Downsizing has been an adventure from the get go; there is nothing here that is superfluous. I love having quick access to my things and a bright environment to work in. However, I find my favorite workspace to be my screened in porch with a view of the woods.
We did the minimal amount of landscaping last fall to get our CO. This spring we added some perennials but got slowed down because the beds weren’t draining and we had a lot of rain. It is such a struggle to decide what to plant when one week the ground is dry and the next week it’s a puddle! It’s definitely been slow going.
We decided to save the backyard for this fall. It’s supposed to be the best time to plant, maybe Mother Nature forgot!
We started by killing all the grass (weeds), aerating, sowing grass seed, and tilling the garden beds. And then the rain started… For the last year, we’ve had standing water on a regular basis.
We took a short vacation and came back ready to dig in, literally! We started with 25 cubic feet of mulch. I drew up the garden layouts and made a shopping list. The local nursery was having their Christmas open house the Saturday we went shopping, all the bushes were 25% off! Turns out that a lot of what I want was sold out and I would have to wait until spring.
We found someone to help us shop; he helped us find suitable bushes and then he showed us the clearance area. Perennials up to 75% off; we filled up 4 carts! Luckily we have a Honda Element, we’d have never made it all fit. We ended up with 59 plants!
Then the rain started in earnest. We have had 5″ more rain this November than normal. It didn’t rain on Friday so we hurriedly got the sun loving plants in the front garden. Didn’t quit finish the mulch though. Saturday, the sky’s opened up and it poured; more standing water everywhere. The rain stopped early afternoon so we had high hopes that it would dry out enough to start planting the back on Sunday- my favorite spot.
The first few plants went it the ground just fine. The tilling made the ground easy to dig. It was a little muddy but definitely manageable until we got closer to the patio. The holes began to fill with water! One hole filled so fast, it was like a spigot got turned on. Daisy loved the water bowl. We used the water to water the plants, the faster we scooped it out, the faster it filled back up. The weird part is that two holes, side by side, one would fill up and the other stayed dry. I might have to find some bog plants or use planters in that area. We’ll see how long it takes for them to drain.
