Spring Gardening

After the horrendous winter we endured, I couldn't wait to get out into the yard and start gardening.
I wanted to focus attention on the hosta area in the back yard first.  Lily of the Valley were taking over and water coming off the hill during hard rains had washed away a lot of the top soil and leaf mulch.

I dug out for the dry river bed in hopes that it would direct runoff water around the plants instead of burying them in debris. We've had several days of rain since, and so far so good. :)
I also added a thick layer of leaf mulch to keep weeds at bay.

Now if I can just get Hubby to remove that giant log...
Next, I moved on to the side yard, a small strip along the retaining wall.

 Mainly weeding, a clean edge, and some moving of plants was all that was needed for now.  It also got a layer of compost until we can get mulch down.  The only thing blooming over here this early is the Forget me nots.  The ferns  are a pretty bright green, though. And the orange poppies will be opening soon.
On the other side of the gate is a very shaded walkway.  One side is filled with a variety of ferns and hostas, and along the house I have bleeding heart and yellow celandine poppies which are in bloom now and will bloom on and off through the summer.

There's still lots more to do, and I'll be starting in the front yard this weekend as well as picking up a few annuals for the containers.
How about you? Have you been playing in the garden, too?  Happy planting, everyone!

Porch Railing Planter Boxes

It's time to plant the annuals! I love planting flowers, its like therapy. :)
I've been doing a little better the last couple of years, not going totally crazy at the greenhouse...but it is hard!  I limited myself to buying just enough to fill 2 hanging baskets and 4 pots on the deck and the 3 railing planters on the front porch.  In this year's planters I have Million Bells petunias (in orange, red, and pink), sweet potato vine, New guinea impatiens, and vinca.

My previous blog post and various pictures of the railing planters have been getting lots of traffic from pinterest lately, so I thought I would do a follow-up on what I did this year to improve them a bit.
I wanted the planters to have the same look as my moss-lined hanging baskets .  I found expandable ones at Home Depot. (I don't think they carry them anymore, though).

They are meant to hold one of those plastic window boxes, but I ran some wire around them so that I could line them with spahgnum moss and plant directly in that.  It worked out pretty well, but I noticed that by mid to late summer, when the plants were full grown, the boxes just weren't deep enough and didn't hold enough dirt to keep the flowers happy.

So this year I lined them with chicken wire that extended about 2 inches above the top. Much Better! There should be plenty of room for healthy and happy roots well into fall.

And as long as we're out here, here's a few more front yard photos.  :)
Ooohh, and you can see in the picture above that we also finally got our bubbler fountain (from the other house) installed at the new place.

And this is a photo of the house when we purchased it 2 and a half years ago...

And this is it now...

We still have quite a bit of work to do on the front landscaping, but that will all come in time.
Have you gotten any annuals planted yet? Happy gardening, everyone.

Anemone and Hunny

I wanted to snap a few pictures of our anemone flowers since they are one of the last things in the yard to bloom before winter.  Apparently, Hunny was feeling a bit jealous of the attention and decided she should be part of the photo shoot, as well.  :)

The anemone are tall and airy and make a nice backdrop for other plantings. We have both white and a pinkish purple color in several spots in the yard.

  

 

We're having a string of lovely fall days here in Ohio.  Have a great week everyone!

Summer Deck Photos

I just wanted to share a few pictures of the deck and planters before the blazing heat completely fries the poor flowers.

The hanging baskets were planted with sweet potato vine, new guinea impatiens, and a little yellow trailing flower that I can't remember the name of. They took a hit during the stretch of 100+ degree days we had, but they're starting to perk  up again.

I also have a couple of large planters with multi colored coleus, which I love because they seem to do well where ever I put them.

The new patio furniture came from Target.com and I'm very happy with it.  Its very sturdy, not crazy expensive, and the cushions are thick and well made with piped edges. We also have the chaise...so comfy!  I accented with my bright pink throw pillows that I made for the living room of the tiny house.  The color is perfect for the deck and plays off the beautiful crepe myrtle.

I'd like to get an outdoor rug for the deck, but not sure how well it would hold up. I'd rather not have to carry it in and out all summer. Oh well, Hunny doesn't seem to mind not having one. :)
Thanks for touring the deck with me!  Stay cool and have a great weekend, everyone!

Porch Railing Flower Boxes

I thought the front porch needed a little color. So I planted some flower boxes.

I found the railing mount planters at Home Depot. They are designed to hold a plastic flower box, so I had to modify them to hold the moss. Using thin copper wire, I created a grid small enough to contain the moss and dirt. Then followed the same steps as when I plant my hanging baskets. (tutorial here)

I used purple New Guinea Impatiens, blue Lobelia (upright), Coleus, and Sweet potato vine.

I think it gives a nice pop of color to the front of the house. :-)

Climbing Roses and More Patio Photos

We had a nice surprise this year with the addition of red roses to the already pink rose covered shed. Evidently, this red rose was the stock used as a graft for my Joseph's Coat rose, which died two years ago. This base rose took off last year and is now blooming very well. Oh, and a little bunny came out to have his pictured taken, too. :-) I went with a mostly red and pink theme this year for the annuals. The hanging baskets are planted with multi-colored flowers, though.
To see a tutorial on how I plant my moss lined baskets you can go to this post from last year. And to see what they look like by mid-summer, click here.
We're going to have an early taste of summer this week here in Ohio. Its supposed to be in the mid to upper 80's all week! Nice! :-)

Garden Bloomers ~ Pond and Patio

I have been busy for the past week or so with organizing and decluttering the house, neither of which lend themselves to interesting photos or blog posts. So, although we've had several days of rain, I ventured outside to share a few photos of the patio pond and garden. Dark reddish pink blooms fill our weigela bush at the entrance to the patio. Tall yellow iris had to be staked to with stand the rain and wind. A very soggy peony. And pretty yellow water iris appear to be taking over the pond.That's ok, the fish don't mind...they like swimming through the roots. :-)

And hubby got the veggies planted this weekend. Basically, we have a salsa garden...tomatoes, onions, and a variety of peppers. But we also have a couple of rhubarb plants and raspberry bushes surround the garden.
I'm also working on a canvas playhouse for my little niece. Hopefully I'll have that to share with you shortly. Have a great week everyone!

My excuse is Spring

Yes, I'm using Spring as my excuse for being absent. It has been so pretty outside and of course, there was some major spring cleaning. I also started an upholstery project.
First, I'll show you a few pictures of what's blooming in the yard...



And here is the cool 1950's chair that I'm re-upholstering...

I have the old fabric removed, and today I'll be making patterns with it for the new fabric. If all goes smoothly (ha) I'll be back within a week to show the make-over.

Now, get outside and enjoy the pretty weather!

The Roses are In Bloom!

Our little shed is once again covered in pink roses. Its a variety called New Dawn and is very hearty. Despite having killed every other rose bush I've ever touched, this one thrives. I'm sure being planted in close proximity to our compost pile helps a bit, too. ;)

The blooms are such a lovely blush pink color!It certainly helps to bring a little cottage charm to the back yard. And speaking of cottage charm...the third annual Cottage Charm Giveaway, being hosted by Kim of Twice Remembered , is going on right now. Sadly because of scheduling conflicts I wasn't able to participate this year, but be sure to check out the link over on Kim's blog to see all the wonderful giveaways (now more than 60!). And if you would like to join in with a giveaway of your own, there is still a few days left to sign up!

And just because they filled out so pretty in the last couple of weeks, I'm showing another picture of the patio flower baskets.