"Holy Sodcutting Skills Batman!"

The following project was largely inspired by this sight. Isn't it boring?

This is the first yard we have ever put in. It is .52 acres, which is a great deal larger than our .16 lot size in Ogden. Back in Ogden I didn't really do a lot of yard work, just your basic upkeep. Mow, weed, have a tiny flower patch, whatever. I was busy popping out offspring while living there, I didn't have time to have a green thumb. So, when we put in our yard here, not only was I a landscape newbie but I was also great with child, and just wanted it done. It was overwhelming to think about how much flower bed we were already putting in, and how large of a lot we were having to conquer. We opted for a lot of open grass areas for the kids to "play", a 2100 sq foot playground, an RV pad (still sans RV), and a good size vegetable garden to kind of "help" with the amount of upkeep we were envisioning.

Fast forward a year, to the end of May 2008. We were just gearing up to tackle the flower beds (having just gotten the sprinklers, curbing, grass and fence in the previous year) when Nate was diagnosed with Cancer. Instantly he was down for 6-8 weeks. Everyone under the sun encouraged me to just let the beds go, I couldn't do it. We had already spent more hours that spring than I cared to admit pulling weeds and cleaning them up. I just couldn't let them go again. So, once Nate was a few days past surgery and not sleeping his life away I left him to visually supervise the comings and goings of the kids inside and I was posted outside. Luckily for us at the time Evie was barely scooting on her bum, so Nate could sit in his lazy-boy and watch her. When she needed something he would call me on the phone and I would come inside and take care of her. For six plus weeks that is how we rolled. I got a TON done. That is when I discovered "Dirt Therapy". That is when I fell in love, became obsessed, however you want to put it. That is also when I started realizing that I needed more flower beds. I only conquered 75% of the front yard flower beds at the time, and even now there are original flower beds that aren't completely tamed yet. Don't you worry, their days are numbered.


So, if I still have original flower beds from two years ago still not done, why in the world did
I opt to do this project now? Good question. It all began with a tree. I have been babying along my Japanese Maple this spring, hoping it would hang in there. Because of our freakish Spring weather it received a lot of winter kill. I was wondering about whether I should keep nursing it or just yank the bad boy and put in something new and healthy. Enter my neighbor Karla. We have lived next to each other for almost 4 years and I have never really "met" her. Well, all of that changed on June 13th. It was a Sunday and Nate and I were wandering around the yard discussing our "master plan" for the yard when we again encountered the ailing Maple. Nate mentioned that he heard our neighbor Karla was a "tree rescuer" and maybe she would be able to help us. So, since their garage door was up, a sure sign that there was life at the house, I trekked across the street to "meet" her and ask her, no beg her, for some help. Boy, am I glad I did. We are like kindred gardening spirits. For almost two hours we wandered around each others yards comparing notes and talking in garden geek. It was AWESOME! She gave me some tips on how to encourage all but dead trees along. When I went into her backyard I felt like I had walked into the Garden of Eden. There were a ton of trees and they were all HUGE compared to mine. 97% of her trees were all ones she rescued from the clearance section at nurseries. The ones no one wanted. She told me how to trim them and to give them 16-16-16 fertilizer every six weeks and then to just stand back and watch them grow. I determined then and there to go check out the clearance section of one of my favorite nurseries the next day. Well, that night at midnight Nate flew out for the week. Monday morning bright and early I was checking out trees. I came home with TEN more for my yard. TEN! We already had eleven. We always wanted to add more but when they are $85.00 a pop you have to add them when you can. I bought ten trees, 4 shrubs and a bag of fertilizer for $220.00. WOW! So, I hired the teenage neighbor boy to help me plant some of the trees. On Tuesday I ran up to Logan to spend the afternoon with my sister for my birthday. We hit shrub jackpot at Lowes. There were many for $2.48, or $4.98, etc. Big, beautiful shrubs. I kinda went nuts. My minivan looked like a jungle on the way home. I think I purchased around 20 more shrubs, and that is where this story truly begins.


It has been in our "revised master plan" to get rid of any and all grass that touches my fenceline. Nate is sick of weed eating it, it's a pain to mow along, and I want more beds darn it. I have been wanting to soften the hardlines of the backyard for two years. Well, with more shrubs and trees than I had any prepared space to plant them I knew I needed to get serious and "getter done". I also really wanted to have it completely done before Nate returned home at midnight Friday. So, Tuesday night I got organized, hired Ethan and his 11 year old buddy Trey and prepared to attack the lawn the next morning. Wednesday came and silly me decided that we could just use a shovel to dig up the sod. For about 5 hours that is what we did. It was absolutely backbreaking work and mind-numbingly slow, but we managed to tear up two truckloads full (Ford Ranger size) and haul it over to my friend Jenn's house for her backyard. There was a storm that day and later the Raingutter Regatta at the church so that was about as far as we got. When Thursday morning dawned, I could hardly move. This project was out to prove that I am no spring chicken anymore. I looked at our progress, looked at two 11 year old boys, looked at my shovel and almost broke down. What in the world was I thinking? This was by far one of my more crazy projects on a whim. After several moments of contemplation I thought, "Forget this, I'm getting a sod cutter!" I headed out in the truck, and within an hour was standing behind the blasted thing getting shook around like it was a jackhammer and I couldn't figure out how to lower the blade. Great! Now I am going to waste money AND not get anything done! This is perfect. So what does any girl do who is beyond stuck while in the middle of a top-secret-hubby-doesn't-know-what-I-am-doing-to-the-yard-project do? She calls her daddy. That's right I did. I tried to sound all with it and nonchalantly ask if he knew how to lower the blade of a sodcutter, you know, typical every day kind of question you get from your daughter, right? He didn't know AND he saw right through me. In less than 20 minutes my dad was in my backyard NOT in work clothes running circles around me with that sodcutter. It was awesome. HE IS AWESOME! He ripped right through that sod and had me loaded and back at the rental place before you could say, "Holy sodcutting skills Batman!" It was amazing and I love him so much for doing that for me. If he hadn't I have no doubt that I would still be out there a week later reduced to tears while the sodcutter sat there silently mocking me. Seriously.

So, here is one of the only photos I have of this stretch of fenceline prior to this project. It doesn't show much but you get the idea.

This photo was taken mid-April of 2009, when I finally tamed this flower bed. Imagine a gazillion puncture burr's and weeds as high as my hip with trunks the size of tree trunks. Umm yeah, good times were had. Although looking back it was a piece of cake compared to this project. To the right of this bed is the grass area I changed. So, this is all before. And this is the after. Can you see the difference? Pretty crazy, eh? Once we got the sod cut and hauled away, I got out the rototiller, then I planted all but 7 of the shrubs, added some rocks and transplanted a few perennials into the bed. I worked all day Friday, finally laying the last of the soil prep, by headlamp mind you, at 10:30 pm Friday night. It took 20 bags of soil prep to fill the bed, why didn't I go with bulk instead of bags? Seriously, don't ask. A girls gotta do what she's gotta do when she is under a deadline. To give you a better sense of the enormity of this project let me tell you the dimensions of this new flower bed. Forty-two feet long by 13 feet 4 inches at the deepest part. Roughly about 560 square feet of sod removed and a flower bed created, in three days, with me, 2 eleven year olds and an amazing cameo appearance by my dad, Batman, for about 30 minutes. Can you say, Whew!?!

I also have to give a shout out to Ryland, he put in about 2 1/2 hours over those three days. He always reminded me of the dogs in the movie "UP", you know when they are going along and all of a sudden they are like, "SQUIRREL"! Well, with him it was more like, "WORM!" Then he would lose all focus for about 20 minutes. Do you have any idea how many worms are under 560 sq feet of sod? Anyhow, thank you Ryland for your efforts and for working so hard to keep all of "our" worms in our yard. Mommy appreciates it. I also have to tell Ally thanks too. She was johnny-on-the-spot with getting us fresh glasses of lemonade. She took good care of us and of Evelyn so that we could work on our project. Once it was dark on Friday night and the kids saw that I wasn't done they sure rallied around me. They brought out flashlights and a headlamp for me to wear. While I was finishing up they surprised me by cleaning up the house. It was great. I tell you, there really is something about having the whole family actively engaged in a project together. It was a very cool experience working together towards a common goal, doing a project together we have never done before and having it be a special surprise with a deadline to boot.
I am sure I will always remember this experience whenever I am working in this bed or just admiring it.

This is what you see when you walk into the backyard through the east gate.

So, was it worth it? Well, I gotta tell ya, it was totally worth the not being able to bend over or stand up straight for 2 days. Also worth the being so wiped out I was basically good for nothing for almost a full week after. Totally worth the major sunburn I received, despite wearing spf 50 sunscreen. I am sure you are wondering (atleast if you are still with me, this is a VERY long post) "Did Nate like it?" The kids were sure cute about it. For three days whenever he would call and I was chin deep in mud and working in a frenzy I could always count on the kids to distract him and keep him talking to someone til I could discreetly talk. They were always so careful not to mention anything to him. When they would hang up they would almost be in a fit of giggles over the fact that they "almost" slipped and said something to him. Since he didn't get home until 2 AM, we waited til Saturday morning to reveal our surprise. We blindfolded him, led him through the garage and over to the east gate into the backyard. To say he was surprised would be a huge understatement. He was definitely pleased. I was so relieved. Yes, it was part of the "master plan", but the timing wasn't necessarily. Yeah, that's how I roll sometimes. I think he's used to that by now.

This is the view off of the back deck. To the right is the playground.
So? What do YOU think? Was it worth it?
There is still a lot of boring fence and grass to the left of this bed, actually more than this project entailed. But that is for another day, another dollar and another back. Unless Nate goes out of town again. Time will tell.

Until then, I will turn to the right and enjoy watching the plants grow and fill in, knowing it was worth it. I will keep you posted on it's progress. If you come over and can't find me I will be doing a lot of this