Garden Progress

Although it has been raining daily, we didn't let that stop us. Here's a quick tour of what's in and what's new. Three rhododendrons, one of which is still in bloom. Behind it is our new pink dogwood, still in its nursery pot. I will find a nice big blue one for its final home. Behind it are heuchera which are also awaiting new pots.

 I love blue in the garden so that accounts for my excitement over the Baptisia starting to bloom. I have two blue ones and three more on order, coming from Pennsylvania, which is still thinking Spring has yet to come. White Bleeding Heart and three dwarf Hollyhocks are in. I have two more pink Bleeding Hearts there too. I planted Hollyhock seeds too in another part of the bed, to transplant all over the yard, as they are not dwarf.

 The Koi Pond, as it were, now the Japanese Maple garden, with 5 new hardy geraniums, aka Cranesbill geraniums, in purple and pinks. I am still looking for a Johnson's Blue which is really blue, and to add a brunnera, a perennial forget-me-not. This year I discovered Grace Ward Lithodora, which is glow in the dark blue, and hard to capture on camera. Love love love this plant and now I have six.

 The hydrangeas got moved to the back yard in a semi shady corner, and are starting to show signs of life. I will have to get some acid-y soil to make them blue, but for now we'll just enjoy pink blooms.

 Now here's what I am thinking/doing with this long bed. I divided it up into 15 sections, separated by little zinnias, and begonias. In each section I have planted SEEDS. Yup. If I am going to be a real gardener, then seeds will be my Proving Ground, which I will call this long bed. I do have one section with Gaillardia and a tiny daisy, called Darling.

 The cubbies in front are holding back the tyrannical Wave petunias.  Here's what I hope to see soon. I have tried to grow these in our country garden and while they bloomed the first year, sorta, they didn't return, no matter where I put them. So third time's a charm, I hope. They'll have plenty of sun and no voles and great soil, so what could go wrong? heh heh heh.

The big trough we moved this year is up against the fence, for the benefit of four clematis and our fave hyacinth bean vines. Since clematis like to have shaded roots, that calls for large plants in front of them. Enter Delphiniums or as I like to call them: Del-finicky-ums. I pray these will love living here, and grow perennially. Also in this bed are blue salvias and new plants which are also spiky blue, and who's names elude me at the moment.

Such a pretty blue.

These seedlings are from last years saved seeds. Hyacinth bean vine. I will have to pinch out a few, eh? Or not. I hate to kill an enthusiastic plant.

Tomatoes and Swiss Chard, which I have never grown and which I have never eaten. I will find out all about them this year. On the other side of this trough I have a line of beets, in seed, waiting to see them erupt. Last year I made a big mistake and planted sweet potato vines in all the troughs, which took over and robbed nicer plants from light and water. Not this year. 

In the front bed, I have some gorgeous coleus waiting to be planted. And the hosta are opening as fast as can be.

So happy to see the returning Celandine Poppy in bloom. I stuck a few sprigs of Creeping Jenny in spots and already it is moving in happily.

And here is the Ivy that ate Hixson. We got this pot at the Signal Mountain Nursery, and it weighs a ton. Two shepard's hooks plus bungies are needed to keep it up. I hope the spot is shaded enough not to burn it up this summer.
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As soon as the fog lifts we are off to get more mulch. Our yard in back is squishy from so much rain. Mulch really helps.

The Edge

No rest for eager gardeners, Dave and I spent the majority of Sunday digging out the Bermuda grass, so we could lay down the edging brick. I bought an edging spade, thinking it would be the perfect tool, but alas it was practically worthless.
  So I went back to Lowe's and got a pick axe. That was the right tool for this awful job.  Dave hacked at the 'sod' and loaded it in the wheelbarrow, I emptied it in the far vacant lot across the road. Many trips. Eventually we got the depth right and most of the traveling grass roots removed, so we could lay the interlocking bricks. So satisfying, if exhausting. Luckily it wasn't a really hot day. Then we had lunch and a nap. Later, I added soil and flowers and voila!

 As I look at these pictures, it is obvious that my daylilies are angled in a weird way, but toughy-woughy. They will stay that way until fall. If I am ambitious (doubtful) I will move them to line up with the new edging. On to better things. I planted these hosta in that pot last year, and can't remember doing it at all. What is that nice lime green variety? Geesh.

 I do remember getting this Guacamole hosta at Home Depot, and I brought this Celandine Poppy from our country house when we moved.

Hosta and Lysimachia, aka Creeping Jenny. Love love love!
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Today it is supposed to begin raining and continue for several days. Hurray. I need a break. But first. I will get something to put in the long bed in back which lies empty of plants at the moment. Woowoo!

Not So Shady Garden

Here it is all filled up. I started dumping the 89 bags of soil at 8 am and was done by 10:30. That included spreading some mulch too. 48 feet long by 32" and judging by the sun I am thinking it is not too shady. O well. 

 
 I have a 7 bags of soil left but the forecast is calling for four days of rain this week so the beds will compress and I can top them off with the rest of the soil. That black vertical in the picture is my camera strap. duh. You'd think I would notice.
The cubbies in the blocks are full in the front but not the back. I haven't decided if they will get filled yet. We'll see.

Gardenmania

 I've begun planting perennials in my concrete block garden, two baptisia and a white bleeding heart. I have seeds started for other things to go in there, and I liked this idea so much I decided to build a really big one along the back fence!

So far I have only half the blocks I will need, but that is all the weight the van should carry in one trip. I will be getting the rest in increments. This area along the fence is low and soggy, so adding soil and plants here is going to permanently remedy that. And it is shaded most of the day, which is just the thing that excites me, as I love shade plants, like hosta, heuchera, hydrangea, ferns and impatiens. The bed is going to be a block width away from the fence (16") so I can walk behind it and work the garden from that side too. It will be mulched with the red mulch that the rest of the yard is getting. That wading pool bed is going...but the coneflowers in it will be transplanted. I moved most of my blue pots to the back yard and these five have Knockout roses, two pink and three red. We loved our big rose at the country house. 

 

 And we have two more new trees, for the front, a coral bark Japanese maple and a red Japanese maple for the big former koi pond bed in back. I plan to make that a center piece of the flowers. We have pavers ready to edge the front bed, but golf takes precedence. 

 In other news, they have broken ground on a new house across the street. Houses are going up constantly in our subdivision, and when I walk the dogs I see sold signs on lots every day. Whew! I guess the economy is doing well.

New Bed from Leftovers

We had a pile of leftover mushroom compost from last year, which became the depository of grass clippings. Luckily it never sprouted any weeds, but it kept calling me to dig into it and find a place for it.

We also had 8 leftover concrete blocks from the raised beds, and having been inspired by concrete block raised beds seen on Pinterest, I made an executive decision to make a new bed from the leftovers. Just 8 inches deep, but luckily the ground is pretty flat there, and I had a course of brick edging on the house as my backing. I also had one leftover 2 cu. bag of garden soil (Stay Green from Lowe's) and that was enough to fill the cubbies in the blocks...16 little 'pots'. The adjacent window boxes will add to the little garden. I am inspired to do this with other parts of the yard, however more bricks and soils will have to be purchased. But only 20 minutes to build this, tells me it is worth doing.

The cost to buy new?
8 blocks x $1.22= $9.76

I think it would take about 5 to 6 bags of this soil (Lowe's) to fill it and the cubbies. 6 x $6.88= $41.28 +$9.76=$51.04 plus the inevitable tax. Doable!
The basil is going crazy already and I have more seed to plant. I am waiting to plant the begonias, as we have a frost predicted.

 

But wait...there's more! Late in the afternoon, we went out for a few other errands and stopped to get more concrete blocks. Dirt too. Now the width is 12 feet, by 40 inches deep. Woowoo!

Mr. and Mrs. Robin have built a nest right near the feeder. Smart birdies!

Hotcakes #5

Hotcakes #5

Hand dyed cottons and silks, fused and machine quilted. 12x16" $100 Email me. SOLD

 This strip of multicolored silk charmeuse I've been saving for ages and finally decided it had to be used. It suggested the color scheme, which I was happy to concede. I am loving this new to me idea of subtle color on color elements, plus a limited palette.

Hotcakes #4

Hotcakes #4

Hand dyed cottons, ink drawing, monoprinting, stenciling, and commercial prints, fused, machine quilted, 16x20.25". $150 Email me.

Once again I must repeat that I never know what will happen when I start to make a new piece. That is the great excitement that I experience in the act of creating. I love this!