How Does Your Garden Grow?

I previously mentioned that the Sias house came with some lovely, mature trees but nothing more than weeds in the planters.  For the first few months in our house, I talked about attacking the weeds but I was too timid to take any action.  Then, during the last weekend of March, I had an ambitious moment: I bought a rake and a hoe and I started digging.  

At first, working in the yard was a novelty; I suppose I watched too many 30 minute miracles on HGTV.  The novelty wore off quickly and I then realized that working in the yard IS A LOT OF WORK!  I mean, dirt-on-your-face-, sweat-on-your-neck-, muddy-shoes-dirty.   

I even mowed the grass for the first time in my life (and the second time and the third time and the fourth time and the fifth time and so on).  I love that people on the street slow down to gawk at my 100% human powered lawn mower, even though it means they are also gawking at the profuse sweat running down my face.

With a little perseverance, working in the yard has become a hobby and I've started to see some success.  Of course, some plants have succumbed to caterpillars, ants, heat, over-watering, under-watering, lack of sun, too much sun, and/or general gardening ignorance, but I won't post pictures of those sad cases.  Instead, I'll share with you some of my biggest successes in the form of then-and-now pictures. Enjoy!