Landscaping

One of the problems with buying an older home where the previous owner did not maintain the property well is dealing with landscaping. I had some gorgeous old trees and shrubs here. "Had" being the key word. Unfortunately, due to age and prior neglect, I've lost many of these wonderful trees. I was upset when I lost all three fruit trees, apple, cherry, and pear, and was distraught when the towering Japanese Maple fell. The fruit trees were in their 70's, the maple about the same. In addition to major plantings of my own, I have replaced an apple tree and eventually, I'll get another cherry. However, the hedges lining the east side of the property also died. I decided to replace them with arborvitae. I chose a smaller variety, and could plant them myself. However, with my back and my dad's stroke issues, my mom would be the muscle man getting the 6 shrubs planted. It's worth the extra money, so I'm having it done by the nursery. I really like them and have used them for all of my major plantings. It's a family run business and the people are really great. We did some more yard work today. Unfortunately, my back started bothering me. I still can't do much. It sucks as gardening takes a lot of muscles and there's a lot to do. In addition to some more outdoor spring cleaning, I cleared the area under my northernmost Hornbeam and planted the crocuses I had bought as flowering plants. In the fall I'll buy some crocus bulbs and plant them there as well. I'm looking forward to seeing things bloom.