Southern Living

 In the southeastern states, we will be mowing our yards well into October...  at least some of us will...  others will simply let the grass tassel and not mow again until the spring.

While Fall is a good time to plant grass seed, the preferred time is in the spring when nature is beginning it new growing cycle.  It is also a good time to plant shrubs and trees.

In previous houses in which we live, my wife and I spent a lot of time, money, and effort making sure that our yard was full of trees, shrubs, and all sorts of flowers.  While all of that looked good, as we got older, preparing the landscaping for the spring growth became a chore we no longer wanted to do, no matter how nice our yard looked.

We removed all our flower beds and put in grass so that all we had to do was mow.  There were still areas that we could not change to grass because they were on a hillside and mixed with trees and shrubs, so we left them alone.

When we finally downsized, we eliminated 80% of our problem with our new location.  Less time to mow and weed eat and less time to prepare our flower gardens...  our new flower beds are full of hostas that require minimal maintenance.

Some of our neighbors have no trees in their yards and the only flower beds they have are at the corner of their driveways.  All they do is have to mow.  Other neighbors, old like us, have planted trees for shade and shrubs and flowers that require minimal maintenance.  It probably takes them one to two hours a week to care for their yards.

In no time at all, our warm weather will be gone and the cold and chilly temperatures of fall will have arrived.  No one will be out in their yards and no one will be walking on the streets for exercise.  All of us will be inside doing one thing or another and we will be complaining how cold it is and that we cannot wait for spring and summer.