June 17, 2022
I was cutting grass on our front lawn for the third time in early June after having fertilized the lawn a few weeks before and even planted clover to cover up bald spots when suddenly I thought about how our seasons affect yard work. And, that thought led me to ask: do I enjoy yard work? Do I do enough of it to get the garden I want? Or, am I getting bored with it or perhaps not being able to maintain it? We have four distinct seasons in Ottawa, each with an impact on the work in our yard.
In the winter, there is snow cover, cold temperatures down to the minus twenties centigrade, and short days with six hours of daylight. There is no reason or wish to spend time in our yard beyond clearing the driveway after snow storms.
It takes a month for the snow to melt in the spring, during which the yard is slushy and dirty from air pollution and the detritus from the fast-food places a block away from us. The yard is ugly in March; the worst month for many people who choose to travel south to avoid it.
But the snowmelt brings in Spring, with a positive, uplifting feeling to it: nature regenerates itself and I look forward to seeing green grass again. And the days are getting longer with temperature breaking through zero centigrade. By the end of March, I get energized seeing bare spots in the snow and get out to rake up the grass from its horizontal position into which the snow pushed it and gather the garbage settled on the lawn after the winter months.
Snow covers our backyard longer than the front. It is in the shade. By shoveling the snow off the deck and breaking up the ice, I feel I hurry the melting process.
By mid-April, the temperature rises into the teens and I do a thorough clean-up of the yard from the garbage, food wrappers, and bottles thrown or blown onto the lawn. Gray dust settles on the lawn once the snow is melted, from air pollution and the winter snow-clearing operation along the street that throws the snow onto the lawn.
By the end of April, I uncover the garden equipment/furniture and the air-conditioner and put the tarps I used to wrap up the lawnmower and chairs and tables in the backyard into a storage box. My positive feelings are reinforced by firing up the BBQ for the first time in the year. It is always fun to cook burgers outdoors for the first time in the season.
My enthusiasm ebbs when the weeds come up. Especially when I fertilize the lawn and, a few weeks later, notice dandelions growing. It is harder to control weeds now since they did away with DDT.
The perennials come back each year with a vengeance, especially the hostas. The planting of annuals belongs to Kathy, and we have the traditional geraniums each year with the spiky plant in the middle in our large pots. I also bring out the hoses from under the deck where I store them each year in the Fall and attach them to various spigots to water the flowers.
Then we have the special tasks: this year Kathy put a fresh coat of oil on the expansive decks I build decades ago. The pressure washer is used to clean the stone patio from the winter dust. It is amazing how white and clean the patio stones shine after a thorough cleaning.
By the end of May, the weather gets hot and a hard day’s work in the yard has its reward of having a cool beer in hand. When combined with a BBQ, the Spring cleanup of the yard becomes memorable.
The summers can be hot, temperatures rising to the mid-thirties centigrade. The good thing is that the yard needs mostly maintenance, such as grass cutting, weeding, and trimming. We don’t get a lot of rain, so we have to sprinkle to maintain the grass and plants. And the flowers suffer when water rationing is introduced.
In the fall, we enjoy the vivid colors in the yard without the bugs, mosquitoes, or bees to bother us. And the annual rotation of work starts again by raking the falling leaves altho grass grows much more slowly not requiring weekly cuts. We end up storing the outdoor equipment and covering up the garden furniture before the first snowfall.
What caused me to think through the work involved in having a garden or a yard is: are we still enjoying and able to do the work involved in having a yard? Because if it is becoming too much or boring, there are two options: hire people to do the work or move into a condo where the outside work is performed by the condo corporation.
Although you could work every day in the yard, we do not. We have a friend who spends a couple of hours each day tending to his small but beautifully coiffed garden. I like the natural look and our yard looks a bit overgrown and I compare it to a jungle sometimes. But I like it bushy. Our yard work is manageable and extends mostly during the spring and the fall. The summer is maintenance and there is nothing to do during the winter except snow-clearing the driveway. Thinking about it, I have concluded the work is enjoyable even if hard sometimes and the “beer in the hand” after a hard day’s work makes up for the trouble of having the yard.
andrasthehun.ca 