The Apples in My Orchard

Yesterday, I spent some time in the yard. It was a beautiful day and just the right temperature to do some yard work. We have some brick borders around our house, framing gardens on the ground level.  Every few years those borders need to be re-leveled due to heaving from our cold winters and the ensuing expansion and contraction with the yearly freeze and thaw cycles.

This year we decided the border on the north side of our house, near the patio, needed re-leveling. I tackled the beginning of this project yesterday.  It wasn’t hard. Basically, I just removed the paver bricks from the edging. I also weeded the area around the bricks as I went along. It took me less than two hours total to remove the bricks, weed, and stack them neatly on the patio.

Usually, my husband does jobs such as this, and most of the yard work, in fact. But, with having to stay home so much, I looked forward to being able to work on our yard.  I have a new vision for our patio area, one that would increase its usage in the more pleasant weather months. So, I am willing to put in some work to enable the vision to become a reality.

As I worked, I noticed the benefits of some projects of prior years. Salmon colored tulips and daffodils of white and yellow were blooming. in the garden around our Japanese Lilac tree.  Phlox was starting to pop up in the border garden I was weeding. One of the varieties I planted in this bed is called David and has pure white flowers when in bloom.

At the end of this bed is an obelisk that supports a clematis in the summer. I don’t see growth on yet there. In the past, I’ve grown Jackmanii, Comtessa de Buchard, and a few others.  Unfortunately, I usually forget their names. But, I do enjoy their blooms and look forward to my oblique being covered with flowers!

We’ve learned, over the years, that a little bit of yard work each day, whether it’s cutting, planting, weeding, or trimming, produces huge benefits as far as beauty, enjoyment, and pride.