There comes a time when you have to admit defeat.
You’ve tried your best, you gave it your all, but it’s time to move on.
I’m at that spot when it comes to the flower gardens in our backyard. They cause me undue stress year after year, and I’m ready for a change.
I have a plan.
Mom’s Flower Gardens
If you don’t know by now, my husband Brian and I bought my childhood home. It’s perfect for our family of five, and I enjoy creating new memories in a home where I have many, beautiful childhood memories.
Buying my parents home also means that I have acquired the many flower gardens that surround the property as well.
Mom always seemed to be adding a new flower garden somewhere in the yard. I grew up learning about hens & chicks, irises, lilies, hostas, and peonies. Along with learning which plant needed shade and which ones needed direct sunlight, she also had stories for who gave her the plants and/or where they came from.
I learned quickly that I had become ‘The Keeper of the Plants.’ It was a big job and one that she expected me to take seriously.
There are three large gardens in the front of the house that are mostly filled with lilies, irises, and peonies. I can typically handle the weeding involved with those areas (or pay one of the kids to do it).
In the backyard, there are three smaller flower gardens that hold the typical flowers, along with a large variety of weeds. Those gardens are harder for me to maintain and cause me a great deal of stress, almost to a point where I don’t like to walk around in the backyard because of all the guilt weighing me down because of the weeds suffocating the flowers.
This summer, I’m changing all that.
Moving What’s Important; Mulching the Rest
The whole flower garden project started a couple of weeks ago when mulch went on sale at Tractor Supply Company. Brian happens to work at a TSC and has a difficult time passing up a good deal. Because of this, he brought some mulch home one day to inform me he was going to spruce up the flower gardens.
“Sounds like a plan. Let me know how that goes,” I told him.
He bought black, which is different than the red we usually get. After seeing both now, I still prefer the red, but the black looks okay.
We started talking about how many bags we would need, which gardens to do, and then that led into a conversation about the backyard.
“I wish we could throw some plastic down and just mulch the whole area,” I said. “I’m sick of all the weeds.”
As soon as that thought took on life, I started to think it was possible.
“I’d have to move Eston’s irises, along with Grandma Lovette’s peonies,” I said to Brian. “It would be worth it though. Let’s do it.”
With the decision made, it was time to get to work. This past weekend, armed with a shovel and my wagon, I started to move the backyard flowers to the front.
Mom has been gone over three years now and I still have daily conversations with her. It goes without saying that we were arguing, somewhat, as I was digging up her flowers.
“No…..I won’t cover that peony with plastic. Yes…..I’m going to move that iris up by the bow window.” I grumbled and muttered, having a full conversation with Mom the whole time.
When Brian asked me who I was talking to, he didn’t bat an eye when I told him I was arguing with Mom. He just smiled at me.
He knows I’m crazy.
During our backyard project, we found some wildlife. You can’t tell from the picture below, but the snake was just a little baby, which helped with the shock factor.
The moving the flowers and mulching did not take as long as I anticipated. When we finished, there was still a couple of hours of daylight left and I was feeling productive.
I decided to tackle the mildew on the back of the porch.
Added Bonus; Cleaning the Siding
The siding on the back of the house has had green mildew on it for a couple of years now. Recently, we had my brother help us cut down a large pine tree that was right behind the house. I’m hoping that by opening up that area to more sunlight, we will have less of a mildew problem.
That doesn’t solve the issue of cleaning the siding, however.
I have to admit, I thought it was going to be difficult to get the mildew off. I remember growing up that Dad would have to take the pressure washer and use it to clean the siding, and that only was able to get half of it clean.
Feeling optimistic from the mulch job, I decided to give it my best try and see what happened. I’m glad I did.
Armed with a bucket, rag, hose, and the cleaning supplies shown above, I started to wash the siding.
After spraying the side of the house down, I sprayed on some Dawn Powerwash and then mixed some TSP and Dawn dish soap with some water in my TSC bucket. I didn’t wait long and went right to work.
The green mildew came right off. I can’t even tell you that I was ‘scrubbing vigorously,’ because I wasn’t. It took about a whole 10 minutes and I was down with half of the side of the porch.
I did end up getting the pressure washer out of the pole barn, well… I had Brian get it out, so that I could spray the top area. It helped and made a noticeable difference, but the most effective strategy was just my cleaning mixture and rag.
When the porch siding was cleaned off, my energy was still mostly intact so I moved around the house, looking for more mildew spots to wipe clean. I found some, however, it didn’t take long and I was done.
In less than an hour, supplies were put up and the outside of the house looked 100% better than it had previously.
It was a job well done, and one that I wish I hadn’t waited so long to begin.
Goals for Today:
- Spend Time in My Writing Cabin
- Fix the Line in the Weed Trimmer
- Take a Walk in the Backyard – Stress Free