Evergreens stay green all winter, thus their name and appeal. However, last year I discovered that there are no guarantees on that whole green through the winter bit. Evergreens often undergo negative changes during the winter known as winterkill. When winterkill occurs the leaves or needles on certain parts of the plant turn yellow or brown, this is especially common for branches that get the full brunt of the wind.
I’ve never heard of an Everyellow or an Everbrown, but I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t be big sellers, which is why I wasn’t pleased when parts of several of my evergreens turned brown over last winter. The poor things looked pretty pathetic come spring with their dead pieces, like the plant versions of balding men. Hence, I decided that this winter will be different. There will be no winterkill! Extremely spoiled plants, such as mine, should never have to suffer that humiliation and discomfort!

However, before I could attempt to halt winterkill I had to figure out exactly what caused it. Here’s what I found out: Although evergreens don’t really enjoy the freezing temperatures of winter, what they really can’t stand is how thirsty they become during that frigid season. Yes, evergreen winterkill is primarily caused by plants drying out, cold dry wind intensifies this problem, and therefore the sides of plants facing the wind typically have more issues. My skin’s so dry it could be mistaken for a snake’s during winter; it makes sense that plants have similar problems.

The solution? Mulching and monthly watering through the frosty season. I honestly had no idea what “mulch” was until I bought some for this purpose. Evidentially there are different types of mulch but the kind I bought was basically just little pieces of bark. To “mulch” you place a 2 or 3 inch thick ring of mulching material around your plant. (Don’t put mulch right next to the bark of a plant; they don’t like that.) The mulch helps keep the soil temperature more constant and retains water, kind of like a nice wet blanket. Now doesn’t that sound comfy? As for watering monthly during winter…yeah…that seems like it will be a really fun task but I am going to give it a try. I hope my efforts will make a big difference. I will report on my success this spring. Here’s to some snug, moist, and happy plants! Bring on the green!

Tada! Our yard is finished! At least in the planting, rock rearranging, and trench digging sense. I think it is safe to say that we will never be done weeding or up keeping our fine landscape.

Although our little plot of land is precisely that – little, I love it! It’s hard to explain the serenity I feel while sitting out on our patio surrounded by all the lovely growing things that I planted with my own two hands. Our backyard has become one of my favorite places to read, eat, or chill – if I could live out there I would. Did I mention that I love it? Our tiny plot didn’t become a peaceful spot overnight though. We moved into our house almost exactly two years ago and have been working relentlessly on perfecting our yard ever since.

Every spring, summer, and fall we’ve made noticeable yard enhancements. This summer our outdoor projects have included: installing a garden box and planting veggies in that box, laying down flagstone in the area around our garden, and filling the few remaining barren regions of our yard with an abundance of plants.

Many of you, our friends, have expressed curiosity about the current state of our yard. So, now that our “putting in the yard” work is officially done, here is my show and tell. It’s probably more show than tell but I hope it faithfully illustrates how our yard has progressed over the last couple years.

And who said women are hard to please? I’m not picky. Just give me some dirt I can call my own, plenty of flora I can foster, and a sprawling piece of sky over my head; then I will be one extremely content woman. *
*Disclaimer: Happiness based off the specified parameters is not guaranteed.

The arrival of spring meant it was time for me and Jason to dive back into yard work. We worked very hard last fall to get our sprinkler system in and our sod laid down. It was altogether a pretty miserable experience because we were in such a mad rush. We worked what seemed like endless hours but we made it before winter hit. We laid our sod on November 17^th, about a week and half before it started snowing. Quite a few people questioned the intelligence of laying down sod so late in the season. However, we had done our research and found that late fall was supposed to be a great time to lay sod because heat is much more detrimental than the cold to its root system. I am happy to report that our grass is doing wonderfully. Its roots have taken and it looks healthier than most of the more established grass in our neighborhood. This was accomplished without doing some crazy watering schedule to keep it alive. Because it had months of cool wet weather to adjust to its new home it didn’t require any special attention. Jason took out his new John Deere for the first time a couple weeks ago and mowed it. Our first lawn mowing ever! Yeah!

We have been planting trees, bushes, and flowers this spring. This is much more enjoyable work than putting in sprinklers! I really love plants and have quite liked planting things in our yard. Jason laughs a little at me though because I have a tendency to talk to the plants while I am planting them.

The only thing that has made this planting not quite as fun is the weather. The incredibly cold weather has caused havoc with our planting plans. We have planted through snow and freezing temperatures (snow at the end of April-that’s just not right). While these conditions didn’t bother the plants, most of them have taken very well, they did bother the planters. But we have persevered and now have a few trees, over 30 bushes, and a plethora of other plants in our yard. Wow! What a difference they have made. Our yard now has its own personality. We still have a lot more work to do to get the rest of our plants in before it gets too hot, but I am actually looking forward to some more planting!

I know a lot of people complain about having to put a yard in and they just want to buy a house with the yard already finished or hire the work out to some landscaping company. I admit there are times throughout our yard endeavors that I have questioned the sanity of doing everything ourselves, but there is something exhilarating about seeing a project you have put so much time, effort, and thought into finally come together. Jason and I are so excited to see the plants that we picked and planted ourselves grow and flourish. We walk around our yard regularly just to see how much they have grown.

BTW plants are expensive, especially when you are buying them in large quantities. Jason is still in sticker shock from our trips to the nursery. One trip, in which we bought about 20 bushes and a tree, cost us roughly $800. He thought that was outrageous. Apparently he thinks plants should be cheap, but unfortunately they are not.