The Garden is in

What makes a good garden?

MONEY.

At least that's how it felt this year. But my other house is finally under contract and in a month when we close, I will be back to normal, without having to watch my pennies so carefully.

Most of the garden perennials I purchased were bare root, and they all took, including the little extra root bits that came in the packages. I have those in the 'nursery blocks' in the front with the impatiens. And since I still have access to my previous garden, I lifted a bunch of hosta and heuchera and brought them to the new garden site.

Of course I did have to make my annual pilgrimage to my fave nursery for a few special specimens, but I was frugal and limited myself to one new hosta and two new heuchera, (Caramel and Dressed Up Ball Gown) and their very nice flats of begonia, coleus and impatiens. 

This planting season I really felt my age, not being able to get on my bad knee, or lifting things as I done in the past. So I am being more realistic about what kind of garden I am able to maintain. As this bed matures, there will be less space for annuals and the cubbies in the blocks will have to suffice for flowers. I am not complaining. I think it is going to be wonderful anyway.

But wait, there's more!

 The pots in the front got filled too. I wanted something tall to put in the back and found these large hosta, at a decent price at Walmart. I know from experience and the internet that they will thrive in pots and will become the foundation for the future. I lucked out with that established Sweet Autumn clematis on the trellis, which is practically a weed everywhere in Tennessee and I found this Eclipse Hydrangea at Lowe's for half price. It will get to 3' by 5', so it will get moved into the yard in a couple of years. In the front of these pots I am trying a new trailer, Licorice Plant.

 The other side of the porch has the same plantings, and yesterday I added some Creeping Jenny to the pots which I lifted from the previous house, where it went nuts. I left quite a lot there. Yes, I still have a nice garden going there currently and I am sure it added to the deal.  I will remove those sticky labels on the pots. I just ran out of energy and daylight.

My brother in law John, who has been my right hand man and the solution to all my fixes, has also been the responsible partner in getting this design accomplished. I was hoping to have a flower bed in the actual yard, but reality hit and I changed my mind. It turns out that the barrel planters could do the trick and so I had John move them from the deck where they were being a little too shaded, to this sunnier spot. They contain Stella D'oro daylilies, Crazy Daisies, Yellow Coneflowers and Blue Bedder Salvia. This year I added four bleeding hearts, some Stargazer lilies, and more purple oxalis. The birdbath came along from the old house and I hope to add another bird feeder somewhere in this space. 

I heard that we will be having a drought this year, wouldn't you know it. So my four dogwood and the one Japanese maple (not pictured) are not going to be planted until the fall. I will keep them alive in pots and late yesterday I brought them up to the new barrel bed, where I could maintain their watering needs. 

So that's it. I am done, and earlier than ever this year. I have a few caladium left to find a home, but they have just sprouted, so who knows if I will even keep them, as my sister loves them and I have no more room. 

I have window boxes on my deck railing, and while I had a lovely crop of fancy lettuces, a squirrel had them for lunch, so never mind.  The purple oxalis (from the old house) is doing great and I actually have them in several other spots growing happily. They reseed so easily, are super hardy and drought tolerant, making them a real favorite for me. 

I'm looking forward to a lot of sitting and admiring, in between watering eveything. But I know that the view will be glorious.