Surveying the Yard

5/28/12

spruce tree

     After battling ants invading in several areas of the house (diatomaceous earth works great against them), field mice nibbling the cardboard boxes piled in the garage, and carpenter bees with their nest right above the front door, (isn't moving fun?), and four days of cloudy, rainy weather, I finally got our in the yard to find our what is growing there.

     There are a variety of trees.  Some of the trees planted too close to the house now hover over it like menacing giants.  Or maybe I have just forgotten how tall trees are here, after living in the desert where the average tree was 12 feet tall.

     There is a spruce tree, an oak and a holly tree on one side of the house.

oak tree

holly tree

     Much of the yard has not been cared for in a long time.  There has been very little pruning done.  On the other side of the house there is a mixture of bushes all grown into one another that were up to the second story windows:  azaleas, laurels, acubas.  My husband trimmed them to their current height.

mixture of laurel, azalea, and acuba bushes.

     I also discovered lots of false strawberry growing throughout the yard and lawn.  It's become invasive, but since we are renting this place for just a while, I don't think I am going to worry about it.

false strawberry

     Here is a photo of one of the coleus the deer chewed on under the cherry trees in front.   I thought about buying some ferns or periwinkle to put under the trees when I was at the garden center yesterday.  But I resisted since we won't be in this house that long.  I just bought some annuals to brighten the deck area, which will be in my next post.

coleus chewed by deer

     On this Memorial Day, I remember and thank all veterans, including my dad and my husband, for their service to our country