new front look
this was the view yesterday after having dug out the second shrub at the top of the hill. this is also sort of a "before" picture. it'll be handy to have as reference when planning the next phase, as well. [I'm sure I have an even more before picture, one with both bushes intact, but not currently accessible.]
at present, we're planning to do a decorative flower bed edging along one side of the stairs up the hill, specifically the side without the the railing. the bare spots along the left side of the stairs are where I dug out massive dandelions last weekend. dandelions with three tap roots. dandelions with mutated three-inch flower stems. dandelions large enough to eat a small squirrel!
also on the agenda is to do some cement repairs to the steps and then paint the fronts again. not sure if the fronts of the stairs actually need paint [I suspect the fronts were painted by a previous owner to mask cement repairs to the stairs], but right now with the corners of the stairs having troubles and the paint peeling off and such, it just looks pretty crappy. a new coat of paint will really do a lot to improve the look, and won't really take all that long or much money.
certainly a coat of paint won't take as much time or money as a decorative edge along one side of the stairs. but planting flowers will be fun.
meanwhile, on the other side of the stairs, we're going to work on tidying it up at least a little bit and plant some more grass seed.