Reclaiming Our Five Acres,One Flower Bed At A Time!.

It's been awhile, but Pop comments quite often,on how the work I do in our yard,is worthless.It's usually when he's upset about something else, and he can find no one else close by to vent his frustrations on,although he would never admit that.I only wish Pop was more interested in yard work and landscaping, then he could do a little research and see that what I am doing, is Reclaiming our five acres, one flower bed at a time.He doesn't grumble as much as he once did,at least not to me or to others when I am close enough to hear him.He says the landscaping that I do on our five acres is worthless and that I only do it because I enjoy it.The point he makes about me enjoying it is 110% right. I do enjoy it more than any other craft I participate in.But about his second point,I will argue any day of the week.I have read where the landscaping can add about 15% more to the value of a piece of property.Thankfully, I was able to find those very words in print. These words were copied from http://www.freshairdesigns.com/articles/landscaping.htm

 For all of us looking to extend our homes with “outdoor rooms” and to “decorate” them with attractive plants, outdoor furniture, and appealing features and ornaments, it is very reassuring to know that the time and money we invest will not only give us pleasure but also increase the value of our greatest personal asset. In fact, according to a Gallup poll, homeowners polled feel that landscaping “adds almost 15% to the value of their property and that landscaping as an investment is one with lasting value.” 

Whenever I build a new flower bed,it may get weedy at times, but at least it's not eroding away,going down into some sink hole somewhere and taking all of our precious top soil with it to Mammoth Cave.

On most any day of the Spring and Summer,you can find me,cleaning and expanding one bed or building another.When I'm expanding and building these beds, I am adding new soil and rich compost and manure to each, therefore improving that small piece of ground regardless of how small it is. It's like they say about the old lady who peed in the sea. Every little bit helps.Or Rome wasn't built in a day.Or crawl before you walk. I could recall so many sayings that apply . A little here and there soon amount to a lot.It may take me awhile to reclaim five acres, but it can be done,and I've only recently retired,well, five years ago, is fairly recent,so I've just begun working on this venture full time.

One bed that I worked with lately is a row of Forsythias and Burning Bushes that I planted along side of Pop's boat shed.  It is an open faced shed, but I figured the shrubs would block some of the sun from heating up the metal siding while enhancing it's appearance,too.The bushes have grown tremendously in the last 3 or 4 years and are shading the building nicely, but I have always wanted some colorful flowers in that bed,too. You can see this area as you come within the last half mile of our home,so I would like it to make a good impression on passersby.You know how I feel about passersby.I feel they sum up their opinion of me,based on the appearance of my yard and property.Foolish, I know,but I have always judged others that way, so I guess it's only natural that I should assume others judge me in the same way.Nevertheless, I cleaned under the existing bushes, and rearranged a few of the flowers that I had previously planted, and then I added some landscape timbers to contain the better soil I will be adding to the bed.I have several perennials  in the bed already, so now I must purchase some colorful annuals to place intermittently for color. Now,hopefully, when I mow, the wheel of the mower will not destroy the flowers growing beneath the bushes, and big areas of grass will not be left uncut where I had to pull away from the bed to avoid cutting  the flowers .Overall, the bed should make it easier to trim under the bushes,thus achieving another goal of mine,which is to simplify my job of mowing as much as possible.

It is a chore tending my never ending flower beds,at times, but, I truly do believe I am enhancing the beauty of our property a bit,plus enjoying every minute I spend doing it.A few of the beds are unruly and and out of control,quite often, but there is always tomorrow. I get frustrated at times, when another job comes up that I must stop and attend to,especially when the weather is just right for gardening and yard work.There are so few days when it is just right.It's either too hot or too wet.I live for those "just right" days,so when something holds me back from my desired task, beware,because it's all I can do to control my frustrations.

Beginning stages of the former loading dock flower bed
I'll update my progress as I go along.

The other bed I worked on was originally a loading dock,made of huge rocks, for Pop to load his big tractor onto the flat bed truck,when he was in the logging business.He has long since given up the logging business,so the rock was just sitting there,idle.When we built our little pond, we decided to put the huge boulders around the rim of the pond, in hopes of making a fountain someday.The spot where Pop had moved the rocks, was now an eye sore, and too rough to mow.Pop helped me mow yesterday, and he didn't even try to mow that area. I simply have to do something with that spot.I chopped the biggest weeds, and shifted a few remaining rocks around,and now I will be moving a few hosta and liriope plants to that area, and possibly a few annuals.That's how I usually fix an area that can't be mowed.He and I have hauled in a couple of load of mulch to kill back the Creeping Charlie. This is the section of yard where the dreadful flower(weed )has taken over.I pulled all of the extra tires up in the bed. Hopefully they will work into my plan. I use a lot of old tires.The will keep my good soil from washing away, and too, it makes it possible to tend to each plant better.I had Pop to bring me up a load or two of top soil from other places on the farm, so I can work on a few of the spots that are bare,while I'll at it. I hate bare spots in my yard, but in this area, it's a given. There is so much slab rock right below the surface, and these hot days tends to kill the grass quickly in those spots.

I still have a lot to do before I can say I have reclaimed the entire five acres, but as long as I am able, I will be working toward that goal.