Garden Updates, Hand-Saving Tool, Ordered Outdoor Furniture, Pine Straw & 2 Prime Sale Purchases

So, you know how I got really fired up when I was working on the movie room last year? That was such a fun project, and once I started, I couldn’t stop. Well, that’s sort of what’s going on with me right now regarding the gardens here at the Dollhouse. I am determined to whip this yard into shape this summer, so I’ve gone a little cray cray! Here’s how the side yard/path looks after its recent weeding. We had to clear away some of the daylilies that had spread out over the path. They will fill back out in the next year or two. They had completely overgrown the path.

Remember all the weeds that had grown in over this area after a tree split and had to be removed?

That area has been cleared, too. Note the large clump of catmint in that photo. Catmint is obviously incredibly hardy since I have around 6-8 large clumps all around the paved patio area. It’s one of the lone survivors that made it through three years of neglect when the yard and gardens were left unattended.

Before this area of the yard can be grassed, this gigantic stump needs to be removed. I’m getting a quote for that this week. I was told by one of the tree guys who looked at the tree when it split off a massive section into my neighbor’s yard, that this stump was really four Little Linden trees that had somehow grown into one massive tree, which is why it ultimately ended up splitting apart.

I awoke early and took advantage of the 60-degree weather to work in the front and back gardens today. I used this amazing DeWalt limb trimmer that I recently purchased to remove a bunch of weed trees that were growing in various places in the yard. I was amazed at how fast I could work and how much I got done!

I never could have accomplished all that I did this morning without it. It saved my hand! The info on this genius tool says that it will cut limbs up to 1.5 inches thick, but I’m pretty sure I cut a few that were even thicker. It will cut over a thousand limbs on a single battery charge! When I finished, the battery appeared to still be where it was when I started, and I cut for over an hour! Amazing tool! If you need to trim thick limbs from time to time, you’ll find this hand-saving tool available here, where the reviews reflect how amazing it is: DeWalt Pruning/Limb Cutter. If you don’t own any DeWalt tools and need their battery charger and a battery, you’ll find a complete set here: DeWalt Pruning Tool with Battery and Charger.

Pine Straw: Scarce and Expensive in Ohio! I am in serious attack mode now! Ha! Remember how I mentioned I had gone a little crazy in my efforts to get this garden in shape? Have you ever tried to order pine straw while living in Ohio? It ain’t easy, and it costs a fortune. Apparently, all the garden centers/landscaping companies have to have pine straw trucked up from the south. At home, I can have 42 bales delivered and spread in all my islands/beds for around $350. Again, that includes putting the straw out! I just spent $515 this morning for 42 bales, and that doesn’t include spreading, and that was for the best price I’ve found anywhere! So this girl will be very busy over the next week. Good exercise!

The pine straw should be delivered sometime in the next 48 hours. Over the years I’ve come to learn that not all pinestraw is created equal, so I asked a ton of questions before I placed my order online. The company I ordered from has great reviews, and they answered all my questions in the way I would hope, so I’m optimistic. If their straw lives up to what I was told, I’ll share the name of the company with you in a future post. I want to make sure it’s good longleaf straw and not full of sticks like I used to get back in the day when I was buying pine straw from the big hardware stores. I will be spreading it around my hydrangeas that are just starting to bloom, around some of the shrubs in both the front yard and back yard, and possibly in the side yard. We’ll see how far it goes.

This paver patio and the paved section of my driveway will be getting cleaned, sanded, and sealed toward the end of July.

By then, I should be pretty much done with planting perennials around the patio.

I purchased this seating group, which includes a fire pit, a few days ago. It should arrive sometime in the next few days.

This furniture has great reviews, and I love that the fire pit converts into a coffee table when not being used as a fire pit.

I also purchased this outdoor dining set. I purchased two sets, and I’m hoping they will fit okay on the patio. I first chose this set with bright turquoise cushions, but canceled that order, thinking the cushions might be too bright and conflict with the colors in the flowers I’ve purchased to surround the patio. In the end, I went with this dark blue/navy color. It will probably hide stains better, too.

I ordered two sets since a table for four won’t be enough for all of us. If I find that I have room for both dining sets, I plan to keep them apart most of the time, but push them together when needed. If you would like to read more about this table, including the reviews, you’ll find it available here: Patio/Deck Dining Set with 5 Cushion Color Choices.

There are awesome Prime Day sales going on right now. I had been eyeing this rechargeable lamp and was happy to see it’s currently on sale.

I purchased two and hope to use them on the outdoor tables. (You’ll find these on sale here: Cordless, Rechargeable Lamps.)

These adorable lamps are also currently on sale. I purchased a set of four. I love how they look in this photo! I think they even come with the bows, although I doubt I’ll use those.

These adorable rattan lamps are available in sets of 2, 4, or 8 here: Cordless, Rechargeable Rattan Lamps.

I’m looking forward to sharing how the patio looks with furniture, new plants surrounding it, and how the pine straw looks once I get it spread around the yard. If I get all the planting done, maybe I will move up the cleaning/sanding/sealing of the patio. I can’t wait to get that done, too! Soon, I’ll share the perennials I’ve purchased so far for the yard. I wasn’t able to find all the perennials I wanted, but I did find some really pretty ones. I can’t wait to hear your suggestions, too.

Update: Just heard my Ring camera in the driveway go off and saw this little critter waddling across my driveway. He headed straight for the Phlox and began munching away. He could at least let me get the plants in the ground first. Ha! Is this a groundhog? I know we have those here; I’ve seen them in my son’s yard many times.

I’m afraid he’ll come back this evening so I’ve placed them atop this folding table. Hope groundhogs can’t climb, although he’ll probably find them soon enough once I have them planted. Argh.