I read the title of your post and thought to myself...just survive the spring! Lol.
I can so relate to what you're saying. So far today, I've tried to do laundry while running around outside like a chicken without a head. I went out with the intention of digging some of last year's annual stuff out of some large pots and barrels. So I had the garden fork and my shovel in my hand. I worked like a dog digging out some ornamental grass out of one container and I think it was King Tut or something out of a barrel. I decided to haul the other two containers into the back yard and just dump them. The roots were coming out the bottom and I knew I couldn't budge them otherwise. But before I did that I decided to divide my Karl Forester grass. That was a work out. Now I have a bunch of divisions to do something with. But first I ended up back in the house because I found some containers to pot up some large dahlia clumps. (I like to get them growing before planting) Then I divided the huge begonia basket I foolishly bought yesterday.

I am now exhausted and haven't actually completed anything, including the laundry.

Replacing tree in front yard Saturday then hopefully getting my squash in the bale garden before June 4. (see conversation side for more info) I also hope to get some petunias from my friend for the front flower garden. I just planted 2 blueberries and an apple tree so that is it for the year for me.

Bahaha, oh North53 - I can completely identify with your ADD when it comes to garden jobs. The problem is that there is SO much to do, every time you turn around you see something else that you feel is a higher priority. That is how my day goes - I plan on doing one thing, go outside and start a different thing, and then I get distracted doing something different than those previous two things, and at the end of it all, I'm not exactly sure what I've completed/achieved! What a headache.

I'm trying to get my vegetable garden ready to go. I think I'll seed it tomorrow, but I'll leave my tomatoes in pots for now. I think I need to expose them to more wind before they have a rude awakening in the garden. Since this is my first year with a veg garden, I'm figuring out as I go around what stuff I "need", which is resulting in a trip to Lee Valley or Early's every 2 weeks. For instance, I bought a soaker hose for the garden last weekend, and now that I unrolled it I realize I should get some little garden staples from Lee Valley because I'm not sure how to keep it from trying to coil in the garden. And I need another t-filter, because we have well water and the other one is on my drip line for the trees. And I need 2 more tomato cages.

Then there is the perennial bed, where the dandelions are - as usual - becoming rapidly out of control. I HATE our soil. I can never pull weeds without it breaking off at the crown, so unless I can dig the thing out with a trowel, I'm just tearing off the weeds. So I gave in and did a bunch of spraying this morning. Hope nothing drifted onto my perennials coming up, but I'm just so overwhelmed with everything to do. I just finished planting roses, and I have some fruit trees coming later this week on the greyhound. My mother in law is bringing over some tree cuttings that will need to be planted and watered immediately.

And on top of this, there is all the usual housework, cooking, and doing dishes.

The big plans for this summer are: reshingle barn, dig 4 more vegetable beds, plant any last fruit trees/etc. that are wanted because I don't want to be doing tons of watering next year, plant the peonies that are coming this fall, and tend the veg garden. Yippee.

This post was edited by weeper on Wed, May 15, 13 at 17:55

There's this little triangle to the right of my front walk that had spireas, junipers and boulders in it. It got full of grass and some of the spireas died so two years ago I killed everything off. Last year I dug everything out and got rid of the rocks. Tonight I dug it over, edged it and planted three rose bushes in it (Pickerings order came). I have a giant rock I'm going to put in it for an address sign. (I have a crane at work) That's my main ambition for this year.

I also renovated my 50' cotoneaster hedge last weekend. I had to cut it all down to bellybutton level, one branch at a time with branch pruners. It had gotten too high and wide and too thin inside.

I have one more ambition but it's a big one and I might not get there this year. I need to get rid of a maple tree, a caragana hedge and a pile of boulders mixed with grass and invasive daylilies. :/

I always have plans but don't always get to all of them. And i have the above-mentioned ADD as well! LOL For housework too.

We're planning a raised bed for the vegetable garden - one for this year, and maybe more in years to come. We had one years ago but didn't do it quite right and it got full of weeds that there was no way i could get rid of. This bed will be lined with landsape fabric so that nothing can come up from underneath. Weeds happen when you live in the bush!

My own plans include working on the edging of various beds and trying to get some of the wildness under control in various place. And i'm going to extend the bed that's under a willow tree, just a bit, like about two feet. That was the first bed i ever made, roughly triangular in shape, and it has all white flowers in it. Thing is, some of the white flowers are lily of the valley, which i planted in the hopes that they would make their way out of the back of the bed and naturalize down the slope to the creek. They didn't do a thing for years and i even planted some goutweed back there (away from the bed) so that it could do the same thing. The slope is awkward for mowing and my reasoning was that it wouldn't have to be mowed this way. Now the lilies have started moving, but of course it's in both directions! So i thought i would make this extension but put a barrier inbetween the old bed and the new, and move some of the plants in there forward into it and let the lilies do their thing in the rest. You gotta choose your battles!

Another thing that should be done this year is to enlarge my granddaughter's little bed. The Fairy rose and the Princess spirea are doing so well that they're filling the bed and she needs room for all the flowers she wants!

My lunchtime walk around my yard went something like this:

Me: I'm going to replace all of the caragana with beautiful fruit trees!

Caragana: Bwahaha!

Me: What are you talking about? I'M in control here! Begone!

Chickweed: Seriously?

Me: Look, caragana, what if I promise to leave you alone if you promise not to infect my squash with powdery mildew this year?

Caragana: meh.

I would like to rip out the stuff that the builder's landscaper put in my front yard and start all over again! it's totally awful that they put those full sun plants in this north facing spot. None of it is thriving. I dislike it intensely and IT HAS TO GO!!!!! LOL

Only plans I got is to keep everything I've planted alive and kill the weeds! NOT the other way round!

This is going to be a busy summer for me just maintaining the lawn and beds. Only me this year and this old yard is a bit of a war zone! Me against the weeds and quack grass! Add in a few too many maple seedlings!

Planting a few roses in pots, I think. Peonies from last fall and a few irises coming in August. I also have a few daylilies that wintered in the garage that will have to find a sorta permanent home. The rest are annuals in pots just to color up this old yard. First time planting geraniums this year....thanks for the enabling, Terry. They are beautiful! Going for the shabby chic look again. :)

Must make a decision by the end of the summer as to what the future holds for this old house and this older yard.....

In the meantime, I hope the deck and fence will hold out so the dogs and I can enjoy the summer days and nights in the peace and quiet of such familiar surroundings. :)

Ginny

I hope you have a better year this year, Ginny. You really deserve some peace. Definitely enjoy your yard and don't spend all your time worrying about all the things you still need to do.

"Weeds happen when you live in the bush!" You've got that right. It's a never-ending battle. I finished clearing quackgrass out of our 2 by 50' flower bed by the lane this afternoon. Two wheelbarrows piled high with rhizomes. My hands are so sore!

Our veggie garden ranges from 3100 to 3500 square feet, depending on the year. Nothing really new there except experimenting with some different types of trellises. I'm trying eggplant, celeriac and zucchini for the first time. I like to plant veggies I don't like once in a while to see if my palate has changed over the years. :)

Special project #1 this year... I've give up about 90 square feet to the kids so they can have a garden of their own. They've chosen their own flowers and veggies.

Special project #2 is to try to propagate an old saskatoon berry bush by etiolated cuttings. I've already chopped it down to ground level and covered it with an old rubber feed tub that the horses don't need anymore. Just waiting for shoots now.

Special project #3 is to start killing all the grass the the shady place between the veggie garden and lilac hedge. I suspect this might take two or three seasons. *sigh* When it's grass-free, I want to make a path there and plant ostrich ferns on either side so we can pick fiddleheads in the springtime.

Special project #4 is to prepare an area so we can plant blueberries. We've already been playing around with lowering the pH of the main vegetable garden and it's working very well. I think we're ready to lower an area enough for blueberries (at the request of the kids, who don't like saskatoons).

Plus all the usual yard maintenance, housework, day job, etc.