True story … I researched the origin of the term “odds and ends” and it was really boring so I stopped. And I didn’t feel like changing the title of this post so I left it as is.

My son is quickly becoming an entrepreneur in the world of sports card collecting and autographs and has just started a You Tube channel. I would forever be indebted to you all if you could check it out and maybe throw him a “like” or two or even subscribe. You can view it here.

Score one for dad.

My buddy Matt (he of this post) and I have rebooted our “Two Guys at Lunch” blog. You can read our two new posts here. So not only will Matt be joining me in our plan to take the gardening world by storm, we will also get back to our beautifully inane lunch discussions.

You’re right … it is going to be a huge year for us.

Speaking of Matt, I just unearthed a gem of a video he had sent to me this past summer. It is a tour of his backyard along with questions on how to improve his garden/landscape. This video will give you a good flavor of Matt’s plant knowledge level and also a glimpse into the personality of this budding (get it?) gardening superstar.

Grab a beverage and settle in and check out his video here.

After multiple views of the video myself, here are just a few classic moments that cannot be missed:

00:37 – Red mulch … uh oh

01:01 – “White thingies” coming out of hostas – officially scared

01:42 – Still looking for the “brick” wall

02:15 – I like the Coleus against the shed a lot

02:58 – Knows the name “pansy” … pause for effect

03:35 – Did he say “decorations”? Martha Matthew Stewart perhaps?

03:50 – Did his son call him “Matthew”? Must demand more respect

04:06 – I could listen to him say “hydrangea” on a constant loop … so proud

05:06 – Solid work on the lawn … even used straw … nice

06:08 – It hurts to see that the ornamental grass was hacked back. And in a god awful location. No Matt, that was not my advice.

07:12 – 07:55 – My fave story ever … the tale of cutting the hydrangea blooms and putting them in a vase.

08:09 – Nice call on the daylily!

So what do you think? Do you see potential in Matt or should I be worried?

In terms of my own garden, I ventured out into the snow to start assessing where I will be removing lawn and adding more “garden”. This spot below will be one of the areas for sure. This is looking from my driveway into the backyard …

And then wrapping around my deck …

You can sort of see the outline of the existing bed by the plants sticking out of the snow.

Over the next few weeks, I’ll be looking at alternatives for creating the newly sized bed from killing the grass by smothering it with cardboard or newspaper or a tarp to just removing it by hand and planting.