododendron

Any ideas? The prettiest variegated leaves and purple flower clusters.

Front walkway Azalea

Some form of Lilac - So deliciously fragrant!

Bleeding Heart

Hope your week is shaping up to be just as pretty. Nate's starting a new class tonight, and with me working on a big project at work, things aren't slowing down any in our house. Send me some energy vibes, guys!

In Need of Sunshine

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the tragedy happening here in my very own state right now. Since it's receiving so much national attention, you are probably already aware of the massive landslide in the northern area of Oso, Washington. The lives it's claimed are rising daily, there are nearly 200 people unaccounted for, and hundreds more trying to help.

The area of the slide - Oso is about an hour north of Seattle. image

The slide from the air. image

A family dog - Buddy - being rescued (yay!) from the rubble. image

Utter Devastation image

The bleak news coverage has me longing for a little ray of hope and sunshine.

So here's a little 15 second shot of sunshine, courtesy of my yard a week ago today. In the face of what's happening, it's not much. But sometimes a 15 second break of pretty can go a long way.

Please, help Oso if you can - Monetarily, physically, prayerfully. Click here to make a donation, or text "REDCROSS" to 90999. Have a lovely weekend, everybody.

De-Grassy

Far from the Canadian tv series, de-grassing in my world is one hideous process. Whoever planted the (now very mature) gardens at our house went a little crazy with some type of "pretty" variegated ground-covering grass to fill the empty spaces.

Section 1: Before (top) and after (bottom).

The problem is, now those "empty spaces" created by baby plants are no more, and this God-forsaken grass is snaking it's way though every crevice. I've already spent hours over the past two years trying to rid the yard of this plague, and now have a few more under my belt.

See those awful snake-y roots? UGH.

It's not nearly complete. Sigh.

But progress is progress, and I'll take it. Plus my hands and wrists are still sore from waging battle, so I live to fight another day.

'Till then, grass. 'Till then.

Overnight Spring

Apparently last weekend and this week are competing for who can fly by fastest. Where's the time going?!

I've done nothing but survive this week, so projects have been roughly shoved delicately set aside for the time being. What does that mean? Pictures of the seemingly-happened-over-night burst of spring happening 'round here. Enjoy - Especially those of you still buried (Minnesota, I'm talkin' to you!).

Have a great weekend - I'll be doing some serious weeding.

...Suddenly I'm a little jealous, Minnesota.