Ivy and the hundred ways I hate it

Ivy has got to be the toughest damn thing on this planet. Each weekend, we head outdoors to continue cleaning the ground at the new place. We tug and chop and plead and beg and cry and chop some more. At first, I hated the ivy and I wanted it G-O-N-E gone...but now, much like my acceptance of mucky children with unkempt hair....I've run out of energy. I'm thinking, and JDH agrees, that perhaps, like Harry Potter's hair, it just CAN'T be eliminated. So management and occasional trims it is.

JDH has been working like a man possessed on the tiers in front of our house. This requires a level of precision cutting of landscape timbers that I stay as far away from as possible. I was not built for engineering. Our yard has no grass...not a blade...but has been planted beautifully with azaleas and monkey grass that have run wild with the ivy and now, with my transplanted and well-loved roses and some hostas that were split for me by a friend. They seem to be doing well and I think my next step will be overwintering some bulbs for color in the Spring.

The two projects that must be done soon, and the ones that present the biggest problem financially and logistically are the gutters and the trimming of some gargantuan trees. We haven't yet figured out how we will manage this...along with rebuilding the huge deck...but selling a kidney is definitely being considered.

Till next time, keep your hands dirty!

-
The Smiths