Clean Up Your Own Back Yard

Spring is here!  Here in Framingham, we’ve not seen enough warm sunny days but nature ignores our silly complaints and carries on according to schedule. The daffodils are blooming, buds are popping up and out everywhere you look and it is time for the annual spring cleanup to begin.

Home Depot & are bustling with activity and even unskilled gardeners, like myself,  feel compelled to run out and purchase some new garden tools to replace the rusty ones,  load up the car with bags of mulch and purchase a pair of heavy duty extra long garden gloves to protect myself from my dreaded enemy, Poison Ivy. 

It is time for all good rake baring, wheel barrow toting suburbanites to participate in the spring ritual, one that declares an official end to our winter hibernation, second of course to Opening Day at Fenway.  

This activity often includes a “first BBQ” of the season, an opportunity to clean and fire up the grill,  and reconnect in person rather than on Facebook, with friends and family who have been snowbound for months.

It is a joyous time, a cleansing season, one of hope and rebirth. But here in New England, this season is extremely and unfairly brief, so don’t think about it too long, just get out there and do it, NOW!

There are so many good reasons to own a home.  The opportunity to create the perfect backyard for your own private enjoyment is one very good reason.

Blossoms, fresh fruit and veggies, peaceful outdoor sanctuaries, stone walkways, gazebos, porches , patios and waterponds can make your backyard truly special.  Here in the burbs, people expect to buy a home and get their very own piece of earth, to do with what they choose.  The right and responsibility for maintaining and caring for the house itself is crucial to your safety and financial well being, but the extra love and passion that goes into creating the outdoor space completes the homeowner’s fantasy ... and if you are selling your home, the outdoor space can tickle the fancy of a potential buyer.

The moments you treasure from the memories created in your outdoor space can last a lifetime. If you love your backyard, you know what I'm talking about. If you don't love it yet, get out and get busy!

 If you can’t afford to build fancy garden structures or water features you can beautify your yard by pruning or removing overgrown plants, edging the beds and planting some perennials that will come back every year and gradually fill in the empty spaces.

Add a freestanding birdbath or fountain, use found objects to create birdfeeders or outdoor lanterns.

Old wicker or metal furniture from the basement, or a second hand store can be spray painted to use outside and define bright spaces for dining or relaxing.  

For those of us who can’t afford to hire a landscape designer there are local resources available. 

Framingham’s very own   is an amazing place with an “IDEA GARDEN," a retail shop with books and staff who are willing to help you choose from their small but exquisite selection of native plants.  

, in Framingham and have been providing local homeowners with advice, and plants and flowers for decades to help add color and beauty to our yards.

Another great aspect of homeownership is the mutual respect and concern that neighbors can develop for one another. Cleaning up your own backyard is an act of pride.

Helping to clean up your neighborhood is simply an extension of this pride, a way to share something positive with family members and a great way to build healthy neighborhoods.

Annually there are cleanup day efforts all around town organized by groups like http://www.greenupday.org or the Nobscot Neighbors , the Sudbury Valley Trustees and the Friends of Saxonville. Know of others? Share them please!

 Donna Moy-Bruno is a local Realtor.