You're in the Jungle, Baby

Well, our yard may not be a jungle, but it's certainly an overgrown disaster!  We were told that at some point in the history of our yard it was filled with giant chunks of cement - for no apparent reason.  The cement is gone, but a lot of gravel was left behind.  There was also an issue with where to put the driveway, which ended up causing a large portion of the front yard to be dug up.  In spite of these obvious problems, we weren't sure what the yard had in store for us because we moved in the winter.  We agreed to let things grow throughout spring and summer to see what happened, then we would make a plan of attack from there.  As spring came along our biggest concern was dandelions.  Now that summer is in full swing, our yard has been overgrown with weeds, some of them quite large.  So much for letting things grow...My husband has already been out there with a chainsaw, cutting away crazy trees and bushes.  Yet in spite of the disaster our yard is at first glance, there are many beautiful and interesting things happening out there.  Here are some "before" photos of our yard.  Hopefully next summer I can post some pleasant "after" photos.

Red tulips by the front door.

The south side of the house.  Full of dandelions.

The west side of the house- the backyard.  A variety of dandelions, wildflowers, weeds and grass.

Out by the deck.  Some gnarly trees, bushes, wild flowers, and cement from an absent propane tank.

A tire, perhaps once used as a small garden or sandbox.  Now full of dead trees.

Assortment of wildflowers and weeds.

Pear tree!

What kind of bush is this?

A pile of branches.

Part of the yard had been dug up to lay utility lines for a new house behind us.  This space needs to be filled in with dirt and seeded.

Bricks in the driveway.

North side of the house.  Full of gravel and uneven ground.

First attempt at making a driveway.  Left the front yard barren.

New sidewalk caused yard to be dug up on either side.

and it DID turn into something pretty!

This could turn into something pretty...

These tulips make me chuckle, because someone clearly didn't know they would be popping up when they landscaped around the house.  The tulips are growing just outside of the wood chips and stone trim.

Peonies.

Roses

Lilac bush.

What is THIS interesting thing?  When the blooms die it looks like a giant fluffy dandelion!

Beginning to fill in some ditches with dirt.  Next up: grass seed!

"Treasures" that Dominic has found in the yard.  Horse brush, eye glasses, toys, metal...

Dead grass due to a recently removed semi trailer that had been parked in the yard.

Large chunk of cement out by the pear tree.

Weeds growing out of control!

I have never seen anything like this...

Nothing says FUN like adding "dig railroad ties out of the yard" to my to-do list.

I'm constantly intrigued by our yard.  Each time I go out there something new has sprouted.  Someone, at some point in time, took good care of the yard.  This is evident by all of the trees and flowers that are planted around the yard.  It seems like as soon as one blooming plant dies off another begins to bloom.  This makes me think someone really put some thought and planning into landscaping long long ago. 
Right now we are just working on clearing out weeds and crazy plants, trees and bushes.  We are working on raking out the gravel in the yard, filling in the ditches and uneven spots with dirt, and laying grass seed.  Perhaps this year we will pour a concrete slab for a driveway, or a patio by the deck.  For now, I need to buy some work gloves and start pulling out those spiky weeds!