Overwhelmed

[BoundBrook]

Red and I moved back to Maryland from Florida about a month ago. We bought a house and moved in on Monday. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70392-silly.gif[/img]

The house has been vacant for over a year. The gardens are all overgrown. There are three huge lilac bushes planted right up against the back of the house [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif[/img] and aren't getting as much sun as they need. I would love to try and save them but with all of the yard work I don't know where to start.

Also, the previous owners planted a vine ground cover that has taken over all of the flower beds. I want to rip it all up. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/fight.gif[/img] There are 3 holly bushes planted right up against the side of the house and they have bores and are really way way way to close to the house. Add all of the leaves from last fall (we have a little more than 1/2 an acre in the backyard and it is loaded with mature maple trees) and gumballs from the 2 gumball trees that line the street out front to the 8 inch grass growing in both the front and back yard...

let alone all of the cleaning and unpacking that needs to be done inside...

sigh

Give me strength. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crybaby.gif[/img]

[Nanook]

Re: Overwhelmed

Oh my gosh Boundie! It certainly sounds as though you have your work cut out for you! I haven't seen you much lately but I do remember a thread where you were really homesick in Florida! I am happy you are where you can be happy.

It sounds to me like...you need to rip out some things and start over. Starting with the weeds and the bushes too close to the house. Sounds like you should cut em down and dig em up. What kind of ground cover? Hopefully we can find you an enviromentally friendly way to remove them besides the old standard on your knees. I don't know what a gumball is though...

Maybe you could try a local environmentally friendly yard service to get you started while you unpack? If you tell us the kind of weed I will call my farmer market grower friend and ask her what she would do, since they don't use chemicals. She's my guru.

Good luck and welcome north!

[SandiF]

Re: Overwhelmed

Dig out the lilac bushes. Any saplings that have sprouted up you can replant them in a better area where there is full sun and not against the house. Rip out the ground cover! Sweet gumball tree are extremely messy wid dose jukky jukky balls ... me would a chap dat dung.

[kia027]

Re: Overwhelmed

sending strength your way boundie [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70459-hugs.gif[/img]

welcome back up north too [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/yahoo.gif[/img]

[julie*mango]

Re: Overwhelmed

You know its funny...I have noticed that people who migrate from north to south generally end up coming back up to the north [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70402-thinking.gif[/img] same thing with my coworker who left 2 years ago she just came back a month ago [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70402-thinking.gif[/img]

(((Boundie))) I don't envy you one bit... [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70459-hugs.gif[/img]

[7777]

Re: Overwhelmed

yep, I know a couple of teachers dat did the same thing. Move back North..
One stated something bout de going rate of salaries..
but den again, I know one guy, who went down there, and never came back...[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/704555_dwl.gif[/img]


Bounty, de lilacs are for good luck..
replant dem somewhere else, or donate them to a gardener in your area on Craigs list..

Nice to have u home..[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70459-hugs.gif[/img]

[CeaBee]

Re: Overwhelmed

naaw man....nuff NYers in Florida still....and where i live i'm surrounded by ex-northerners.

personally me woulda just mow everyting down BB, and cover the backyard wid concrete [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]....alrite not really, but i dont have any gardening advice for u [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/grin.gif[/img]

good luck [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70459-hugs.gif[/img]..

[MarieK]

Re: Overwhelmed

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 7777</div><div class="ubbcode-body">yep, I know a couple of teachers dat did the same thing. Move back North..
One stated something bout de going rate of salaries..
but den again, I know one guy, who went down there, and never came back...[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/704555_dwl.gif[/img]


Bounty, de lilacs are for good luck..
replant dem somewhere else, or donate them to a gardener in your area on Craigs list..

Nice to have u home..[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70459-hugs.gif[/img] </div></div>

Mi know some too 7777 but those are the foolish ones who come south with their mountain of bills and didn't plan accordingly it can work if you WANT it to work if you dont' then it wont.

Boundie, no worries, when we moved from our concrete jungle in the bronx and came here I swore it was Jumanji all over again.

The woman had all kinds of bush and I had no idea what I wanted to keep from what I didn' twant to keep.

My first order of business was to contact the covenents and restrictions to see what my neighborhood allowed and once I identified the trees that couldn't be cut donw we invested in a landscaping company to come in and haul all that the bushes and shrubs away. He showed us how to save sme things like the azaleas and some other shrubs but other than that everything had to go.

I must admit I am growing impatient waiting on the trees I planted to grow along with the other shrubs and plants I have in there (mi have 5 hibiscus whe mi a wait pan fram wah day) but I am pleased.

You are NOT going to get it right the first time but you will eventually. THat's the beauty of it.

If di rahtid lizzad neva outside a stan gyaad tideh mi wudda did plant some mums but di dutty lizzad out deh [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70394-bawlout.gif[/img]

[7777]

Re: Overwhelmed

so Ms Marie a florida u deh...
beleive it or not, me just fine some of me long lass cousins dem wha me havent seen since me bout 15years ole down a florida yesterday...[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img]

[Redj]

Re: Overwhelmed

Hi BB

Wow, you really have you work cut out for you.

A must for every household is a "lady weight" chain saw !

Get your big boots on, shovel/axe/mower with lots of h.p. and a bottle of round up, for the real bad weeds and creepers!
Do you have any pics to share?..... (before and after)
Take care, good luck!

[MarieK]

Re: Overwhelmed

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 7777</div><div class="ubbcode-body">so Ms Marie a florida u deh...
beleive it or not, me just fine some of me long lass cousins dem wha me havent seen since me bout 15years ole down a florida yesterday...[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img] </div></div>

no 7777 mi deh a Jawjia

[Kurlie]

Re: Overwhelmed

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MrsMarieK</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 7777</div><div class="ubbcode-body">so Ms Marie a florida u deh...
beleive it or not, me just fine some of me long lass cousins dem wha me havent seen since me bout 15years ole down a florida yesterday...[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img] </div></div>

no 7777 mi deh a Jawjia </div></div>

..and there is will stay..fah wi nuh want har a florida

[MarieK]

Re: Overwhelmed

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MrsKurlie</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: MrsMarieK</div><div class="ubbcode-body"><div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: 7777</div><div class="ubbcode-body">so Ms Marie a florida u deh...
beleive it or not, me just fine some of me long lass cousins dem wha me havent seen since me bout 15years ole down a florida yesterday...[img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70409-waytogo.gif[/img] </div></div>

no 7777 mi deh a Jawjia </div></div>

..and there is will stay..fah wi nuh want har a florida </div></div>

eh red gyal gweh

[BoundBrook]

Re: Overwhelmed

Thanks everyone for the advice and support. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70371-jump.gif[/img]

We spent about 5 1/2 hours working on the yard yesterday. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/dizzy.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/dizzy.gif[/img] It still looks pretty bad but we managed to get the grass cut and most of the gumballs, sometimes referred to as monkey balls, up from the front yard.

See dem here Nookie:



I have called a few different lawn services and am getting pricing for a spring clean up. Most of the leaves are so embedded in the grass we couldn't get them up without really working on it. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crazy.gif[/img] We have too much yard for the 2 of us to do a thorough job. I am also going to get a lawn service contract to help up getting a better looking lawn. The leaves being there for so long have killed off patches of grass and made it pretty thin in other spots. Our neighborhood is gorgeous, and the lawns are immaculate, right now our yard really sticks out. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif[/img]

I do feel a little better with the work we did this weekend. Not only did we do an enormous amount of yard work, I also managed to unpack my clothes and get the kitchen scrubbed from top to bottom. I have never seen so much CAT hair in a refrigerator in my life. There is no evidence of pets anywhere else in the house, only the refrigerator. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/sick.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/sick.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/sick.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/sick.gif[/img]

I decided today to only unpack the bare necessities in the kitchen, since we are moving most of the appliances in the basement as a makeshift kitchen while we tear down walls and install a new kitchen/living area that will span the entire back of the house.

I think a big part of the problem is that before we moved to Florida we sold every single stinkin' piece of furniture from our house. We literally moved with pots and pans, our clothes, and artwork. In Florida we lived in a furnished condo so I didn't need to replace any furniture until now. So now I have boxes of knick-knacks with no shelves to put them on, clothes with no dresser to put them in (I took the ENTIRE master bedroom closet and 1 other with my clothes), and not even a seat to sit on when we need breaks. We didn't even have a bed the first night we moved in. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek.gif[/img] I went and bought a bed as soon as I could and had it delivered the same day. I borrowed a card table from my sister today and am at a friends restaurant using the Internet.

I have a whole house to furnish on top of all the other things going on. What a whirlwind the past year has been. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/breakdance.gif[/img]

I will take some pictures this afternoon and try to get online later to post them. Nookie, I may be PMing you for some help on removing a lot of the weeds and ground cover if I can't get them up with some sweat and hard work. I might have to get creative!

[ILP]

Re: Overwhelmed

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: BoundBrook</div><div class="ubbcode-body">Red and I moved back to Maryland from Florida about a month ago. We bought a house and moved in on Monday. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70392-silly.gif[/img]

The house has been vacant for over a year. The gardens are all overgrown. There are three huge lilac bushes planted right up against the back of the house [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/frown.gif[/img] and aren't getting as much sun as they need. I would love to try and save them but with all of the yard work I don't know where to start.

Also, the previous owners planted a vine ground cover that has taken over all of the flower beds. I want to rip it all up. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/fight.gif[/img] There are 3 holly bushes planted right up against the side of the house and they have bores and are really way way way to close to the house. Add all of the leaves from last fall (we have a little more than 1/2 an acre in the backyard and it is loaded with mature maple trees) and gumballs from the 2 gumball trees that line the street out front to the 8 inch grass growing in both the front and back yard...

let alone all of the cleaning and unpacking that needs to be done inside...

sigh

Give me strength. [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/crybaby.gif[/img] </div></div>

wah [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek2.gif[/img]
weh mi was when dis get post [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/eek2.gif[/img]
BUNGBROOK, is how you reach back ahn you nuh inform smaddy [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/mad2.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70400-talktohand.gif[/img] [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/rolleyes.gif[/img]

you have till dis evening fi check in [img]/forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/70388-shameonyou.gif[/img]