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Spring has officially sprung here at soapHOUSE! We have had several days of near 90 degree weather and the plants seem to be growing inches a day!
This photo was taken on Sunday and looks like winter compared to how it looks now - just a few days later!
That is the view of my backyard when standing on the new back deck. Hubby is working on installing a french door on one side of the deck - that will really bring the outdoors in! I am so excited!
Despite my unusual lack of gardening efforts and maintenance through this past fall and winter season - everything is just bursting. Here are some shots:
Northern Mountain Oaks Grass:
I was warned against this - said to be invasive. But, invasive to some means hard - working to me. If a plant takes over and multiplies readily, that just means there is no room for the weeds! I planted this guy in the back right bed of the backyard - hoping he would take over a bit and fill in all the bare spots. He is doing his job quite nicely I must say.
Tree Peonie:
Ah - to the naked eye, looks just like any peonie, doesn't it? Well, I understand this is a bit different. Will get much bigger, more like a tree and the bare-root alone was over $30 - for 1. This is the first year it has had any buds on it - at a mere 12 inches high - HAH! We shall see if he delivers. I have faith he will - mostly because at the end of last summer, I thought for sure he was dead.
Peach tree:
In its 3rd year, planted as a mere baby. Looking so pretty! Maybe we will get some peaches. This little lady even survived a terrible case of spider mites last season.
Purple Asparagus:
In its third year and have been harvesting a couple of spears daily. Maybe as the weather gets warmer, there will be more and I can actually make a side dish for dinner. Right now we are just picking them off the plant and eating them - so yummy! My 4 year old, who won't eat anything, ate a whole one today!
Variegated Hydrangea:
Anoth
er one that I thought for sure was dead last season!
Tulip Magnolia:
This is the first year in 5 that the flowers on this tree have made it all the way through their bloom cycle without getting zapped by a late season frost. Looks like snow in spring, doesn't it?
I can only hope the same for my azaleas that will be in full bloom shortly:
And of course, who can resist a fresh autumn fern frond in all its glory?
Despite my lack of daily chores - things just keep on ticking! I am grateful for the hard work I put in getting this garden started, it is now starting to take more care of itself! But, most of all I am grateful for ALL of God's faithfulness - even in the smallest of flower buds!
Next week will be time to plant all the veggies - wooooo hooooo!
My little girl and I came down with strep for the 2nd time in 3 weeks, so while hubby took the baby to church, we stayed at home and had a lazy morning. We did step outside in the beautiful weather for a short walk and a photo session of early spring in our garden. Here is a sampling:
View of the front garden:
Some of the tulips from last year came back and the newly planted ones are emerging too:
The above photo was not digitally altered...came out of the camera just like that...cool, huh?
View coming up the front walk:
Nice shot of the back yard:
This is only the 2nd time in the 6 years that we have lived here that I have gotten to see all the azaleas in bloom...usually a late freeze gets them. We are supposed to get freezing temps on tues and wed this week - AAHHH! So, hubby went and bought some drop cloths and we will be covering lots of things! What a pain...I thought we were going to avoid that this year...but I guess our last frost date of April 15th is that way for a reason...
View of the back, from the back:
Creek shot...will be time to weedeat soon:
The ostrich fern is coming back in the creek and I am so excited! I planted 1 clump and it is coming back as 3...it is said to be quite the spreader and I am counting on that for the creek area. Also, we are getting some great purple asparagus coming up and have tasted a couple of sprigs freshly picked. - so YUMMY! They are in the 2nd year, so I think next year is when we really start to get a great harvest.
The Virburnum will be in its full glory soon (see that little guy?):
After the little ones went down for their afternoon nap, I set out to move some more of that mulch. I also dismantled the rotting compost bin. I hope to get one of those fancy ones that you can turn one day. The deck is coming along nicely as well....hubby is going to pick up the garapa wood on Thurs! Hooray!! Hope everyone had fun digging in the dirt this weekend!
So, since my hubby and I began construction today of 3 more raised veggie beds...I thought it a good excuse to order some more things on my plant "shopping list" . I recently received a catalog from Gurney's, who I have never ordered from but have heard good things about. They also had a $25 off coupons...so I couldn't resist! Here is a list of my goodies to come in the mail soon:
BEAN BUSH EARLY CONTENDER (Seeds)
BEAN BUSH IMPROVED GOLDEN WAX(Seeds)
BEET CHIOGGIA GUARDSMARK (seeds)
BEAUTYBERRY PURPLE (plant)- this will go in the front of the new mixed border where we took out the maple in the back
FESTUCA GLAUCA (order of 3 plants) - will go in the berm in the front yard.
COSMOS BRIGHT LIGHTS MIXED (seeds)- these are a big part of the new companion planting scheme...
RADISH MIXTURE PKT/G (seeds)
CARROT TENDERSWEET (seeds)
BEAN POLE PURPLE POD (seeds)
ASPARAGUS PURPLE PASSION 2 Year starts
I am super excited! I will probably get all of the seeds soon and the plants will arrive in early March hopefully. I was so excited to find purple asparagus! (purple is my favorite color)
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