For some time now we have been
those neighbours. You know, the neighbours with the ugly, unkempt, overgrown front yard.
The ground was covered in wild strawberries (the inedible kind), lots of spiders and dandelions. Thankfully we had a hedge to hide it a little bit!
We decided months ago that this year we would fix it. So, we've been sitting inside looking at the crappy weather for months, just waiting to get outside and work on becoming the neighbours that don't have the ugliest garden in the street.
Saturday was step one: I got in and chopped our thorny hedge off at ground level, earning myself quite a few prickly splinters. Took me back to my shed hand days, where I had hands covered in black dots from all the thistles....
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| This was a bitch to get out. They all were, actually. |
Yesterday was the day to dig out the roots. I figured it was going to be a monumental task as one shovel had already fallen casualty to the cause on Saturday. This time I tried with a pitchfork, who very quickly succumbed to the same fate.
Enter Maarten. Together we scrambled around on the ground, digging to our elbows and then finally pulling each stump out one by one. For once my weight came in handy; being able to use my body as leverage to pull those suckers out.
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| Last stump! |
Now we have an even uglier garden, but it will soon be transformed into a clean paved wonderland with a couple of colourful pots to make it look inviting.
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| Here's what it looks like now. But not for long! |
I can't wait to proudly walk to the front door, rather than skulk in pretending I don't really live there....
And just because the garden isn't ugly everywhere, here are some photos of our back garden, which I'm enormously proud of!
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| Tulips love my garden. So do moles. |
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| Minus a tree that Maarten's dad chopped down for us. |
