Instead, I try to break things down into manageable tasks. Instead of saying that I need to clean out all of the beds and trim back all of the shrubs and do a massive spring tidying, I only allow myself to contemplate one garden at a time - and one goal at a time.
Lopping
My first task is to get out my loppers and attack the roses in the poppy field. They have grown so monstrously large that it will require not just arm gauntlets but a shield of some kind - but it has to be done. If it isn't, I won't be able to do much else in that garden, simply because I can't get to it without being punctured in a zillion different places.
Weeding
After that I will do an inspection of the ground, looking for signs of the monstrous and un-pullable weed that tried to take over in that area last year. I am hoping that if I spot those types of weeds that grow like bamboo or those that have taproots that go to Australia when they are still young I can get rid of them with relative ease. I'm not much on using chemicals in the garden, but there are one or two weeds that are otherwise indestructible. This year I hope to get to them when they are still young and tender and drown them in Round-Up.
Other weeds will be disposed of relatively easily. Some pull up quite nicely, and most will depart this earth with a few passes of the hoe. Get the weeds now before they have a chance to take hold, then go to seed. At this time of year they don't fight too hard.
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