With so many changes in 2007 having been so successful, we are hoping to plan even more for 2008. Starting off with a landscape effort which will reduce our water by one third.

Two more trees, wildlife-attracting bushes, broad xeriscaped areas, and planting beds are all in the plan. Hope to share some of these sketches here soon.

Labels: back yard, garden, lawn, pergola

The yard surrounding the house we bought was in pretty poor shape a few years ago. Pocked with dry spots, an irrigation system that needed attention, and weeds. Most annoyingly is purslane. With it's itty bitty seeds and ability to live in nearly every condition.

We spent the better part of a weekend pulling and filling the equivalent of 95 gallons of this cruel plant. I spent hours online trying to find an environmentally-friendly solution. I even called a Boulder County organic lawn service and asked them. They told me 'we'll get right back to you', but i didn't hear a thing.

I have found one product that kills purslane: Ortho® Weed-B-Gon MAX® Weed Killer For Lawns Concentrate. Having looked all over online, I came across a few research papers pointing to the active ingredient Dicamba.

Up next: Ortho has done it again, with Ortho® Grass-B-Gon® Garden Grass Killer. My lawn's Bermuda will soon become extinct.

UPDATE: Yes, a few of you are bright and tell me that these creatures can be eaten in a salad. Fine. Come and get yours. I'm not one to enjoy the bliss that is chemically treated gardens, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

Labels: chemical, lawn, weeds

So, we're planning to do some major work to the back yard: Pergola, coupla trees, etc.

I usually get into trouble when I run across these "idea generators".

Labels: furniture, garden, lawn

Not entirely sure that Suz will let me construct one of these in the front yard, OR if the HOA would let me grow my lawn long enough... But this hand reminds me of something my classmates and I created in Hays in grade school.

In grade school, a bunch of my classmates and I decided to make an apple w/
a worm out of the dormant buffalo grass on the play ground. About 10 of us
used our hands to rake it up and just piled it in an outline form...it was
pretty cool until the bullies from the older grades ruined it.. The teachers
made them put it back...

_Thanks Jeremy for the link

Labels: art, Hays, Kansas, lawn, Washington Grade School