Quick time fall clean-up

In less time than it took the banana bread to bake, the fall garden clean-up was complete, 

With a laudable goal of staying in our small Kutzky Park house and after church friends (Robin and Heather) electronically “liked” Sargent’s landscape maintenance, we committed to their services.  In August, this well-respected Rochester business took on a portion of our gardening tasks.  They trimmed the overgrown lilac bushes, as well as re-shaped and refreshed our rain garden by removing unwanted weeds, thinning overgrown perennials, and adding plantings for greater variety.  The monthly maintenance allowed us to enjoy our outdoor living space while harvesting vegetables and making zinnia bouquets without the worry of encroaching weeds.

For the two of us, fall clean-up has always been a major undertaking, a job made a trickier by Parkinson’s Disease.  There are hostas to cut back, more than 20 terracotta and bright glazed pots to empty, and no-longer producing cucumber and tomato vines to compost.  In less than 60 minutes, Sargent’s crew of seven using heavy-duty hand and power tools completed what would have taken us days and, even then, without a guarantee to finish before November snows.  We kept the potted marigolds for All Souls Day and, while the front of the house looks a bit sparse, the porch still has bright flowering geraniums to welcome the mail delivery person.