My husband and I have just bought our first home that has a significant yard- and we have no idea what we are doing! We have this cute pond that I am really struggling to figure out what to do with- the previous owner planted what I think are lilys and Crete myrtles- but it’s gotten totally overgrown with weeds. I’ve also heard a need to split the lilys? I would love some advice on how to go about weeding this area and what I need to do for the lilys – or any other helpful ideas! TIA!
by bizzieblonde
3 Comments
This season I would start with weeding and mulching, work slowly from one end to the next. You could use a plant identification app like “picture this” to help with ID’ing weeds. Familiarize yourself with what’s in there, there’s no rush to start dividing perennials you could do that this fall or next spring.
How beautiful! Congratulations! If you please, it’s called Crepe Myrtles(I think that’s the spelling, I know it’s a P in there somewhere!)
Here’s my opinion about it: First, pick a ‘garden work day’ one day a week. Only work for 3-5 hours, tops. That way you won’t detest doing it. The reason for this is so you do regular maintenance, and your mind gets used to doing it every ‘Thursday’ (or whatever).
Next: Don’t worry about splitting the lilies. They can wait one season (at least). Besides, Sep/Oct is the time to do that.
Weeds: If they are interspersed (fancy word, aye?) with the flowers, you’ll have to pull them or use a hoe. If not, I recommend using a 2 cycle engine string trimmer. Battery power is nice, but your place is way to big for that. Two cycle uses a gas/oil mix, so you’ll have to buy “2 cycle oil” and mix it w/gas. It’s easy, you can buy a little bottle for 1 gal of gas and just pour it in w/o measuring.
Next: DON’T make any major design decisions until you live there at least one whole season. That way you’ll get to see all of the flowers bloom. Flowers don’t all bloom at the same time, so that ugly Azalea that’s just a green bush from June onward EXPLODES in color in about April or May, and you’ll kick yourself if you pull it out prematurely.
Next: Get a soil test. Your local university has one of these: an Agricultural Extension service. They test soil for about $25 bucks. The results will tell you the Ph of the soil and what ‘amendments’ (stuff to add to the dirt) to add. Knowing this ahead of time saves you a TON of money, & keeps you from making serious mistakes.
Also: I recommend using a mower with a bag, not a mulching mower. You have enough property to make your own mulch pile of grass clippings. It’s cleaner for your yard and better over all.
You can send me a message if you have questions. I’m a professional Gardener, Church groundskeeper, and (this time of year) Lawn Zombie (‘must..mow…!’). I’m right at about 50 customers, so give me a 1 or 2 day turnaround time to reply.
Your property looks Very exciting! I’m happy for you guys!
Take it a little bit at a time. This project looks like a marathon, so pace it as such. Don’t think of it as “I want this done now,” but rather “this will look so good in a few years’ time. This looks like such a fun project!