Thursday, July 12, 2012

Taming the Beast

"Have you been working in your garden?", a friend of mine asked me the other day.  "You haven't been letting us know on your blog."

Oh, how sweet of you to wonder - and to keep up with my blog!

Well, there's a reason I haven't been blogging my progress.  Because parts of my garden have become beastly!  And I didn't want to scare anyone!

But, I've taming the beasts.  Just look for yourself.

This was Before:


Yes, this is a bed!  :O

There are hollies planted in this bed, but they're hard to see because the weeds have taken over.  The brown holly (it's not quite dead) is suffering because the weeds are so high, they are blocking the water from the misting system.

Was that you I just heard screaming?  Will this haunt you in your dreams?  Give you nightmares?  I know it's ugly.  And scary.

A real monster.

Did music soothe the savage beast?  No, hard work did!

I worked:

  • 45 minutes digging the trench for the edging
  • 2 hours putting in the edging  (Yes, I know I was supposed to put the edging in before I put in the plants.  This is one reason monsters start to grow.)
  • 5 hours putting down cardboard and mulching  (Broken up into two work sessions.)

I also took one day off for housework, one day for a non-gardening appointment, and one day going to get more edging and mulch!  This one bed holds about 2 yards of mulch, and it's not put down very deep.

This is the After:


Ah, much better!  This monster's gone for now.  I have others, but it's going to be o.k.  Nothing to be afraid of.  Remember, no matter how bad a garden looks, it can be tamed with just a few hours of work (usually).

Sweet dreams!

40 comments:

  1. Ah I have those wild beasts around my house too. I tamed the one in the veg garden earlier this week but have made no progress with the others. It's crab grass here that needs pulling or a shot of roundup.

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    1. I have every weed under the sun, it seems! These beasts can get out of control quickly! Good luck taming the rest of yours!

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  2. Wow, that's a pretty amazing before-and-after transformation. You didn't say how much time you spent actually pulling the weeds! That looks like a big job. You deserve a trip to the ice cream parlor after that one.

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    1. Ice cream! Sounds wonderful! :) I just hope the after stays looking like an after for some time. Those weeds can be pretty persistent!

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  3. holy cow. Isn't it summer down there? How are you possibly doing this without death by overheat?

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    1. I work only in the mornings, take breaks, drink water, and am very aware of when my body says it's tired or doing too much. It has only been in the 80's in the mornings, sometimes 90's, but not triple digit heat - so I'm working until we get those extreme temperatures!

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  4. "Hard work soothes the savage beast"--I wonder why that saying never caught on? :D And oh, dear. If taking time off to do housework is allowed during gardening season, that probably means I ought to do some housework... Like Sharon said, what a transformation. That was a LOT of work!

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    1. I don't think there are many sayings with the words 'hard work' in them! haha I have to take off to do housework sometimes - or we would be out of clothes, out of clean dishes, and wouldn't be able to see the floor! :)

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  5. I hear you! I have many little crabgrass beasties that have taken over a large part of the yard. I've spent two days weeding by hand, and finally today I just took the weed-eater to a large part of my yard. It looks so much better after the beast is tackled!

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    1. Good going with the weeds! I need to learn to use a weed-eater. I'm scared of them, but I think I could really put one to good use!

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  6. My borders looked like that this spring, and I suppose I have a major weeding-session coming up this weekend (in the rain) to prevent the Monster reappearing.

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    1. At least the weeds will pull up more easily in damp soil! Good luck!

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  7. Wow, Holley.... You did GREAT.... I can certainly sympathize when it comes to weeds. They seem to grow whether it's rainy or whether there's a drought... Darn those things!!!!!

    Congrats...
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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    1. You're so right, Betsy - it seems any weather is the perfect weather for weeds!

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  8. Holley, you are amazing, great job! I think every gardener has at least one (or in my case, six or seven) beds that become beastly once in awhile. Since you live in Texas, it must be hot, right? I was watering today and feeling sorry for myself since it was almost 90 out and here you're working in the heat doing heavy work. Gosh, you're industrious! Take that, Monster.

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    1. I think our weather has been about the same here as there this year! And I have six or seven beds that look just exactly like this. That's why I feel I can't stop! The weeds are killing my plants!

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  9. Holly, it was a great and hard work, but you won a beast!

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    1. It's always so satisfying to get the beast under control!

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  10. Well done Holley! Sounds and looks like a tough job but well done for doing it :)

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    1. It was a tough job, but I am sooooo glad I finally got around to it. I'm amazed how much of a difference it made in my garden!

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  11. Big difference. Doesn't it always just make you feel wonderful to accomplish so much!

    Cher Sunray Gardens

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    1. Yes, it does!!! I had forgotten this area could even look good! I'm quite proud of it now. If I will just keep the weeds from taking over again!

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  12. A few hours may get me half through a bed...no cardboard here because it is planted so close together...pulling and whacking with no kneeling allowed...that bed looks like my back yard...out to do a bit more taming today...I only have 2 days a week to tame unfortunately so it gets away from me

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    1. You have it bad because of your knees. And yes, it's much easier if there is room to put cardboard in between the plants. I have a few beds that are closely planted like yours, and it's just one weed at a time. It takes a lot more time (and effort) to control those little beasts that pop up in areas like that. Good luck with yours.

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  13. Looks fantastic! I have been battling weeds this week too, my kids were terribly sick for over a week and I was not able to step foot outside. You would have thought by the look of my beds that I had not weeded in a month! Terribly discouraging but one by one I am starting to get them under control!

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    1. It's amazing how fast weeds can grow in such a short amount of time. I always think "Gee, didn't I just weed this area?" It seems they are just waiting for us to turn our backs - then bam! up they grow!

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  14. Holly don't be afraid to share the MONSTERS!!! Those of us who have them don't feel so all alone. We feel like we can do it too when we see what you have done. It gives us hope and we feel comraderire when we know others are fighting the same problems we are fighting!!! You did a great job of reclaiming the garden area. Yea!!! a victory for beauty and order....if only for a time.

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    1. "If only for a time"... so true! And I think we all have monsters, it's just not a pretty thing to be showing! But, it's a reality of gardening. At least for me! I feel like I'm never caught up in the garden!

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  15. We all have those 'monster' beds.LOL! It always feels good when we get one nice, pretty and cleaned out. Mine had weeds too but it is so dry and the ground is like cement so when I go to pull them they just break off. LOL!. We need rain here so badly. I hope you have a wonderful weekend.

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    1. Oh, it's the worst when the ground gets so hard you can't pull a weed! I hope you get rain soon. It's amazing how wonderful damp soil can be for weed pulling!

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  16. Very nice, Holley! I agree with the others--how do you manage all that work in the heat of summer. I can't wait to see more photos of the garden's progress!

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    1. I'm determined to get this garden in shape - I'm not sure how it got so bad so quickly! But as long as the temperatures aren't too bad (this year has been a 'normal' year for temperatures, and not too hot here!), I need to keep working. I feel like if I don't make progress, I might as well just let the weeds reclaim these areas. And there are too many areas they are wanting to reclaim for me to give in and give up!

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  17. What a difference! Hard work really pays off out there. I need to venture into my garden and pull some weeds too...but I've been avoiding doing a long and arduous session because of the heat (so I pull ones here and there when I'm outside for a few minutes. Kudos to you on all your efforts! It really pays off and your garden looks fantastic :-)

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    1. I don't usually work so hard in the middle of summer, but I have got to get some of these weeds under control! Or I will just have a weed garden! haha

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  18. Your blog is lovely and inspiring!
    And the photos are so beautiful!!!
    Anyway, you did a great job :)

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    1. Thank you so much! I appreciate your sweet comments. :)

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  19. Fantastic blog. Lovely photos.
    I'm caught in your posts.
    Lucy-Maria

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  20. Every gardener has their less than stellar areas. We have a weedy front corner that keeps getting taken over by Bermuda grass as well as a lot of untouched weedy areas left by the previous owners.

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    1. I have learned to hate Bermuda grass. :O And I have several less than stellar areas! I really need to work faster!

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