Growing Old and Gardening

I finally broke down and hired the neighbor whose business is “garden,” as it says on the side of his truck. The front yard was so overgrown that one could literally not walk on the walkway to the front door. The weeds were up to 2 feet tall, and the bougainvillea completely blocked access from the garage to the front door. Made it a challenge to get to my front door, which is not bad – except for the fact that I’ve been purchasing items on line that need to be delivered to the front door.

Sergio did a great job and, in the process of cleaning, discovered that the bird fountain had broken into three separate pieces, which means the birds and stray cats can’t get a drink as the weather continues to warm. I’ll go up to the hardware store and buy a new ceramic fountain and then ask Sergio to drill a hole through the ceramic so the small rubber tubing for the watering system can be installed to keep the water fresh on a daily basis. The back yard is overgrown, but not in an area that interferes with navigation of the space, so it can stay that way.

I used to take pride in how nice my yard looks, but, frankly, I am all over the hours in the hot sun to get it to look that way, and the older I get, the less I want to do yardwork. I have talked to Sergio about his monthly plan, where he comes in and cleans up what needs cleaning and checks the watering system. I’ll only need him to do this until about October, so I’m opting for paying him the going rate and not have to do it myself.

UPDATING: After writing this post, I had occasion to go out to the patio and saw what a disaster my backyard is! Reluctantly, but shamed, I got the clippers and dead-headed some of the shrubbery, then turned on the water and gave all the plantings a much-needed drink of water. It's not perfect, but now if Sergio wants to take a look at the backyard, he won't be seeing dollars signs. :=)