A Haven for Lilacs

The past few days we have been hard at work landscaping around the house. For the past few months, it seemed as though our yard looked more like an archeological site than a family home. Our first summer here, we had noticed a lot of wood carpenter ants on our porch and in the house. So, we ripped out all the railroad ties that surrounded the house and subsequent flower beds. It was a good thing we did, too, as most of the beams were severely rotted and full of huge larvae. Disgusting to say the least. But since then, we had not done anything to the flower beds other than destroy what plants had remained - mostly hostas and other unknown flowers. That meant that for most of this spring and summer, our house was surrounded by mud and weeds. Not the most attractive site for the neighbors or a very welcoming one for us! However, as of this week, all of that has been vastly improved upon!

As you may know from our last blog post, we implemented a Back to Eden approach to our produce garden. We decided to also implement this approach to our flower beds and the perimeter of the house. I was blessed to see the City of Marion Street Department hauling around the chipper yesterday. I was able to stop them and ask what they did with the wood chips from the cleanup. He asked if I wanted them and said that they would be happy to dump whatever they had around lunch time. This was such a blessing and an answer to prayer as we had used most of our supply of wood chips up while planting our garden! I was so happy to see the half-load of raw wood chips and greenery - exactly what the video had advised we would need. And so, work began.

The previous day, we had borrowed a bird bath from our neigbhor and placed it in one of the bald areas caused by the removal of the trees earlier this spring. We planted some wildflower mixes around it, and fenced it in to keep the kids away from it. So the first thing we did was use some of the wood chips to cover that area. What an improvement!

My very good friend Jamie told me about new lilac growth spurts and that these could be easily transplanted to start new lilac bushes. First thing the next morning, I checked out some training videos on YouTube and found out that these new little growths are pretty hard to kill, so long as you have some of the root on it. The one lilac bush in our yard is going to have to be removed as it is interfering with the placement of our fence, but it has at least 50 to 75 new growths all around it. I learned real quick one thing that the videos forgot to mention - lilac roots are tough as steel and almost impossible to cut through with a shovel! It took me two days, and a lot of wheelbarrow loads of wood chips, but I was able to transplant 21 of the lilac growth spurts around the house.

For the most part, I strategically placed them so that our views from our windows and the front porch would not be blocked. I also used them to try and hide some of the unsightly things around the house, such as the utility boxes.

We have a few odd little corners here and there, too, that I think they will help to soften and make mowing the lawn a bit smoother for my husband. Some of the areas around the house, especially towards the back, were really ripped up and uneven with the rest of the ground. At one time, this whole area was covered with white decorative stone, which we were only to happy to eliminate. We purchased 10 more bags of the organic soil that we had used in the garden. This soil was placed along the side of the house which had the deepest discrepancy and filled it in. Once the wood chips were added, it looked so much better! I can almost see it with the various lilac bushes growing.

Of course, I had to plan it carefully so that once the bushes grew and filled in the space they would not interfere with my laundry line! I can almost smell the fragrant lilac scent as it wafts through our clothes in the next few years....mmmmm. Because I softened the angle to make it easier to mow, I was also able to transplant a lot of the grass into the other bald area by the street caused by the stump we had ground down. Hopefully, the grass will transplant okay and fill in that area nicely.

We also planted some lilacs alongside the part of the house that is adjacent to the driveway. This area is particularly challenging. Previously it was full of tiger lillies (one flower that I do not like at all!) and more hostas. These were taken by a friend and transplanted at her house. In addition to the lilacs, we planted some low ground covering wildflowers. And of course, we covered everything with the raw wood chips.

I hope that all the lilac spurts take root and flourish. It's no big deal if they don't all make it, especially since they were free and all it really cost us was some time and effort. Plus, we have neighbors that also have lilac bushes, so we can always get new cuttings if we need to replace any. However, if they do all take root and grow, we will have small bushes all around our house measuring about 5 feet tall in about 4 years. Just like my asparagus, this is something that I have invested in now with the hope of a blessed return down the road. It's also one project that I am glad to say is done...at least for this year.