Here’s a picture of the flowerbed beast that must be tackled.

As you can see, it’s a bit, um, shady back there.
And here’s the deal: I didn’t get a dadblasted thing done in the backyard today. Because I went to the grocery store just like I planned and then came home to find the oven repairman here (so why does our oven smell like fish? why, he has NO IDEA! that’s repairman #2 with no solution!), and then I realized that we didn’t have any gasoline for our lawn mower, only that was supposed to be Step One in my backyard project, so then I took a picture of the flowerbed because A PICTURE, AT LEAST THAT IS SOMETHING, and then I hopped in the car and picked up the little man from a friend’s house and took him to soccer and fixed some supper and gave him a bath and got him to bed and now, NOW I HAVE TIME FOR THE FLOWERBED, ONLY HOLD ON, IT’S DARK.
Oh, internets. I am a terrible disappointment as a landscaper / flowerbed restorer.
But I do hope to redeem myself with a plan.
Said plan is as follows:
Tuesday: Get gasoline for lawn mower. Mow backyard, then weed and rake out the flowerbed. Turn over dirt, add new soil, and collapse.
Wednesday: Happily abandon plan to entertain the five year-old and a friend who is spending the afternoon with us.
Thursday: Plant things. Then mulch. Bore the internet to tears with many photos of the rehabilitated flowerbed. Skip across the yard, basking in the satisfaction of a job well done. Contemplate why I’ve taken up skipping after twenty some-odd years of no skipping. Shrug shoulders. Then skip some more.
So it’s going to be a very exciting week. As you can tell. What with all the skipping that’s on the horizon.
Anyway, before I start this process, do any of you Southerners have suggestions for shade-loving plants? I know hostas will work, but we have tons of those in our backyard already, and I wouldn’t mind adding a little variety.
Just so you know, my ideal plants are inexpensive, low-maintenance perennials.
I also enjoy plants that are billowy.
But not hostas or ferns.
And other than those six very specific criteria, I have absolutely no plant preferences at all.
See? I am very laid-back.





Filed under:
