Steph 
Who doesn’t love a spring vacation? Especially when it is to a warmer climate. Even better? When you get to go for a full month and come back just in time for the warmth to hit full-time at home. So this was my story this spring. We spent a month out west at the pool, camping, exploring and basking in the glow of the western sun and blue skies. I knew the weather had warmed up at home, but had no idea what I would find waiting for me.
Weeds. That’s all I see right now. When I manage to look past that, I can see my lilacs getting ready to bloom. My azaleas that I rescued from clearance last year are showing me their first blossoms. About 50% of the bare root peonies I planted before I left have come up. My roses have branched out and the leaves are out in full force. My peppermint is threatening to take over a large section of my back bed and my sage is extremely happy. My bee balm is huge. I can’t quite remember why I planted that last year, but it looks like it’s here to stay for a while.
Arugula. Does it ever die? I have a huge mess in my greens bed where the arugula went nuts and has all bolted. My wisteria is full of buds and ready to blossom within the next couple of weeks it seems.
Stuff I lost. Sadly, I think I lost my Texas Sage. I had brought them back from out west last year but never decided where to plant them or whether to keep them in pots to weather inside. I seem to have lost a couple of lilacs that didn’t get planted before I left. This one surprised me, since I assumed they would be fine.
I have so much to catch up on, yet here I am writing about it rather than doing it. Over the next few days I have to tackle all of the weeds in my flower beds and yard. I have to clear out my square foot garden boxes and redo my soil. I have to clean out my greens flower bed and figure out what to put there this year. I’m not sure if I should do mustard and salad greens right now or not. Since it’s already May, I’m afraid that it’s a little too late for a spring salad garden. It will be far too hot soon.
My pavers on my back patio are a hot mess. We didn’t put in new sand before we left and the weeds have overtaken them. It looks like that will be a day or two worth of work for me. I am not a chemical girl so I refuse to go the easier weed killer route. While strong vinegar can work, sometimes it is just easier to pull and scrape them out. While I love the look of pavers, maintenance is definitely a nightmare.
As I look at my 10 inch tall grass, I’m wondering how much better the backyard would look with a pool. I really hate grass, and would much rather a huge pool with some amazing landscaping around it. But I’m not sure I want a pool in a colder climate where pool season is so much shorter. As a Florida native, I don’t find that Virginia weather to be the most pool friendly.
