We all love pretty flowers & blooms in the Spring, don’t we? But, along with enjoying those beautiful blooms comes the maintenance & upkeep. This is what happens when you wait until January to tackle all the leaves that fall from the trees. About a million leaves that need to be moved out of the beds & grass into the back area of the yard.
This fun chore is what we are up to this week, as the weather is in the 70’s. Perfect for working outside in the yard. Peter is raking, blowing & hauling leaves on the tarp.
And I’m talking to Mia, the other neighbor’s dog next door to us. We are surrounded by dogs. Mia always comes over to the fence when I’m out working in the yard.
Now, just in case you think everything about our house is beautiful….let me assure you it is most definitely NOT! Welcome to the mudpit. This will be a before pic & come spring, Lord willing, it will be a different story. I’ve wanted to work on this eyesore for 2 years now, so this is the year. This is underneath our deck & it’s high enough to walk under, so could definitely work as a patio of sorts. Right now it’s a mud magnet. All the water that falls through the deck ends up under here. You can see our wonderful Southern red clay. It’s hard as a rock. And when I turn on the hose that is under here, water gets everywhere.
See my pretty black swing. It’s hard to get inspired looking at what’s under the deck. My plans are to put a pretty paver & pea gravel patio under here. I’ve seen it done & it’s really nice looking & should be economical to do too. I don’t really care about having it really fancy, since we would most likely use the deck more when it gets screened in eventually, but this will get rid of the mud & be a nice place to enjoy some shade. I need to find some inspiration pics to get a plan started. I would love to add a winding flagstone walkway over to our side gate too. So hopefully that is what I’ll be working on in the next few months.
That’s a project for another day. In the meantime, I’m faced with this…..
And this…lots of leaves, weeds, & overgrowth. I’m hacking away & hopefully this bed will come alive again in the spring with all the perennials I planted in here 2 years ago. If you’re new to visiting me, go & take a look at my garden last April. This is what it is going to look like again. I get inspired just looking at those pics right now, as it’s hard to believe the difference. I sometimes forget the miracle of Spring that happens right under my nose every single year.
I really cut back the purple verbena this time. For some strange reason, it thinks that this bed is for it alone, so it’s time to beat it into submission. You can see with our mild weather so far, it hasn’t even died back. There’s lots of green growth underneath.
So this is all the overgrowth I cut off of it. Now it can get new growth again & not overtake the bed come spring. This is one fellow who has to be kept under control or it will take over completely. I am hoping & praying we don’t have such a severe drought this year. Last year was probably one of the worst in recorded history & time will tell how many trees we will all lose around here. We know one of our big oaks in the back is dead. Many plants & trees are in drought shock, so we will see when Spring arrives what survived & what did not. It’s not looking good again this year, from what we have heard, so I will probably not be planting a lot of new things this year. A hardscape project will be in order though.
Can you tell I’m really looking forward to wearing these more often these days. It’s nice to have time to do this again, in the daytime, with warm winter weather around right now. And oh, I’ll be looking forward to Spring again. How about you?! 
Hi Rhoda,
You are a couple steps ahead of me. I think I’ll wait another month or so before my clean up begins. We still have lots of snow and wind to go before I can think too much about Spring. Who am I kidding? I’m ready to jump on a plane and help you guys out just to be part of the fun! Have a good one……rosie
Good for you, Rhoda! I’m in the leave-it-all-till-spring and be overwhelmed group. Can’t wait to see your patio — it sounds so nice!
xoxo,
Mary
My yard looks like that too except it rains here ALL the time!!! All of my cedar chips have been washed away so we will need to replace them around the bushes and flowers again`but I will wait til after the rainy winter is over….
Hugs,
Robin
Hi Rhoda! I came to your blog through Melissa’s and I’m so glad I did! I’m looking forward to reading your blog more often. ~ Lynda
Hi Rhoda- Your patio project sounds like a lot of work but the results will make it so worth it! Dealing with all that mud has to be a real pain?!?!?! How lucky for you to have such a mild winter that you can actually do yardwork in January too!!!!! I look forward to seeing your beautiful yard full of blooms in the spring :o)
~Des
Hi Rhoda,
I first met you over on GI. I left you an award on my blog, but see that you have received the same award before, so I will relieve you of posting the 7 weird things about yourself! I received the award, and as you know have to send it on to others. I read your blog often, so thought I would mention you even though someone else beat me to telling you that your blog is amazing!
There’s sure a difference between the dead of winter and the miracle of spring! It’s a good thing we have spring to look forward to!
I have to get to that…someday. We are covered up with leaves.
Hi Rhoda,
I know what you mean. My garden looks so bad this time of year.
I don’t enjoy gardening in winter as much as summer. Everything is kind of brown and yucky.
Can’t wait til spring,
Rosemary
Hi Rhoda. Your yard looks like ours as far as needing the leaves raked. Every day with this mild weather I’ve thought I should get out there and do something, but still the leaves sit there. Your plans for that muddy spot sound great. Enjoy the fresh air. Rhondi
I look forward to seeing what you do under there, Rhoda. I really want to do something about our patio but I don’t think it’s going to happen until next year. I’ll just live through you for awhile.
Yes yes yes. We bought a new house last summer and really didn’t do anything outside just yet. But boy do we have plans. I’m actually going to plant a small garden out back and looking forward to it too. And the flowers…I cannot wait……my shoes for outside are similar but black.
Hi Rhoda, I’ve really been MIA! Been sick since Thanksgiving with one thing after another. Think I’m finally on the mend now and hope to get back to my blogging buddies. The joy of a small apartment is no yard work! I honestly don’t miss it. Give me some pots of flowers and herbs and I’m happy as a lark. I’ll just run over here and enjoy your garden when it blooms. xoxo
Rhoda dear – this looks all too familiar! The red clay soil, and those billions of leaves. Do you feel as we do, that everyone else’s leaves end up in your yard? We have just completed our last raking session until the beds are cleaned out in Spring. We get two city pickups with the big powerful vac so rake them to the street – the last pick was this Tues. so right now our street looks neat and clean.
Cute clogs – I love any type of clog and when my good ‘going out’ ones get a bit shabby I relegate them to the potting shed for gardening chores – so easy to get on and off.
Just think of raking as aerobic exercise – I do!!
It’s the grueling backbreaking nail cracking work of gardening that makes the sittin’ and relaxin’ and enjoying the ice tea and swingin’ in that great black swing that makes it all worth while. One week into “working at home”. Are you nuts yet?
hugs
Sandi
Hi Rhonda,
I love working in the garden! Even when it comes to cutting back and weeding. I can see that your under the deck patio can be a beautiful place! I look forward to seeing your after pics!
Penny
Oh yes, I’l be out there with you tomorrow…I too, constantly have to pick up leaves. We have Water Oaks here…they drop for months and months and weeks and weeks…Forever. But nothing is beautiful without a little hard work!
I love visiting your blog! I’m counting the days till spring, but I too, in the meantime have loads of leaves to rake. I’m anxious to see what you do under the deck. Love your clogs.
Donna 🙂
I haven’t even been outside to do ANYTHING. Sometimes it just too overwhelming – too much to do. I haven’t raked the leaves in the backyard yet either! I hope we get some regular rain this year! I think a hardscape project is is good idea because it doesn’t look good for plants this year!
Manuela
I just discovered your blog – it’s fab-u-las and it inspired me to get myself moving! I loved the Christmas villages – so, so cute….wish I lived there! Thanks! Nan