Cleaning house

There is nothing quite like working really hard out in the heat, getting really dirty, then sitting outside and drinking a good, cold beer.

Today I decided I that I've had it with the overgrown "flower bed" behind my kitchen.  I tore into it, and tore it up, then tamed it back down again.  And I planted some lantana.  This was my lantana last fall when I moved:

But this spring, due to my own neglect, this is what came of the bed:

AGGGGHHHH!  It was not a nice backup for my drinking spot.  So I got out my loppers, my pruners, rake, shovel, and a whole lotta back, and dug right in.

The big bush on the left is serious about reproduction.  There are roots, or maybe shoots, choking the entire bed.  Probably no less than thirty little baby bushes did I yank out.

I despise weed block.  I can see its point for some purposes, but only at times when you never see yourself ever needing to get back into the soil and do anything.  Perhaps it's just because this weed block was not well maintained, but I have no intention of ever using it.   I managed to get it all out, but not without war.

Almost done.  At this point, I had just dug up a mini tree or shrub of some kind that was right up in the hydrangea's business.  It wasn't until after I got rid of it that I remembered "leaves of three, let it be."  So far, no reaction to anything poisonous, but we'll see...

And complete.  With two new lantana plants to join the existing one that I found growing, hidden beneath the rogue foliage.

Of course, it's not actually complete.  There is a huge pile of garden soil sitting in the middle of the yard, waiting to get moved into the bed.  The whole reason I tore up the weedblock was to improve the existing soil, and this will be a good step.

As I sit, drinking my heavenly beer, I contemplate the possibility of just buying some bags of soil and scattering the stuff I have throughout the yard, to avoid the endless wheelbarrow trips.  No, I must stand firm!  I will do it using what I have.  But I could be convinced to buy some more plants for the bed...

And of course, with the relaxing effects of the beer, I look around for more potential projects.  I'd really like to get some more flowers in my garden area.  Nothing I have right now is attracting the bees, but the salvia out front is bee-paradise.  Maybe I can destroy the growth around this old house and plant some salvia out front?

A woman's work is never done...