Spring has arrived and I find myself in some uncharted territory as the realization that this big beautiful lawn needs lots of TLC sets in.  Gazing up at the beautiful blooms on the magnolia tree, it hits me I know absolutely nothing about plants, grass, mulch, fertilizer, watering schedules, tree care and weeds.  I know there is lots of weeding that should be done but I don’t know what little green thing is a weed and what little green thing is a plant; although I’m fairly certain that the dandelion the size of a dinner plate needs to go.  I also don’t know if I need to bother to try and get rid of the violets all over the lawn.  Even though they look pretty, I do know that they are technically weeds and I have no idea if they will they kill the grass if I leave them alone.  My daughter likes to pick them, maybe this method of violet control will work?  …yeah, I know…

Last summer I managed to grow, quite successfully I must say, some gorgeous tomatoes, lettuce and lots of tasty herbs.  Now these were safely tucked away in containers on a sunny 2nd story balcony.  In order to grow my summer veggies this year I’m going to have to battle not only my dog but bunnies, deer, ants, the occasional outdoor cat, birds, squirrels and I swear I saw a groundhog running across the yard the other day.  I’ve been told that dried pig’s blood reapplied every few weeks should keep all the critters at bay.  ….pig’s blood?? ….what??  I don’t know if I can do this, it seems a bit too draconian to my city girl mind – and although it’s apparently quite plentiful at most nurseries, I do picture one needing to pay a visit to the local butcher to get it.

I think my first order of business is going to have to be a trip to the library with my brand-new library card to find a book about weeds and get those taken care of!  Then I can move on to the vegetable planting and figuring out what pretty flowers to put in the big pots on the front porch.  With some research and lots of work maybe my yard will be ‘Better Homes & Gardens’ ready in no time!

….my other thought is to offer to ‘donate’ my yard to the MSU department of agriculture classes for extra credit…  That should work, right? – HA!