Tuesday, August 9, 2011
There is a small sidewalk behind my house that goes from the gate next to the driveway around to the deck.  At least, that's what I was told.  Although it was hard to find under a thick coat of weeds.  In an effort to make my back yard more presentable, I wanted to spruce up the sidewalk by... finding it.  And then fixing it, but mostly finding it.

I didn't have a change to take a picture of the weed garden before I brutally assaulted it with a gallon of Round Up.  It didn't survive.  The problem was, all the dead weeds were EXACTLY where all the live weeds used to be... peeking up through the bricks with roots shoots at least 47 inches into the ground.  At least.  See below...


Lovely, huh?  I definitely want to hang out near that sidewalk.  So after weed killing, the next step was to get rid of the weeds.  Which involved hours and hours of me, some gloves, and a little hand rake tool.  digging out each weed between eat crack, one at a time.
I made little piles of weeds as I went.  Oh, and see in the background, that nice little grass-like plant in the otherwise empty flower bed?  That's the beginning of my gardening...

Note the difference between weeded and not.  Also note again the empty flower bed.  With the exception of that big green plant... I couldn't figure out if it was a plant or a big weed, so I left it assuming no one else would be able to tell (and therefore judge me) either.

And, about 2 weeks after starting, I finally finished pulling up all the weeds.  I did in fact have to go back and spray the beginning again because the weeds were starting to come back... But don't worry, I stopped them.

Here's how it looked yesterday after I finished:
Ahhhh, soo many bricks!  I did leave the big pile of stuff on the part of the sidewalk where the garbage cans sit... I figured it would look better than a couple big black bins. 

So, given that this post was titled, "Part 1", I know you are all wondering what part 2 will involve.  I promise you it will not involve weeding.  I was thinking I would dig out the disintegrated bricks, replace them with new ones and reposition some that have slipped.  Then I will spray the whole thing very well with the hose to pull up loose dirt.  Then I'll spread some sand into the cracks and tamp it down to keep the bricks in place and keep the weeds from coming back.  Then I will take a nap.

At least I can walk from the driveway to the deck without feeling like I'm going to get eaten by a fast-growing vine like a scene out of Jumanji...

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Wow Kari. That's a vast improvement. Looks great! GA

Anonymous said...

I'm thinking hydrangea.

About Me

I am a Family Medicine intern at a community hospital in Indiana, navigating the new world of being a physician. I am privileged to work in a field I love, where every day is a new and unpredictable challenge.
I am not only a doctor, but also a cyclist, runner, DIYer in the making, lover of the outdoors, traveler, and human.
Human, MD is a glimpse into the world of a young doctor who is just trying to stay true to herself through the grueling whirlwind of residency.

Followers

Visitor Count