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Last fall I planted some Narcissus aka Daffodils and tulips. Its April now and they have started to bloom. The yellow daffodils are already giving some color to the front yard. Last week I spent almost an entire day taking the weeds out around the daffodils and made a flowerbed. I plan to plant some other perennials and then mulch the rest of the flowerbed. But really its not the flowerbed area I am worried about.

I also planted some tulips, currently my favourite flowers. They are just starting to come out.  (5th April 2010).

So whats the plan you ask! The plan is to remove any salvageable plants, remove the stone walkway and then lay fresh grass

over the entire area. Seems like the Canadian Thistle hates competition and grows in sparsely planted areas. By planting grass

I am hoping there would be enough competition to kill the weed once and for all.

Update (May 4th, 2010): Slight change in plans. I have decided to make another flowerbed around the east boundary of the front yard. In the past few days I, with my friend Umar’s help have cleared out the area. Two nice plants in the area were dug up and donated to my neighbour. Today in the evening, I plan to put in some good top soil and the edging around the new flowerbed.

I was also able to locate a company (Green Horizons Farms) which provide Top Soil and good quality sod. I will probably go to them and pick up the sod that I need.

Update (29th April, 2010): In gardening there really is not much as satisfying as seeing flowers that you planted in full bloom. Alas they usually do not last long.

Last year (2009) I focused on the backyard. However, I noticed that the once nicely mulched front yard was beginning to

have a weed problem; Canadian Thistle to be precise. These suckers are really hard to kill. I have tried going DEEP to the

roots but seems like no matter what I do tiny new ones show up every 10 days or so.

So this year I am planning to lay down grass. Let me start with some pictures taken on the 10th of April, 2010.

As you can see its quite a mess. The mulch has thinned out over the years and the weeds are already making a comeback.

Lastly: In April I planted some flowers in one corner of the flowerbed. These I call my mystery flowers since I have not told Mariam what they are. I will not put the name here either in case Mariam is snooping around :)

The only thing I would say is that after growing taller for a few weeks all growth seems to have stopped. A google search revealed that this is quite common with this flower. I guess I have nothing to worry about :)

(You can also see two other nice plants given to me by Jessica on the left and right side of the picture on the left).

Update (May 28th, 2010): A lot has happened since I last updated this page. First: We (UFM, Mariam and myself) removed all the weeds that we could. This took a LONG time since as I said before Canadian Thistle grows deep. Even though I am not so sure that we managed to get all the roots I have high hopes for the front yard. Once the weeds were out I used a lawn roller to grade the area. Ensuring a slight slope away from the house. The lawn roller is a plastic barrel (weighs very little until filled with lots of water). I rented mine from Home Depot ($9 for 4 hours, $13 for a day, $36 for three days). It made for quite a workout.

I guess what I forgot to mention is that all my research regarding Sod and topsoil pointed to the GardenHorizons company (previously also called Compact Sod). I think I am going to write more details about this sometime soon. In short, they are top rated for their soil blend as well as high quality Kentucky Bluegrass Sod.

I ordered one bag of their Premium Blend Garden Soil. Quite expensive ($145) but all the reviews said its worth it. The guy who delivered the soil (I forget his name) was one of the most helpful and knowledgeable delivery guys I have ever met. He took the time to ask me exactly where I wanted the bag of soil it weighs 1600 pounds so there is no option of pushing it to a different spot later). Then he gave me some great tips on how to lay the sod:

1. -make sure you grade it well
   

2. -put a generous layer of the top soil
   

3. -lay sod around the perimeter first
   

4. -lay sod strips perpendicular to the gradient
   

5. -make the “brickwork” pattern
   

To the left you can see the finished surface. Notice I left my tulip area untouched (I just couldnt bring myself to take these out just yet even though all the flowers are long gone)

Next step was to go to the Compact Sod outlet (Cambridge) and pick up the sod rolls (Each roll is 2x5 feet so covers 10 sq. ft). I measured the area (220 sq ft) so decided to get 25 rolls. Since each roll can weight upwards of 20-25 pounds I couldnt possible bring it all in my car. Thank you Mohsin for lending your services for the day. Much appreciated :)

The picture on the left shows half of the unloaded sod.

Only three hours later all the sod was laid out. Mariam and I worked almost constantly for less than two hours. Sod lays down surprisingly fast if you have a well prepared surface. Some pieces (corners etc) have to be cut. I was told to use a utility knife, I instead used a wood saw (much faster and straighter lines in my opinion). As soon as the sod was laid we WATERED.

Its been four days since we laid down the sod (I ended up taking the tulips out and putting sod there too, since I had some spare rolls). I replaced on small 1 x 2 feet area yesterday where the grass had burnt. Otherwise things are looking good.

Also I have been finalizing the plants int he flowerbed.

I was given an assortment of Hostas by Jessica (Thanks Jessica). They have taken nicely.

Though not many people seem to like them (and they do not seem very popular) I have really taken a liking to Lupins. I bought a couple of plants from the Belgium Nursery and have planted them. Lets see how they turn out.

I must say I have found Asiatic Lilies to be very hardy plants. The picture on the left shows two plants that have gone through a lot in the past two years. The first year when the plants first started coming out, I thought they were weeds. So, I pulled them out. While they were laying in the sun (with the roots exposed) my neighbour, who is a professional landscaper, saw them and said NOOOO these are lilies. So i planted them back. They recovered and gave nice red flowers that season.

Liking these flowers so much this time I purchased three more plants from Home Depot ($10 for a pot with three Yellow Asiatic Lilies). They have already flowered (my old lilies are still growing taller).

Pending: Well not much really. I have to continue watering the grass regularly for another 4-5 days and then mow it. The roots have not started to grow out into the soil below. I have a strong feeling that not all of the Thistles will die and some will push their way through the grass. I am ready for them :)

Might mulch the whole flowerbed once I am done planting new plants. Mariam wanted some purple and pink flowers. I am thinking Iris?