We bought this house from a lovely couple who’d raised a family of their own here, and I swear love oozed from every nook and cranny. It’s homey and peaceful and somehow feels like getting away even when you’re right in the middle of it all, which is a pretty good trick when you think about it. Our family has lived here six months now and it’s official.

I suck at gardening.

This isn’t a huge surprise for any of us. I’ve never claimed plant skills, indoor or out. I detest yardwork, a fact that’s not helping things around the mailbox – it’s getting a bit wild out there. I cringe a little more each time I pass the vast array of weeds on display from our driveway. All this is bad enough, but did I mention we bought our house from a woman with exceptional gardening skills?

That’s right. This yard – our yard now – has been a colorful display for years. Trees, flowers, and plants bloom in spectacular fashion year round. It’s lovely. It’s also fair to say it’s slowly falling apart under my watch. There’s a very Darwinian botanical experiment going on out there, and survival of the fittest is the name of the game.

So if you’re driving by and see some landscapers reworking that front flower bed, pulling up a hundred weeds and replacing the remnants with a much simpler arrangement of bushes and trees…let’s just call it a win for curb appeal.