Yard update

This is going to be the first of 2 yard updates. Mainly because I ran out of time before the rain came to take pictures of everything we've done, so I was relegated to shots of things I could take from within the protection of my roof and a 5 minute "dash outside" spree.

Remember my pathetic little TLC Cherry Tree that I rescued/bought for nothing when we first moved into the house? Here's a picture of it from back in 2010

What's that? You can't see it? That single branch coming out of the mulch with leaves on the top?

Here's my happy Cherry Tree now

(Excuse the bricks please, I didn't have a chance to get them in nicely prior to the rain falling).

That inner circle with the grass in it? That was the original mulch pile. I would say I got a pretty decent little tree out of $5 I paid 3 years ago.

When we moved in I started a little hedge in the back.

It is now filling in quite nicely!

It's a bit hard to see because of all the green, but I have taken Rose of Sharon plants and used them to grow a hedge between my neighbors fence and my yard. There is also Ajuga on the ground to provide a nice ground cover that is all pretty and purple and happy. This was taken in early spring before the bushes really popped out.

This is my lovely pea tower.

My dad made the raised bed out of some scrap wood in his yard. It plops around a tree stump that was never removed from our yard (even though we paid a company $300 to remove it) and actually works perfectly to make a pea tower/teepee. I left one side open so we can go inside and gather peas. The yarn (which will be replaced) is black and white, which is why it looks so odd.

My Japanese Maple has exploded!

This gorgeous lady has exploded in growth after I cut off a few large dead branches once spring hit. That little circle garden once was larger than the canopy of the tree, and needs to be redone. The tree is probably 1 foot higher than my head at this point.

K was very concerned that I was out in the rain taking pictures.