On the agenda for this weekend was some basic maintenance. But first, I took my usual walk around the yard.

I see I've got a large branch down.

We've had some rain and wind recently. No worries. I'll cut this branch up and set it out for the next Leaf & Limb collection.

All is well with the new Red Fountain grass plants. The one at the corner of the front walk is the same size as the Monkey grass cluster across from it.

The two Red Fountain grass plants by the front steps seem happy. The plant on the left is slightly larger, which may be an indication where the sunlight becomes "filtered" by the nearby trees.

All is well with the mystery bulbs.

I should probably do some more weeding around the transplanted Monkey grass.

Actually, I should pull a wide path of weeds around the Monkey grass and fill that in with homemade mulch, like I do with the rest of the design. That would not only eliminate more of the bare spots, it would make the design on this side of the yard consistent with the other side.

The Goldmound Spirea continue to do their thing.

I've got one Coronation Gold Yarrow bloom this year. These plants are known for being extremely hardy, and can survive in harsh conditions. But for whatever reason, they haven't been happy in my yard for the last several years.

One of the transplanted Mexican Pony Tails Feather grass plants is still feathering.

It looks like the Husker Red Beardtongues have finished blooming for the season.

Now that the azaleas have bloomed, I figured it was time to trim them for the summer. The only problem is that I don't have a trimmer, other than hand-clippers.

The last trimmer I had was battery powered, which didn't work for me at home. I didn't use it often enough to keep the battery from going bad. So today, I headed to Lowe's to check out their electric trimmers. And while I was there, I decided to replace my gas-powered leaf blower with an electric model. The Craftsman leaf blower I have is from the 1990s, and is just worn out.

A few passes with the new tools made everything look neat and tidy.

I need to do the same thing to the bushes in front of the house. But that will have to wait until the gardenias are finished blooming.