In the spring, the flowerbed in front of my house always starts out with shy violets and lily of the valley. By fall, it is completely overrun with everything from ferns and goldenrod to Queen Ann’s lace and a sort of locust tree (Robinia hispida) we can’t seem to get rid of. Today, I asked Mark to take a weed-whacker to the whole thing.

Whew! What a job getting all that cut down! The next step will be to pick it all up and dispose of it. Call this our fall cleanup.