Yard Work Made Easy
Over the last few weeks, I showed you how I am decorating the exterior of my house, the deck and gazebo. I am using turquoise and lime accents and having fun moving furniture around to see where I like it best.
I am in charge of this part of the exterior, but Ed is the one in charge of everything else, like taking care of the lawn, bushes, trees, and shrubs all around the house. I basically take care of the inside and he does the outside.
When we were house hunting back in the fall, we were thinking we didn’t want to have too much yard work, but when we walked into our house with the real estate agent, those thoughts vanished, we knew it didn’t matter… everything about the house just felt so right, there was even a hydrangea at the bottom of the deck steps. If you know me and have been reading my blog for a while, you know I love hydrangeas. It was the only thing I knew I would miss having when we sold our previous house. I had lots of hydrangeas planted there.
Since we bought the house in the fall, the blooms on the hydrangea bush were faded and starting to dry so I didn’t know what color the flowers were, but was still excited to know that I would have my own hydrangeas to enjoy each summer.
I was in New York City for a quick trip this week and when I got back yesterday afternoon I was so happy to find this…
Pink… YAY!
I love pink and also purple hydrangeas. I had a lot to do yesterday after my trip and didn’t have a chance to take a photo of the blooms up close until this morning when I woke up to the sound of rain. I still went out to take this shot and did get a little wet, but I am one that truly enjoys a rainy day every once in awhile and didn’t mind the raindrops.
A rainy day on the lake was exactly the kind of day I needed after being in the hustle bustle of NYC. It has granted me a day to enjoy the cozy comforts of home.
It hasn’t rained here in a while, we have been having fabulous weather and have been outside quite a bit getting a feel for the exterior of the house and yard.
There are a lot of shrubs and trees around the house that were new to us. Coming from a northern state where many of these southern shrubs didn’t grow, we decided it was in our best interest to hire a landscaper to come and tell us what each and every shrub, tree, and bush was in the yard so we would know how to take care of all of it.
Ed now has a list of what everything is and how to take care of it, including the best time to trim each one.
We have Burford Hollies, Horn Hollies, Crepe Myrtles, Gardenias, Azaleas, Red Tip Hedges, Tea Olives, 3 Palm Trees, and one Wax Myrtle…and a Partridge in a pear tree. :-)….. No… only kidding…
…but we do have lots of birds, big and small hanging out in the Loblolly Pines that are on each side of the house.
Earlier this spring I was sent a cordless GMax Pole trimmer from the folks at GreenWorks to try out. I figured we would need it. :-) Ed was happy to put it to the test.
GreenWorks makes a line of cordless lawn and yard tools that delivers performance comparable to gas-powered tools. It gets its power from a rechargeable battery.
Ed trimmed up a few of the bushes and the shrubs along the deck. We have a lot of Tea Olives that get small white flowering blooms that smell divine when they are in bloom. He only trimmed up the tops on a few that were getting too high.
Ed loved the fact that there was no long cord or need for outlets. He also liked that the GMax Cordless Pole Trimmer has a 3-multiple position pivoting head that can be adjusted for trimming at all angles and to get under and above tall hedges.
He liked the ease of use, but said it was heavy and that I would have a hard time holding it for any length of time. It was too heavy for me, but since he is the guy in charge of trimming the bushes, I don’t ever need to be the one that uses it. :-) I am the paint brush wielding one between us.
With the bushes around the deck trimmed we can enjoy stellar lake views that are even enjoyable on a rainy day. I am enjoying doing just that with a cup of hot tea in my hand, just chill’in and enjoying being home sweet home.
Do you take on cutting the lawn and trimming shrubbery around your house or do have someone else do it?
I was sent the GreenWorks cordless hedge trimmer to try out. I was not paid to write about it. I do, however like to share things that come my way that I like and have helped make DIY’ing easier for me.
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