In the Garden: Spring 2010

[Backyard, January 2009]

[Backyard/Garden bed, January 2009] 

When we purchased our house in January 2009, the backyard consisted of a bit of lawn (a combination of cooch and golf green), a few unkempt garden beds, and a whole heap of bare earth.

With last summer being so hot, and then followed with a frosty winter, many of the plants in the garden beds died, and the lawn slowly disappeared into nothing. 

[Backyard, October 2010]

With the promise of a wet and mild spring, SJ and I decided that it was the perfect time to attempt to re-establish a lawn and extend it to the back fence to keep the dust down, and to put in some new plants.

We got out the rotary hoe and dug the entire backyard. Then we had to remove all the stones, rake it smooth and leave it a couple weeks to catch any weeds that came up. We put in a new sprinkler system to make watering easier (it's such a large area), and sowed kikuyu lawn seed. Then we cleared all the weeds and dead plants from the garden beds, pruned and removed the undergrowth so as to not tempt snakes into the yard. There were many sore muscles and bones for days afterwards!

[Spring thunderstorm, November 2010]

[Backyard, November 2010]

With some regular watering and some perfectly timed thunderstorms, the lawn has sprung to life and we now have a pleasant sea of green stretching all the way to the back fence. Slowly the patches of dirt are being replaced with thick, healthy lawn - a far more enjoyable sight than bare earth!

[Backyard & flowerbed, November 2010]

[Flowerbed, November 2010]

I'm also attempting to grow some new plants: In this bed I have sweet alyssum, daisies, chamomile, armeria, geranium, rosemary, salvias, and lamb's ear. Here's hoping the sudden arrival of hot weather (it's 38*C today) doesnt kill them off before I've had time to enjoy their prettiness!