Things that come with a house: Part Two- Yardwork

I have never been a friend of yardwork. I mowed the lawn as a kid, and pulled weeds when forced, but neither of these made for an enjoyable weekend activity. My one proactive attempt at yardwork involved clearing a patch of Will Haskins’ backyard with the goal of putting in a garden. I moved out before the planting ever began.

I am equally surprised as some of you may be at the fact that I have taken on responsibility for the front yard. A week before I actually moved in I spent an hour or two pulling weeds from the planting strip in front of the rocks. That only put a dent in the years of neglect. After I moved in I spent more time weeding (I’m sure that some valid plants were caught up in the purge, I wish them the best of luck wherever the green waste ends up) put in a few plants and laid down some mulch and bark.

Yardwork is a good way to meet the neighbors. The woman in the house next door (left) was really excited that someone was finally taking an interest in the yard. She and her husband had adopted one side of the rock slope (the portion to the left of the steps, adjoining their yard) because they had to look at it everyday and it made their yard look crappy. She offered to split off some of her plants if I needed them, and gave me a volunteer kale plant. Hopefully I can keep up with it. I put in some bulbs, tulips and something white, so hopefully their appearance in the spring will keep me at it. I’m not sure if I will ever tackle the backyard, it’s a bit of a jungle and probably best left to its own devices.

A note to explain the ninja banner. The neighbors across the street have a pirate flag on their door. Some time ago, my friend Liz (whose departure to Japan made it possible for me to move in) decided to hang a ninja flag in response and host a pirates versus ninjas party. Nothing much has happened since then, but I think we should up the stakes by suruptitiously placing ninja clad gnomes in their garden.