I think that everyone has that one "thing" that drives them crazy. Some people cannot stand to hear people snap away at chewing gum, while others cannot tolerate lines at drive-through windows.
I absolutely, positively could not handle the bushes that were at the bottom of our driveway.
Our house is surrounded by enormous, overgrown shrubbery, and I have to say that I am not a fan of any of it. But the amalgamation of ugly that was at the foot of our driveway was just over the top. This eyesore was comprised of a semi-circle of dying bushes (that we think had probably been hit a few too many times by a snow plow), and in the spot where the plow had taken them out, someone had filled in the gap with two unhealthy skinny bushes and an azalea. (Because an azalea makes everything better. Put an azalea on it!)
I don't tend to rant about many issues, but I'm pretty sure I complained about this nightmare every day throughout the winter. Josh was definitely sick of hearing about it, and I informed him that if we accomplished nothing else this year, we needed to eliminate this doormat of death that welcomed everyone to our home.
So one day early this spring, Josh had a beautiful, sunny Friday off while I had to haul myself in to work. (OK, so maybe there is another thing that drives me crazy.) He's a pretty avid nature photographer, and he informed me that he would be taking photos of owls or scorpions or wildebeests or some such thing all day long. I would get a text periodically saying, "in the woods, so nice out." And in between my sulking snits, I would text back, "that's so great - happy 4 you." (Lies, all lies.)
Little did I know... there was no photography going on. Instead, I came home to a sight very much like this one, where the ugly, horrible shrubs that haunted my dreams were GONE.
Josh has done many things throughout our marriage that have been just wonderful. He's sent me flowers at work. He's told me to spend whatever I want at a craft store. But this takes the cake. When I saw all that he had done, from taking the shrubs out to hauling out the roots, I was in shock. And then I teared up. Later, I told a co-worker about this project that he took on, and she said, "He did manual labor for you! That is so romantic!" And I said, "I know, right?"
And then we got to do the fun part... the planting!
In the back row are boxwoods, followed by pink and white heather, then an assortment of phlox (purple and white) and yellow pansies. And I can't recall what the taller pink flowers are called, but they are doing quite well.
Post-mulch:
This project was completed sometime in April. The ground behind the mulch is now seeded in with grass, and the boxwoods have already filled out quite a bit. They should keep growing until we have almost a nice, healthy semi-circle of shrubs -- but they'll be much smaller than the old stuff. And boxwood is fantastic for decorating at the holidays, so I can't wait to snag a few handfuls here or there for my Christmas wreaths.
Whether this was a labor of love or a labor of "if you don't stop complaining about this I am going to lose what is left of my mind," I don't know -- but I am fully aware that it's not every day that you find a guy who is willing to do back-breaking work so that you can plant some pansies near your mailbox.
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