The Illinois Yard - There Are Limits

It pains me, but there are limits to what I can do with this yard since we are renting.   The weather has been gorgeous (except today it’s 50ish - brrr) so we’ve been trying to spruce it up.  Tom is the muscle man helping me carry mulch bags where needed and I’m tending to many details.  

One problem is the lawn has been neglected.  Lots of patches of heavy thatch in the front yard.   My intentions to fix this last fall did not happen.  I kept thinking once we got the leaves raked I’d do it, but then it turned very cold..  so obviously seed does not germinate without warm weather.  :-(  

In the backyard the problem is too much shade, though I wonder if a more aggressive seeding plan in the Spring a couple of years in a row would at least improve it a little.   But that’s a job for the Landlord - I doubt he’ll ever do it and I’m not going to tackle it like I’m doing to the front yard.  It’s just too large of an area to take on.

But to my surprise, a few daffodils popped up back here and we’ve been adding some mulch around the back as there was none and the area would get muddy when it rained and then dusty when dry.    Makes for a dusty deck, screens and windows so I plan to get those nice and clean when we get done.

 

A lot of very low areas in this bed, but I can work with it. I thought  maybe I’d add some Astilbe and then fill in with impatiens, but after we spread the mulch I noticed these green sprouts popping up everywhere and a few other plants.

Whoa !!   These are hostas.  I sure did not notice these last Fall when we were raking leaves, but the same kind are on the side of the house and I saw those.  I’m trying to think how could I miss all of these?   They are even sprouting beneath the deck. 

Anyway - somehow I’ll get some more color back here and see if I can’t get that plant on the far end shaped up - whatever it is??  It’s too early to shop the garden centers as they have not received their big shipments of perennials yet.  I’m sure they were not expecting such an early Spring. 

Meanwhile, I’m just piddling around with pots and setting up our lawn furniture.

Which seems a bit lost because the deck is huge!  This is just one side. Definitely a party-size deck.  

The grill and one chair sits on the opposite side.  I do wish there was a nice cover over this deck — Guess we were spoiled by the cover in Florida.  We had to buy some chair covers and we’ll need to bring the rug in when it rains.  It’s very lightweight so not a problem. 

And in the front yard, the bulbs are starting to bloom.  And the tree too!  I have no clue what kind of tree this is, but I love it.  I figure these blooms may last a week or two at the most — assuming we don’t get a heavy downpour.  Those little petals won’t survive something like that. 

The pansies I planted last fall came back up and I want to plant more, but I have some cleanup to do in this bed first.  So far all the bulbs are coming up except the Hyacinths and there are a few pink or maybe red tulips mixed in here that have yet to bloom.  Hopefully I’ll have a nice splash of color from all of these for a few days.  Then I’ll have to figure out what to do with this area for the summer.  It gets full sun in the afternoon. 

And I’m tempted to do something to this side of the house.  Real tempted.  It’s pretty bare over here, but the Landlord said he is replacing the siding on this side this year and I sure don’t want workers trampling all over my plants.   So we’ll see.  One thing I wish he would do is replace these overgrown bushes.   The house has such a pretty setting with the beautiful tree canopy in the summer and fall and sitting slightly above the street — some beautiful new green and flowering shrubs would make it look stunning.

I doubt he does that — so I’ll just do what I can - largely because it’s a hobby for me and I miss gardening and our wonderful flower beds in North Carolina.  Like this.

And this

Obviously we won’t recreate this here,  but I will definitely bring more color to this home before we move again.    Perhaps a few summer  and fall perennials (mums would be nice) mingled in with some shrubs on the side would be a nice compromise, but we’ll see. Something that is low maintenance.  I’ll have to talk to the Landlord first.  I don’t want to create an upkeep burden once we leave.   I have not seen our old NC home since we moved, but Tom has.  He use to return for business and drove by the house once and he said the beds were a mess.  Like an overgrown jungle.  Crying here.

The Basement

Long time between blog posts, I know.  I just have nothing real exciting to share, but I figured I’d post something to prove I’m still alive.   I’m spending most of my time quilting and trying to walk on the treadmill at least 3-4 times a week.  Sometimes I actually do it everyday.  :-)   Here are some pictures of our excercise space in the basement which we finally got all setup right after Christmas.

The boxes in front of the treadmill hold my Macbook, which I sometimes use to watch a show while I walk.  Not a very elegant setup, but it works.  I have discovered some great new weekly dramas that I really enjoy.  Homeland, which is on Showtime and Downton Abbey on PBS.  Those are new new favorites — others are Fringe, The Good Wife, Grimm, Person of Interest…etc. I love drama shows.  Grimm is .. well strange, but when nothing else is on, it’s something to watch. Also I like the new NBC show Smash… mostly because I love musicals. 

We have a TV down here, but it’s just basic cable and I cannot watch “on demand” programs, thus the reason I use the Macbook.  Though I’m also a big “news chunky” and watch a lot of HGTV.  It’s just hard to time walking with the programs I prefer to watch on HGTV.  I could easily walk a half an hour watching Sarah’s House, but Holmes on Homes.. no.. That would bore me to death.

Here’s the area that Tom uses more than me.  OK - Truth is he is almost the only user.  I can count on one hand how often I’ve used the weight machine in the last 6 months.   Pitiful, I know.

Now - here’s a great space for finalizing a quilt layout.  I’m thankful to have it because there is certainly no unused floorspace on the upper levels.  That’s my current project - the Civil War Quilt.  The blocks are done and I’m hoping to complete the sashing and borders in the next 2 weeks so I can send it off to a Long Arm Quilter. There will be 3 borders.  The last border will be a stripe that I miter.  That will be a first for me and I’m sure a challenge.  It’s the most complicated quilt project I’ve made to date as some block layouts required piecing I had never attempted before.  But it was sure fun to do it along with quilters from across the country.  They are really a fun group.  If interested, you can see some finished versions of this quilt on this link.  Some amazing  — fabulous layouts.   My layout will be quite boring compare to some of these.. but I’ll just be thrilled to be done!

A couple more shots of the basement space… 

We still need to clear out that corner on the right and I’d like to make some simple curtains for the windows - right now there is paper stuffed in there.  It’s just to cut down on the glare.. the sun beats in one window and without privacy, it’s a bit creepy to be down there early morning when it’s still dark out.  Overall, the basement has been a real gem for us.  Plus it’s nice to know we have a place to retreat to during Tornado warnings.  Gosh — those are sure worrisome lately.

That’s about it for updates from the Henricks home front.  No plans to take the Bus out, though we have talked about it.  I think we  settled into  “we must hibernate during Winter mode” very quickly, but we’ll come alive come Spring I’m sure.  :-)

Stay tuned for another update.  Probably about the time our  Spring bulbs bloom.  I’m sure that will give me a big energy boost since I really love to get my hands in the dirt.  I’ll be eager to start planting some impatiens, petunias and fill up the flower pots.