The Yard - Part 2 - We Bought A Hoard

As the dumpster was hauled away this week, we’ve turned our attention back to the yard (a.k.a. jungle). In Part 1 we gave a sneak peek at the massive amount of overgrowth that has been allowed to accumulate over the years.

As everyone is aware from last weekend, Spring is in full force in our neck of the woods, and everything is growing! The difference in plant growth in just a few weeks is incredible:

May 5th

May 29th

With that being said, we have made a fair amount of progress taking out some smaller trees and bushes. The huge lilac that was growing directly next to the house is gone, and for the first time in 10 years we can actually see from our house all the way to the corner! We’ve also removed a dead Catalpa and made inroads on some other smaller trees. Our neighbor’s tree removal buddy has been out to the site, and we will likely move forward on some more major removal activities shortly. There are a number of dead or dying trees in the back yard, some touching the house and destroying the roofline!

You can also see a bit in the photo above that we have removed a large number of the bushes and vines choking out the lovely crab apple near the front porch.

Crab Apple sans competition

Poison Ivy infestation!

One thing I am really not excited about is the discovery of a massive amount of poison ivy taking over an entire bed in the front. We were pretty sure it was something fishy, and the arborist who came out confirmed that it was indeed poison ivy. So, the current plan is for me to don a hazmat suit and heavy rubber gloves and rip out as much as I can when the heat wave subsides. I definitely want to do it soon as it’s starting to get berries; apparently the birds will eat them and spread it even more! If I’m covered in rashes next week, this will be the cause.

With all the bad going on in this yard, there are definitely many positives as well. The previous owner was clearly very into plants (just not the maintenance part) and there are some lovely perennials, bushes and mature trees. It may be hard to envision now, but this house is going to gain some serious curb appeal by the end of the summer.