The Front Patch Battle Continues

Regular readers may remember the ongoing saga of the front patch garden that greets those driving toward our property. I spent weekend upon weekend weeding the area last year until I admitted defeat and just let it go, whacking what I could where I could and trying to accept it. But, thanks to some free advice from a lawn professional, we fought back in the fall, cutting back as much as we could with a weed whacker and and using weed killer to finish the job, thus obliterating good with bad in some cases, but providing a nearly blank canvas to start over.

Patch pre-mulching

Said generous lawn professional also recommended that, early in the spring, we mulch the bed mercilessly and the plant whatever we like. We've had such a mild winter than many plants are coming in already, but luckily most of them seem to be wanted ones, including this unidentified lovely:

Crocus/iris hybrid? Who knows?

Anyway, we started mulching today. We knew we would need more than the 10 bags we bought, but not how much. Observe:

The fresher-looking brown patch is the mulch.

Behold how much more there is to go.

Gratuitous buggy shot. Very hard to get this opportunity!

Anyway, I was disappointed that it didn't go farther, but optimistic about the improved look of the front area. Ultimately, I would like a lush patch with just a few mulch-spaces between, as I prefer a more natural to a heavily landscaped look. But for now, the lack of chaos is satisfying. Luckily we have some time off this week, so we can keep running out for and spreading mulch.

Mulch. Who knew how happy it could make me?