Admittedly, waiting a week between blog posts is unacceptable, and for this I apologize.

You see, I’ve been a bit busy over the past week. For one… I changed jobs, which has been wonderfully exhilarating but very time consuming. And for another, we have been wrapped up in a major yard rejuvenation. My garden guru (mom) has been staying with us for the past week to help us install a custom landscaping plan she designed for our front and back yard. She and Heath have been waking up at  7 am every morning to put the plan into action. I wouldn’t believe the transformation if I wasn’t part of the process.

I squeal with glee at the end result. What all did the plan entail, you ask?

1.) Weeding the existing flower bed

2.) Cleaning the succulent planter and adding gravel to cover the dirt

3.) Pruning the trees

4.) Marking a curvature for the bed

5.) Leveling and installing paver borders

6.) Scrapping grass from the walkway and landing

7.) Installing and leveling the paver walkway

8.) Shopping endlessly at various nurseries for the perfect plants and pavers

9.) Installing the plants

10.) Mulching

11.) Mowing

12.) Edging

Already we are at step 12 and I can’t begin to describe the lengths they’ve gone to to make sure the new plan is not only installed but also poised for success. Every paver was perfectly placed and leveled and every plant was meticulously chosen, taking into consideration its water needs, soil needs, future growth, and cohesion with other plants. Nothing was selected on a whim. As good as it looks now, I know it will look even more marvelous once the plants mature.

Of course, the front is only half the story. The back is still in the works, but already we’re making progress to turn that from a wonky and weed-laden war zone to  polished and pristine courtyard.

There’s more to tackle in the rear, as most of the projects taking place back there this week have been less the stuff of glamorous makeovers and more maintenance (taking care of some of the things we let slide during the school year). We removed a large brush pile we had long been ignoring, chopped down a dying tree, pruned up a tenacious Pecan and cleaned and reorganized the shed. And of course, there was a bit of harvesting.

Tomorrow is dear mom’s last day gardening at the old doodle house, but at this rate  I wouldn’t put it past her to install a swimming pool back there just to prove she could. The woman’s a landscaping machine. I can’t wait for our next back yard bbq to show off the fancy new digs.