End of Spring Wrap Up...

This spring has been so much fun seeing how things grow and change almost daily. We've been very busy in our yard expanding flower beds, planting new things and fending off the rabbits that keep trying to eat everything! 

So, with spending hours in my yard I've been slacking when it comes to updating this blog. I'm going to attempt to wrap up everything we've done so far. 

April

Rhododendron & Spirea

As I've said before we buy a lot of distressed plants from Lowes and with a little love and attention they really take off! This Rhododendron was only a few dollars and it looked pretty pitiful when we planted it a year ago but it has doubled in size and was covered in buds! We waited in anticipation to see what it was going to do as spring got into full swing.

Japanese Quince, Juniper and Sedum

The Quince in the center of the photo to the right was also a distressed plant that was about $2 and looked like a stick coming out of the ground at first and now its taken off and more than tripled in size.

Quick Tip: As I've said before, if you have the time and patients to plant and care for distressed plants you will be amazed at the payoff you will get the next year!

Iris, Columbine, Creeping Phlox

 I have been very happy with how this has filled out this spring, And I am in love with how the creeping phlox looks! It has become one of my early spring favorites!

Purple Creeping Phlox

Random Variety of Plants

While this flower bed (left) looks a little bare, it has mostly late spring/summer plants in it. I'm looking the forward to how it's going to look, especially the Kaleidoscope Butterfly Bush. And as you will soon see, it has filled in a lot!

Bleeding Heart & Hosta

 My favorite early spring plant has to be Bleeding Heart! This particular plant came from my grandparents farm and is really taking off this year! Seeing the delicate little heart shaped flowers dancing in the breeze makes me smile and think of my Grandma who also loves them!

Purple Anemones 

A new find this spring were these purple Anemones! The color was stunning and though they didn't last long I'm hoping that they make an appearance again next spring!

Gardening is definitely a trial and error thing so don't get discouraged if things don't take off like you want. Sometimes it takes plants a year or so to really get established and sometimes they were just planted in the wrong spot.

This is my little Fairy friend that watches over my garden!

'Always remember to keep room in your garden for the fairies to dance!'

May Days!

Front of our home

May has brought lots of changes to our yard. We've cleaned out, pruned up, expanded and re-mulched all our flower beds.
It's been a lot of hard work but it is very therapeutic and rewarding watching everything that we've planted thrive!

I've also had fun sharing gardening ideas and tips that I've leaned along the way with friends and family. We even took a day off from our yard to help one of our friends redo her front yard,  desperate landscape style!

Snapdragons

Flower Power!

Our yard is full of different kinds of flowers and lots of color!

I don't put in many annuals but I LOVE snapdragons and they will be an addition I make every spring! We also put in pansies, petunias and geraniums. 

    

Columbine

Some of Our perennials... 

Columbine

Rhododendron

The 'piece de resistance' of this spring bloom season ended up being the little rhododendron! 

The color was absolutely gorgeous!

I did find it interesting how many people thought it was a hydrangea... Um, not quite. 

My husband loved the rhododendron so much that he actually went and got 2 more distressed at Lowes that are now in our back yard.

Rhododendron bloom up close

Another spring favorite of mine is Iris. My grandmother always had them all over around our family farm growing up. The Iris I have are actually transplants from the farm. 

The iris as well as the other plants that I was able to transplant mean so much to me because the farm was sold this past year.
Having a little piece of my grandparents garden planted in our yard will always bring back wonderful memories and years of beauty! 

Iris & Columbine

Iris

Orange Bearded Iris

Purple Bearded Iris

Various plants

This front flower bed is starting to fill in.
We added Hollyhock, tuttie frutti mint and hens & chicks this year.

Dianthus

Salvia

Canna Lily starts

Julia Child Rose

Bare Root Roses:

In memory of my mother in law Joretta, who passed away in March, my aunt sent us two bare root rose bushes. I was blown away buy the gesture and was very excited to plant these and see what would happen. There where a couple of problems though.
#1 I had no idea what to do with bare root roses!
#2 When the roses were delivered we got the last big snow storm of the season!

Blaze of Glory Climbing Rose
  

Luckily the sun came out and melted the snow quickly and the weather warmed up but the rose bushes had sat in a box for over a week and I was very worried that they had completely dried out.
So after a lot of research on the internet I found a great tutorial on how to prepare and plant bare root roses on YouTube. It gave me the confidence to be able to plant them.
I soaked them for 24 hours in a 5 gallon bucket of water, then figured out where I wanted to plant them in the yard and dug out the holes deep enough to cover the roots and bud union. The trick is to build up a little mound in the center of the hole to sit the roots on then fill in the hole being sure to water as you go to get rid of any air pockets. Some other advice I got from the tutorial I watched was to bury the bud union where the canes come out to give you a more stable plant and not to fertilize the rose until you see 2-3 inches of new growth because you want the roots to get a good start and if you fertilize it too soon you can force the plant to shoot up before it has a good solid root system.

So with a little prayer that the roses would survive after becoming so dry in the box we waited, and waited and waited for what seemed like an eternity and one day I checked and THERE WAS NEW GROWTH! I was so excited!
Stay tuned for how they look now because they have really taken off in the last couple of weeks! I will be posting those pics soon as I get this blog caught up with where we are in the yard. :)

Knock Out Roses

Crystal Fountain Clematis

If you look back in older posts from last year you will see pictures of this knock out rose (left) that was a distressed steal from last year. It has tripled in size and has been covered in blooms! It's gorgeous and smells amazing!
The Clematis (right) was planted from a start we got from an online nursery and it has really taken off this year as well. We even had to get a bigger trellis for it to grow on. This year I have planted another clematis start next to this one that is a different color and eventually I plan on having a large permanent trellis built for the two to grow together on.

I have a lot more to share coming up very soon but right now I'm very tired and need to get some sleep so I have the energy to finish my latest garden project! 

Until next time... Happy Gardening!

In a Rut!

My hubby Tyrone working hard!

You bet your Grass it works!

We had two very deep ruts in our front yard caused by washout and not so great grading by the builders before they laid the sod. They were a huge hazard and I was tired of twisting my ankle so we looked into having it filled in and seeded, but the landscape company wanted a ridiculous amount of money for dirt. I couldn't believe it! I decided that we could do it ourselves! So anytime I was planting new things this spring I would dig out the thick heavy clay soil we have, put it in the ruts and then fill the holes in the flower beds with good garden soil. This worked out very well, and it filled in the ruts quickly. It did take some work to get it leveled out well and at the time we did not have a tamper tool to do this easily so it was a matter of using your feet to stomp it down and then walking around and feeling where the uneven areas were and then filling them in. We then added a thin layer of garden soil and used a garden rake to mix it in before we put the seed down to give it a good base to grow in.

Close up of our patchwork.

We used Scotts EZ Seed which has fertilizer and grass seed mixed in together. This is a GREAT product and I highly recommend it! It is very easy to use. You spread a layer of the EZ seed on where you need it, water it regularly and watch it grow!

May 3rd

This is what the patches looked like after we put the EZ Seed down and watered it thoroughly, it's kind of fun to watch because the fertilizer expands to hold moisture in.

It kind of reminded me of the little sponges we use to get as a kid that came in a capsule and you put them in water and watched them grow into some kind of animal. :)

May 17th

 In just 14 days we had really good grass growth, there were a couple of areas that had minimal growth and we had to add more seed.
Now it is growing in very well and is just about to the point that it needs cut.
If you have any areas like this in your yard that need filled in or have bare patches that need grass, give it a try, you will be amazed at how easy it is!

Spring Cleaning!

Step it up! 

So, I was a little bored with the shape of the large flower bed in the front of my house. It really needed a little something. I really have an aversion to hard straight lines in a garden  I've expanded the flower bed along the garage as well as lengthened it. I was able to spread out the juniper bushes and bring the quince forward away from the wall.

As you can see in the picture below the flower bed cuts off at an odd spot. behind the downspout. My plan is to eventually run a flowerbed down the length of this side of the house to match the other side of the house. We'll see when I actually get that done. :)  It is a whole lot of work pulling up all the grass and breaking up the clay soil and amending it with good garden soil.

Side Yard Clean Up!

What a mess!

Clematis and Knock out Rose looking sad.

It's amazing how fast the grass will take over when not kept in check. The biggest part of this flower bed had my sunflowers in it last summer and after they died off in the fall I cleaned it out and left it.

Tilled in garden soil...

So, it took quite a bit to get it cleaned out and ready for more sunflower seeds! 

My husband found a small battery powered cultivator at our second home, Lowes, and it worked like a dream! It really made it so much easier to clean things out and then till in garden soil to amend our terrible indiana clay soil. Hopefully one day, probably years down the road, my soil will be perfect after adding in all the good stuff!  

After the cleanup! 

Mad About Mulch!

Mulch always makes such a huge difference in the flower beds, it makes everything look complete and cohesive. And it helps with weed prevention and moisture retention for your plants.

There are so many different options when it comes to mulch that it can get very overwhelming and you find yourself asking, "what kind should I get?" "What color and are the not natural colors safe for my plants and all the wildlife that likes to come visit my yard?" "and what about recycled rubber mulch?"

I've done a lot of research and found that it really comes down to personal preference. As for the dyes they use for red and black mulch its typically vegetable base and safe for plants, sometimes the red is colored from Iron Oxide and the black from coal and are naturally occurring substances and ok for your yard. 

The problems with mulch being dangerous is more when they use wood that has been chemically treated. But a good rule of thumb is to check the labels before you buy! Check the link out below for some more info! 

Read more: What Is Black Mulch Dyed With? | eHow http://www.ehow.com/about_6782815_black-mulch-dyed-with_.html#ixzz2T8qq3UT7

Clematis and Day Lilies

Knock Out Roses

Spring Has Sprung!

Spring cleaning! 

After a winter that seemed like it lasted forever spring is finally here and we've been hard at work cleaning out our flowerbeds, expanding our garden and watching everything come back to life! Last spring consisted of us digging all of our flower beds and planting everything new, so this year is completely different.

It's been so much fun watching the plants and woods behind our house change daily. 

March...

I love watching the woods behind our house turn green and fill in. 

Nature Preserve behind our house.

Sedum Love!

When I was taking advantage of a warm march day and clearing out some of the old dead plants from last season and noticed the sedum peaking it's head up through the leafs! Such amazing chartreuse green color!
If you want something low maintenance that does well from full sun to shade than this is the plant for you! There are many varieties and they have beautiful clusters of flowers in late summer to fall. I have both the Autumn Joy and Neon in my yard and they both have amazing color!

Those Darn Squirrels!!! 

Before

We bought this beautiful mosaic bird feeder at Lowes and got it filled and all set up and absolutely loved how it looked when the light hit it.



 We now have 3 feeders along the nature preserve and there is an abundance of different birds that come to visit daily. But along with the birds we have a herd of squirrels that love to feast on the free grub. 

After :(

So of course the next day I look outside to see this guy feasting on a pile of bird seed with my new feeder broken on the ground!

Needless to say I was not very happy! But hey, I guess they have to eat too.
At least we were able to take it back and have it replaced with no questions asked. The replacement feeder must be a little more sturdy because it's still intact and I see one of our little furry friends sitting on it almost daily. 

Until next time... Happy Spring!

Wrapping up 2012, in a nutshell...

Okay, it's been a LONG time since I've posted anything. So, we made a lot of progress last year with our landscaping and looking back at my previous posts I realize that I didn't post much with the "finished" product. We have big plans for our yard this spring and have already started clearing out our old flower beds, expanding some of them and creating new spaces for more planting fun! 
Before I share this years progress and Tips-N-Tricks we've learned I want to share some of the pictures from last year. Unfortunately my old phone died and took with it a lot of pics from later in the summer when things were really pretty so you'll just have to take my word for it... ;)

Gorgeous Giants:

Canna Lilies 

The show stopper for our yard last year were the
canna lilies! We had several patches of these in various places in our yard. These "cannons" are a tribute to my husbands parents who always had them in their yard.
Canna lilies are very easy to plant as they are rhizome bulbs that stay near the surface of the ground. They don't tolerate the cold winters here in Indiana. So, for the best results year after year, the bulbs need to be dug up and stored in black trash bags in a cool dry place like your basement or garage.
These will multiply like crazy every year which makes them great for sharing with your family, friends and neighbors!

Side Yard Progress: 

We added a long flower bed along the side of our house. And of course we had to line the beds with fieldstone we found around new build sites within our neighborhood and surrounding areas. It's fun finding the different rocks and they look great!

• Quick Tip: the best time to find fieldstone is in a new housing addition when they dig a new basement or foundation. Another good place to look is in freshly plowed fields. 

Knock Out Roses!

I planted Knock Out Roses, Clematis and Sunflowers along the side of the house. This rose bush was a distressed plant we got at Lowes and with a little TLC it has now doubled in size since we planted it. I can't wait to see it in bloom this year!

• Quick Tip: BUY DISTRESSED PLANTS! This will save you so much money. Most of the time the plants you find on the distressed wrack at your home improvement store or nursery are either past their bloom time, root bound or just look a little scraggly. When you plant, water and fertilize these plants they will take off and you will be pleasantly surprised! 

Sunflower Starts

So, as I said before, I lost a lot of my pics when my old phone died on me and in turn I don't have the pictures of the sunflowers when they were full grown with their amazing blooms. It makes me a little sad because sunflowers are my favorite and they were so beautiful. I will make sure and post pics this year!
Anyways, I started these guys with seeds and watching them grow up to 8 feet was very cool!

Backyard Progress:

We made some major impact changes in our back yard with a flower bed that goes the length of the yard. Our house backs up to a nature preserve, which is my favorite part of the yard. I wanted to make a transition area with a colorful shade garden that breaks up all the green from the wood to the grass.

Before we had a sea of green, which yes is beautiful but of course I wanted to kick it up a notch. This shade garden has several different varieties of hosta, sedum, bleeding hearts, ornamental grass, lilac and a hedge of weigela that will create a natural fence when it matures.

This year our back yard is going to take on a whole new life with plans for a large patio with pergola and fire pit and new grill!
I'm really looking forward to having an amazing outdoor living space to enjoy our beautiful yard and woods!

I will also be planting more shade loving plants with lots of color to fill in the flowerbed.

Our Little Visitors: 

There have been lots of little critters visiting our yard and driving our cats crazy! It is so much fun to watch our cats, Stormie and Shadow, stalk the wildlife out the windows, or as we like to call it... Cat TV!
We have a plethora of different kinds of birds, crazy squirrels, chipmunks and raccoons that come to visit us almost daily.
This year we have already added 2 additional bird feeders and have created a bit of a wildlife sanctuary. I love it!

Stay Tuned for all the changes to come this year... and Happy Gardening!