Landscaping

There comes a time in our lives when we must admit we're not good at everything and some DIY projects are better left undone. Professional landscapers exist for a reason. They have the manpower, the know-how and -- let's face it -- the gumption to get the job done.

I'll readily admit that yard work is not my thing. While I love spending time outdoors, I want that time to be spent sipping a cold drink and watching the clouds roll by. Sticking my hands in the dirt, pulling weeds, digging, raking are just not my cup of tea. I always seem to end up with a rash on my arms and a sunburn on my shoulders. So, when the work needed to be done, we called in the professionals.

They ripped up dead sod and shrubs. They weeded and put down new mulch and rock. And they finished the work in a fraction of the time it would have taken me and the significant other to do it. We spent one whole day just doing a tiny little area -- that the professionals ended up redoing because the weeds had come back with a vengeance. They did almost the entire backyard in less than a day. We didn't have them add any new plants because we haven't decided what to put in yet. But with the weeds pulled and the dead grass gone, the yard looks 100 percent better than it did just two days ago.

I've learned a few things from this experience. Always use landscape cloth, professionals will do a better (and faster) job than I could ever hope to do, and my dog suddenly becomes shy about doing her business if there are strangers in her backyard.