Some Sprucing Up

I took a couple hours of time last week to spruce up our front yard.  The winter was kinda long this year (not complaining -- I LOVE winter) and we had our last snow on March 30th.  It wasn't enough to cause another snow day and close the schools, but it was a bit too cold to do any yard work or planting.

I went to the Home Depot and bought some cedar mulch and some teenage tulips to plant in my front yard flower bed.  When I say "teenage" tulips I mean that the bulbs had already sprouted and grown about 6 inches.  All I had to do was plant them and not really worry too much about the squirrels messing with them.  Apparently, squirrels love to munch on tulip bulbs and they've ruined my efforts in previous years when I've planted bulbs in the Fall.  But, I really, really enjoy tulips so I was pleased to find some that were already past that stage at Home Depot.

I also chose a violet colored annual to plant in my pretty flower pot for the front steps.

I spent some time pruning back the older azaleas and box elder shrubs in our front yard ... I knew it was time to quit once the trash can was full.  Thankfully, it was the day before trash day so the timing was perfect!

Here are a few photos of my efforts:

my teenage tulip soldiers standing straight and tall

pretty purple

shrubs all neat and tidy with a fresh layer of cedar mulch

While I was out there I noticed that our black railing needs some rust removal and a fresh coat of paint ... another project to add to the to-do list.  Home and yard maintenance are never ending.