I am so proud of my “after” picture! That was so much work!
The plan to put in hostas and daylilies and various shrubbery has fallen flat due to the amazing number of pine tree roots blocking our shovels, so we opted to put down a fabric weed barrier instead, after getting up as many weeds and roots as possible, and then we dumped some mulch onto it. I’m hoping that once we’ve done that to the whole area, I can maintain the weedlessness with a half hour a week of patrolling with a bottle of Roundup.
We did get a few daylilies into the ground, and you can see them there, off to the right, behind the mulched area. They naturalize quickly and should spread like wildfire within a few years, assuming they survive the transplant. I also bought two azaleas today because they were $4.49 at Home Depot, cheaper than most of the perennials they have for sale. I will find spots for them under the pines, but they can wait in their pots until next weekend gets here, because I have completely run out of steam.