BACK YARD BEDS (veggie)
We had 2 cu yds of garden bed soil delivered plus the cement half blocks.
We staked, stringed and otherwise marked the three raised veggie beds in the back yard. David mowed the areas VERY short and then we laid the weed barrier cloth. We will start (as soon as it stops raining) to pile 6" of soil on top of the barrier cloth. That should stop weeds and grass coming through. You can sort of get an idea of how I'm using the cement blocks as edging to hold the soil in place.
I know it looks as though the blocks may tip over with the soil pushing on them, but we've had a talk (the blocks and me) and they understand they need to stay upright.
By the way, the backyard redbud is ready to burst into bloom.
FRONT YARD BEDS
I've been shopping for and finding a lot of my old perennial friends: Heuchera, lavendar, Acanthus-Spiney Bear's Britches, Coreopsis, Scotch Broom-Moonlight, Lupine-blue and red, Purple Fountain Grass, Geum and Artemesia-Silver Mound. Also you can see how big my tomato seedlings have gotten. (proud mother....) :-)
I've begun to place them and plant some of them. Here's the north bed. Notice the tulips planted last fall? They're in bud. Yippee!
And the south bed...
Notice the fence is much shorter now. It had been too tall to see the flowers from the sidewalk which is down a small grade. Also too overpowering. I will probably change it again. LOL
My second batch of daffodils are white with golden centers.
The Artemesia Silver Mound should do well here. It likes really bad soil and if fertilized will flop apart losing its mounded shape.
I love the new Heucheras. The hybridizers have been going crazy to develop new leaf colors. I hear they are not as hardy as the original few.
I usually don't have very good luck with Geum so haven't haven't tried any for maybe 15 years. But I saw this salmon colored one and couldn't resist.
Oh, yes, remember our little squirrel friend? Well, he/she has decided it likes sugar water. It's been feeding from the hummingbird feeders!! The water has been in there for over a week. No hummers. I hope the little furry guy doesn't get drunk on the old sugar water....
And so, that's my story so far. I am having so much fun it must be illegal. The mystery of plants from dried seeds, of plants and bulbs dying in the fall and coming alive in the spring again and the power in plants to grow and grow and develop leaves me in utter joy and with a great feeling of humility.
19 comments:
HI Beth: Looks like you had a busy week. Thinks look like they are shaping up for you. Just think in a few weeks you will be eating your own fresh tomatoes.
Thanks for letting me visit,
John
things not they
Johm
Hi Coneflower,
Wow, your beds are really coming together nicely! That's a lot of work to get something like them built, but you'll be so glad you did when they're done and in future years!
When I had my first garden here in DM (I lived in an apartment), I made small beds like those, and though I can't tell how big the holes are in your blocks, I used to fill mine with dirt and plant smaller things in there, like herbs, or trailing flowers. You might try to get some Nasturtiums to crawl out of yours and you'd have pretty edible flowers you could include in your tomato salads! If you do go for Nasturtiums, use the poorest soil you can find, otherwise they won't bloom. Exactly like the Silver Mound you mentioned ... I love that stuff and plant a few more every year. Your seedlings look fantastic and I bet you are just itching to get them in the ground!
Hi John. Thanks for coming around. Let's see... I plant tomatoes May 15th, they grow until frost. First tomatoes maybe in a month (does that sound right?). So June 15? About 7 weeks. Yeaaaaaay!!!
Hi again John. Not sure what you mean about "things not they" but I think it's "John not Johm" LOL
Hi IVG. Nice to see you. You know? I was thinking about trying to stick some seeds in the holes. "Nasties" would be great for that. I have to make sure the blocks don't topple over first. I was trying to get retainers for as inexpensive as possible. These blocks were $.63 each so that's around $.45 per linear foot (16" blocks). But they may be more trouble in sense than they save in cents. LOL
You are so right about the seedlings. I started them way too early and so have been having to deal with them large and out of the ground for too long.
My kids always laugh when I tell them I buy dirt, paying for something that's usually free. I'm glad to see I'm not the only one:)
I love the new colors on the Heucheras. I'm going to have to look around for them!!
I think I also started my tomatoes a little too early, but since mine are going into hanging baskets, I'm hoping they'll be okay.
You've certainly been busy. Looking great!!
Beth: I type with one finger and my fingers get mixed up sometimes. My mind and my fingers sometimes don't meet at the cross roads.
Have a good day,
John
Hi Flydragon. Nice to see you. The Heucheras are really cool. We'll see how they make it through next winter.
Speaking of winter, I brought all my seedlings and all my as yet unplanted perennials inside for the night. Supposed to get down to 34 or maybe lower.
Hi John. You're doing better than I am. I type with ten fingers and still sometimes they go in the wrong places and even from the wrong hand. Maybe I have my wires crossed. LOL. Just keep on typing. I enjoy hearing from you.
HI Beth: Just checking to see if you got the new post notice this week, have not seen you on my blog and may not be able to yet still working out Stats set up.
Just checking to see if every one on the list is getting notice.
Let me know or come on over and leave a comment whatever you want to do.
Thanks,
John
Hi CF,
Your garden looks great. Much better than the weeds and grass I have in my front flower areas. Not that I'm a gardener anyway. :)
Flydragon, I was thinking about your children laughing at you for buying dirt. I don't know if they drink bottled water, but the next time they give you a hard time for buying dirt, bring up buying bottled water. :0)
CF I'm looking forward to seeing how your tomatoes turn out. I've always like home grown tomatoes much better than store bought ones.
Hope you and the family are fine and take care.
FM.
Hi FM. I got all but three of the perennials that I bought planted now. I'll finish them tomorrow. Soon I'll get to sit on the deck and look at them. The tulips are almost in full bloom now. What fun!
I like your point to Flydragon about bottled water. :-)
We are holding up pretty well. It was 90 degrees here today... briefly and in the 80's again tomorrow. But there was a wonderful wind blowing so we didn't mind the heat to badly.
We will have to compare notes on the new varieties of coral bells, I have several on order, they are so pretty with the different leaf colors.
Love the squirrel picture, I have never seen one at a humming bird feeder, he has a sweet tooth :).
LOL, hi CF!
That shot of the squirrel still has me chuckling ... :) Nice catch on that one. Crazy critters.
You sure have been busy! Really appreciate you taking all these pix for us so we can follow along in your progress. I'm enjoying it. :) I love the redbud shot - so pretty.
LOL FM -- nice one re: the bottled water. :)
Hello Iowa Gardening Woman, nice to see you. I love the heucheras too. The real lemony colored one is called Citronelle. It sunburns pretty easily. I thought the perennials were outdoor ready when I bought them, but it sunburned and I had to cut off a number of leaves. We'll see how the rest do.
Hi Olivia. That squirrel is quite a character. Actually hubby D took that photo. I put my copywrite on it because I don't have one for him. We have since taken both hummer feeders down and cleaned them. He keeps coming back the check to see if it's returned:-)
Glad you're enjoying the progress photos. It's kind of a history for me too.
Thanks for coming by.
My new style heucheras made it through the worst of this year's cold, so I am hopeful that they are fairly hardy.
You yard is advancing by leaps and bounds... exciting to see such progress so fast :)
Hi Ilona, Thanks for stopping by. Glad to hear about your new style heucheras. That is indeed good news. I have some new photos to post showing all the perennials planted. I'm really enjoying this and the tulips look very happy. That makes me happy. :-)
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