So, here’s how I know I was never really cut out to be a home owner:
I’ve never mowed a lawn, whacked a weed, or gardened. Much.
When we lived in the city, we didn’t have a front yard, and the back yard was cement.
This made landscaping VERY easy. If I felt like it, in the spring I put out a few potted flowers. Done and done!
But then we moved to the edge of the city, and we had teeny front and back yards. Luckily, they were small enough that my husband could wrangle them with an electric weed whacker. I did my part by planting some impatiens and ineffectually hacking at the ivy that crept over from the neighbors. It was a pain, but we could do it.
Barely.
Then we moved to the burbs.
Now, by some suburban standards, our yard is still pretty small. But it’s six times bigger than at the last house, meaning it is way beyond a weed whacker. It requires a lawn mower. But…
We don’t own a lawn mower.
To get around this, we did the easy thing: we hired landscapers. Lovely folks that came to the house every two weeks, mowed everything, and took all the little lawn clippings away. Even when we forgot to pick up the dog poop in the back, they came.
We loved them.
Then, poverty struck. We could no longer afford the landscapers. We scraped by until the end of the summer last year. But even so, our backyard was a mess – knee high grass, ivy everywhere, shrubs gangly and overgrown. (For some reason, our front yard doesn’t have the same issue; the shade of our tree means that the grass grows much more slowly out front: THANK GOD.)
This spring, at last, things are getting better. But. We have yet to hire back our landscapers.
Now? As my husband says, we don’t need landscapers. We need the Army Corp of Engineers. Don’t believe me? Enjoy.
No, that's really my yard.
I think we might wait until the sixty pound dog actually vanishes, then send in the landscapers to find her.
Or not.
Depends.
About Cecily Kellogg
If you get a push-mower, it totally counts as a workout.
I have a huge yard, and my husband hasn’t put the deck back on the rider (we put the plow blade on in the winter) and I SHOULD go break out the push-mower…but I don’t wanna!
Twitter Name: thepsychobabble
Yes, but then I’d have to use it. See? I’m clever that way.
Buy a goat!
Twitter Name: blondefabulous
Now that is a good advice! I have seen them at work. In a day your yard will be lovely. But they might move onto the garden furniture if the grass doesn’t grow back fast enough.
Twitter Name: NorthWestMommy
It would have to be a very small goat to not violate the rules of my township. :D
Ahem. Pygmy goats: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pygmy_goat. They’re totally sweet and adorable too!
As someone who recently crushed her finger doing suburban landscape-y stuff, I agree with the previous commenter’s goat suggestion. Lawn work sucketh.
indeed it does.
I experienced this same thing when we moved out of the city to a house in the semi-burbs (we live in Oakland, which isn’t exactly a burb, but compared to SF it is). We were so excited that we had a front and back lawn–until we realized that we had to care for it. That kind of sucked! Eventually, we figured it out (with the help of landscapers too). I’m sure you’ll get it together someday! Maybe? :)
Twitter Name: lickthefridge
We should have someone coming by this week. But yikes.
teens who need money might be cheaper. I must say your yard is small. :)
Oh cripes! Good luck with that.
Holy Cripes! Good luck with that.
thanks. :D
My yard is totally out of control. We’ve kept up with the mowing, but that’s it. All the extras have been ignored. We have this butterfly garden island thingy on the far side of our drive way that’s been overgrowing. It looks like the island where the wild things are. I’m actually afraid of it. On top of this, we have a neighbor who likes to tell me about all the things she’d with our property if my house was her house and it boils down to this: she’d take care of it. Awesome!
You guys are kidding right?! I love working in my yard and gardens. Gets me out of doing all sorts of mundane household chores :)
like leg hair, the less you shave it the less you have to. :) get a larger yard and a larger ride on lawnmower with a bag. Then you call it a hobby.
Similar landscaping woes, obstinate husband and broken lawnmower. Love, love, love the goat idea. Getting on that now.
Twitter Name: ExurbanCowgirl
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