Well, currently, the yard is a disaster. The back more so than the front, which I guess is good as no one but me sees the back. I don't have a lawn mower yet, or at least not one that will more the very high weedy grass that is back there in spots. I tried and woke up my allergies in the process. So, my solution was to get a lawn service in there to do the initial mowing and edging. Then I take over, having purchased my mower, and possibly have them come in once a month to mow and edge (I'm lousy at edging). I'd also like to get some thoughts/estimates on expanding my patio, planting my trees, perhaps enhance the front landscaping a bit, and maybe even some type of water feature. They must have crystal balls or something and know my budget isn't grand, because getting businesses to call me back has been difficult. I can understand the landscapers. Obviously, they probably prefer you spend thousands of dollars or it's not really worth their time. I'm hoping the lawn services are better. I spoke with one and it was positive, but she hasn't called back with an estimate. I'm going to the call back today.
The good news. While I was pulling the larger, more overbearing weeds from the front yard, I also pulled the random ones from the front flower bed. I got a very pleasant surprise. The dead shrub isn't dead! It's got all these nice pretty green leaves on it. I broke off what dead branches I could and will go trim it up better this coming weekend. I've never heard of shrub that died down in the winter. Perhaps it was too cold and it's just now coming back. At any rate, I'll pull out my trusty gardening book and see if I can identify my now alive shrub.
Now if that tree in the front yard would start getting some leaves....
