Open Letter to My Neighbors
I am so, so, so, so, so sorry.
The inside of the house has been such a total time sponge these past four years that I have spent very little time on the exterior. And when you raise your eyes from your newspapers or when you are walking the dog in the evening, you have been forced to look at this:
My guilt has finally propelled me outside during the past week to dig the dandelions out of the front and back lawns. One, so you won't have to gaze upon the skeeziness of our landscaping. And two, so our dandelions stop breeding into your yards. Your lovely, neat, manicured yards that I covet.
You have been so patient, neighbors. And kind. Not once have you made a snide comment about our weeds, or left a container of RoundUp on our back steps. Though I would not have blamed you ONE BIT if you had. Because I was tired of looking at our yard and I only had to see it when I ventured outside.
So, these last few days I have labored in gratitude for living on a street with such forgiving and gracious people. Hopefully, we will make up for being such an eyesore when we finally (FINALLY!) paint the trim on the house this summer. I promise.
Love, Us
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Comments
Too funny- I'm still battling with our dandelions in the front yard. I have yet to tackle a single weed in the back this year. If everything were so easy to grow as dandelions it would be great! It's a great feeling when you pull one out and get a big long root- good luck!
Posted by: Trissa | May 3, 2007 8:56 PM
What a great looking neighborhood. If the caliber of the work you did on the inside is any indication of what your exterior and lawn will look like.....it will look superb. AND I bet your neighbors know this, too. Dandelions are every gardener/homeowner PITA. If you don't get the whole root and I mean every iota of it, it will grow back. I keep a small spray bottle filled with mixed Roundup and everytime I see one, I squirt it. Eventually you will get the upper hand. Jan
Posted by: Anonymous | May 3, 2007 11:28 PM
For getting those dandelions, you just gotta get a Grampa's Weeder. No bending over, and it gets the whole root out. It actually makes weeding a very satisfying experience. Can't reccomend it enough.
Check it out at http://www.acehardwaresuperstore.com/grandpa39s-weeder-weed-puller-p-77638.html?ref=42
-- keith
Posted by: Keith Anderson | May 4, 2007 1:04 AM
Now that you guys are parents, you might want to be extra careful about what chemicals you choose to use. The Safer Pest Control Project of Chicago is a great resource. www.spcpweb.org
And see
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/contaminants/dw_contamfs/glyphosa.html
Posted by: rachel | May 4, 2007 3:41 PM
We've actually done the opposite which gives everyone the impression that we have moved in thoroughly.
I haven't had time to really do any weeding at all this season but I pick the yellow flowers whenever they appear so that they don't start spreading seeds. I'm hoping that will be a sufficient stopgap measure. Of course, I only do this in our front yard-the back yard is a mess.
Posted by: Christina | May 5, 2007 12:12 PM
Hey-
The other day when you were weeding- ha- you were telling me about an organization for volunteering and I can't remember the name. We talked about the zoo and the nature museum but there was another one. If you could, could you email me the name?
Thanks,
Cait
Posted by: Cait | May 5, 2007 12:48 PM
That is so funny. My garden was as bad as yours until a few days ago. Am ashamed to say I didn't do quite as well as you, I got my mum to pul out all the weeds!
Posted by: CatherineL | May 7, 2007 12:23 AM
For another chemical-free option, I can't recommend the "water powered weeder" from Lee Valley enough. It works with surgical precision AND is fun to use!
http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.aspx?c=1&p=10418&cat=2,2300,44822&ap=1
Posted by: Doug | May 7, 2007 10:27 AM
Hi! Once you're ready to some plantings, you should visit Urhausen Greenhouses. http://www.urhausengreenhouses.com/index.htm
I was just there and was blown away by the selections! I'm going back tomorrow for Mother's Day to treat my self to some ornamental grasses and flowers.
Posted by: Jean | May 12, 2007 3:16 PM
Hey, did you steal those pictures from my yard? :P
When you guys are down hacking them out of your yard, come on over and work on mine!
Posted by: Lighting Ideas | May 13, 2007 7:09 PM