I Made My Bed...

Grass only grows in about half of our backyard, and that grass migrated from the neighbors' yard. The rest of the backyard is pretty much weeds and dirt. It's roughly triangular in shape, and bordered by a chain-link fence (which Scott installed for the dog). Eventually I want to have a perennial border all along this back fence, and grass outside of the border.
I don't have the time or money to do it all at once, so I'm going to make the border about ten feet at a time. Here is an "in progress" photo for Part 1: A year ago, we transplanted that azalea from the front, where it was getting too much sun.

Turning this area into a proper bed required raking out all the leaves and straw, roughing up the dirt and incorporating some Jungle Growth planting mix, and digging out all the weeds. The spiderwort was a big pain to remove. Look at these roots!

And look at THIS spiderwort root! It's got to be seven feet long!I have a feeling I haven't seen the last of the spiderwort in this bed.

Here is the "after" photo. I planted a carolina jessamine vine against the far fence. I'll be planting some annuals (zinnias and marigolds) here in the spring, then some yet-to-be-determined perennials/bulbs in the fall.

The view from my kitchen window has considerably improved with just a couple of hours of work!