And then, I raked. For what seemed like hours. My entire front yard was covered with so so many leaves. I doubt the last owners raked *once*. Now I have huge piles of leaves that I suppose will simply hang out there until I get home today with my refuse bags. And some garden gloves.
But other than the huge piles of leaves, I have a nice, dirty front yard. As in, nice and full of dirt. I covered most of the dirt with Canada Green, and in several areas, Patch Perfect.. I'm hoping to see some grass growth within 7-10 days, but I know I'm not supposed to trust everything I see on TV. What! I'm addicted to infomercials, so be it.
I've decided that on either side of my walkway (from my driveway to my door), I'm going to plant monkey grass. I have this problem with a bit of a dip in my walkway, so the dirt/leaves spill into it. Plus the sides of the walkway are just ugly, at least as of now. The monkey grass will be a defining barrier. I think I only need 6 or 8 plants and it will do a world of difference.
I may also plant monkey grass in front of my "garden" area to define it from the rest of the yard. Actually, on one side it's nicely separated by a wooden frame, and on the other side, the frame is both buried and rotten. So maybe I just need a new frame on that side.
And then in the garden area right in front of my house, I pulled out all the ugly and dying plants/bushes/whatever the heck they were supposed to be. I have an azalea bush on each side, and plan on putting hydrangea bushes on the outside of those, farther out from the door.
I also hired a dude to cut my back lawn, and I'll be growing some Canada Green (why does this sound like a drug?) in my back lawn too, considering that most of what he cut was weeds.
My body is now sore and my hands blistered and painful, but it's still a good sense of accomplishment to see what I've done. Luckily I'm not covered in poison ivy.