??? What to do about a junkyard? ???
Dear Jen,
So you think your yard is a nightmare, Ha!!!!! Originally our yard looked like Sanford and Son. Over the last decade we have done it all! Through proper planning, perseverance and buckets of sweat, we were able to get our yard looking like a picture out of Better Homes and Gardens.
The cold weather is still upon us, there are white pockets all over our lawns, and the branches are still bare. But spring is right around the corner and this would be the perfect time to put your plan in motion. Think of all the exciting things that we have done over the years. We have researched home and garden shows, done a few ourselves, as, we gear towards homeowners. We have been online, bought books, and talked to landscape architects. So, there are plenty of things you can do as a homeowner to be fully prepared to get your home up to par. We had a concept in our minds, and with the help of a landscape design we were able to make more informed decisions. Today, they even have PC programs that you can do yourself
Our odyssey started by the removal of 110 overgrown trees, truckloads of brush, and dilapidated chain link fence. We hired a local excavation company for a weeklong excavation of our jungle. And have pictures to prove it. So, we went from a scene from Sanford and Son's to our yard looking like Boro Sand and Gravel.
Once we leveled our land, which was a task in itself, we proceeded to make it a family affair. Michael's 72-year-old mother was instrumental to many a projects. Unbeknownst to us she took Michael's old, run down, s-10 Chevy shoveled and loaded loom into the back of the truck's bed. She was quite the character. We had so much fun with her that it barely seemed like work. It was great exercise and we had fun doing it together as a team. Hope (Michael's mother) was definitely the inspiration and one of the motivating factors. She would cheer me on as I rot tilled our circle of love. We rot tilled vegetable gardens, rose gardens, all kinds of gardens until we had the foundation for what has become one of the prettiest yards in town, if I do say so myself. Sure do miss my pal, (Hope) who, without her drive, ambition, and love, I don't think we would have gotten to where we are today. Obviously, my husband's money, drive, and business sense didn't hurt either. We have and continue to work together in his business, our home, our yard and many other projects.
So, be patient, work as a team, know your limits and have fun while creating your own Better Homes and Garden fantasy world. You go girl!
