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We are well into spring here at soapHOUSE and loving every minute of it! I took some picts yesterday of recent garden happenings:
Nic
e shot of one of the beds in the back
That deodor cedar in the back will grow up big one day to hide that fence :)
I am loving the viburnum!
The Iris looks so pretty with the virburnum in the background:
Pe
onie In Waiting:
This hosta suprised me...I thought I had gotten them all moved to the azalea bed, but this one remains in the hydrangea bed and is looking quite nice this year :)
Hellebore seed heads:
The autumn ferns have lots of new growth in the front porch bed:
Another view of the front porch bed:
The vinca is really doing its thing this year!
Despite a major aphid infestation on my roses and Iris, they seem to still be doing ok...the Mdme Alfred is blooming on the arbor:
I think I may go around with a soap spray this weekend. I did some internet research on this and I was hesitant to spray with soap b/c I read that this affects the beneficial insects as well...but the aphids really are all over, so I do believe spraying is in order. I don't know why I have so many this year. I did read that they particularily like fresh spring growth and with all the rain we have had...we have a lot of that, so maybe that is why?
Work on the deck continues and hubby will start laying down the decking tomorrow - HOORAY!
So much is happening in the garden, it is SO exciting! I took another trip to the nursery today. I was going to pick up my veggie plants to have ready to put in the ground next week, but i forgot my list...so I just picked up a purple bougainvilla. I have always wanted to try one of these up the front porch railing...but have never been willing to spend the money on something that won't come back, but I decided to go for it this year. It will go in next week. We are forecasted for another freeze on monday, so I still have to be patient! When I got home, I took a nice stroll around the garden to admire all the spring happenings and take some picks. Here is a sampling:
The Viburnum is blooming and looking so pretty:
Those Iris in front of it are starting to bud out, the mystery oxalis bulbs that came free with my order from direct gardening are coming up, the peonies are up and have buds on them, the small allium bulbs have formed their buds, the hellebores look amazing, the pineapple lily is coming up. And, the miscanthus that I have been experimenting with lately is looking good. I have some that I always wish didn't grow so tall, so I decided to keep cutting them back in spring to stunt their growth. So far, so good.
The coral bark maple is all leafed out:
The hostas are coming up very nicely. There are some that didn't seem to survive the drought though. I spent some time last night cutting back the ivy so that the hostas can breathe.
The Solomon's Seal clump that I dug up from mom's is looking great and I know I will just love having this in the garden. The cannas are also coming up, the crepe myrtles are leafing out, the euphorbia that i got for $1 b/c it was half dead looks great:
Also, the fig tree is leafing out and so is the wisteria (although I have yet to get blooms off this vine).
I think one of my favorite parts of the garden right now is all the autumn fern fronds that are emerging:
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The 60 tulips that I planted are up and the purple are blooming. Its funny how short they are, but the other ones aren't...
The honeysuckle on the side of the house that is supposed to like sun, but is in shade...looks good:
Another exciting thing is that the birdhouse we put in last year now has a nest in it. We weren't sure b/c we did not design it with housing birds in mind...it was more of an art piece. so, its cool that the birdies are liking it!
The trumpet trees are coming up and the Daturas as well. The daturas made TONS of babies:
I am wondering if some of those seedlings are poppies. I did scatter some seeds out there in the winter. Will have to wait and see, I guess.
Another exciting thing is the deciduous honey suckle start that mom gave me is coming back. I thought for sure it was dead! And last but not least, the Elephant ears are all coming up.
SUCH EXCITEMENT!
Her
e are some broad shots of the garden as of today:
Front:
Side yard:
Back yard:
I spent yesterday afternoon tootling about in the front yard. I mowed our "lawn" , which is really more a patch of weeds than anything. After its mowed, it actually looks pretty decent. My dreams of fescue were squelched by the drought last year....maybe this fall i can do that. Once the mowing was done, I pulled some weeds, cut back some vinca, hacked down the curry plant (it had gotten very raggedy and woody, will be interesting to see if it comes back), and I also watered the autumn ferns. It looks as though the layer of compost applied to the top of that bed last summer is really coming through for us...I have never had so many new fronds appearing at once on these ferns. It looks so pretty! Here is a view of the front yard as seen from my front porch today:
As you can see, my girl and my hubby are enjoying the freshly mowed weeds :)
The redbud looks so amazing right now as well! Also, the ajuga is blooming and is adding a nice shot of color:
The dogwood is almost in all of its glory. It is in the same bed that got the compost dressing and i do think it is helping the dogwood also, in seasons past, the dogwood has suffered from one of its common fungal diseases that causes the blossoms to fall off before they fully open. It looks like we might not have that prob this year :)
On a recent shopping trip with my mom, I picked up this cool garden art windchime and I have been enjoying it as I sit on my front porch:
Its very overcast today and a bit cool and breezy, so I am not sure if I will venture out in the garden later or not. I have been thinking more about creek planting lately and trying to decide what to plant on the opposite bank...I still have yet to have the moment of brilliant inspiration. I do need to get back there with the weedeater so that all my hard work spent cleaning everything out doesn't go to waste....it will if I don't stay on top of things back there. I am anxiously awaiting the emerging of the great gunnerra that went in the ground a few weeks ago...i check for growth every day :)
I did hear an ad on the radio that our local home depot has 5 dollar coreopsis and hostas, so i may venture down there this afternoon. Tomorrow the forecast is thunder storms, so I better do what I have to do today :)
Had a wonderful weekend in the garden. All the work I did in the fall and winter is paying off....there is not too much to do now other than routine weeding and maintinence. The most fun, of course, is watching all of the plants doing their spring things! On Friday, mom and I stopped by the nursery and I picked up 2 more georgia blue bells. They went along the street side of the front bed along with the other one. The blue of their bloom is so nice in contrast with the hot pink of the creeping phlox. The redbud is really popping out and looks so wonderful right now!
The tulips are all coming up nicely (I was afraid a lot of them had been hijacked by the squirrels). Some of them have formed their flower buds! They will look so nice blooming around the bridhouse :)
The hostas are starting to show themselves as well as the peonies! I always wonder about these late arrivers, but they have yet to dissapoint...you would think I'd learn! I also spotted a fun surprise while perusing the garden...One of the autumn ferns that I dug up from mom's yard had a little piece of Japanese painted fern in it... Once it gets bigger, I will dig it out and find him a home of his own.
On Saturday I mowed the backyard and weedeated by the creek, just in time for a fabulous rain storm that lasted well into the evening. So nice to sit on the porch and watch the plants in the drizzle!
The last couple of days have been full of wonderful spring gardening activities. We have had the most beautiful weather here lately! Highs around 70 and lows around 45, GORGEOUS! On Thursday afternoon, I had a chance to stop by home depot and check out their spring shipment. Most exciting was that I found 2 more green "giants" to replace the piddly little things from the mail order (which were starting to look like they may not make it). So, I picked those up and 3 creeping jenny plants which were such a good deal that I couldn't pass them up!
Of course, when I got home...I got to planting!
Here is a shot of the trio of green giants. I do hope they live up to their rapid growth rate I have heard so much about:
I can see them from the kitchen sink and it is nice to look out there and dream of what they may look like one day ;)
The creeping jennies went along the pathway in the back, by the nandinas:
I think they will look great mingling with the rocks and bottles too!
The next day (Friday), We had lunch with my mother and grandmother...4 generations of ladies all at one table! After a nice lunch, I got to dig up some goodies from my mom's yard. I got a nice sized clump of solomon's seal, which I have always wanted. They found a great home to the left of the newly planted camellia and will be a great addition to my shade garden in progress:
I also got 2 Viburnum Seedlings. One went just behind the existing one that is mature and the other went in the back of the azalea bed along side the newly planted lilacs. I wasn't able to get the best root system, so it will be interesting to see if they make it.
I have also been taking some time to really think about and make a list of things that are "missing" from my garden this spring and that I would like to have next spring:
More creeping phlox blooming
Add Hyacinth Bulbs in with Daffodil Plantings
Add Double Daffodils
More Crocus?
I saw some wonderful double hyacinths in the Van Bourgondein Catalog that I would like to add to the garden.
And, of course, amidst all the work, I had to take some time to have fun with my camera:
Clematis Armadii:
Spring Growth appearing on Autumn Fern:
New growth on Juniper:
Blueberry Bush:
Mardi Gras Honeysuckle (I think?)
Wax Mahonia Berries:
Lorapedulums:
Anyway....thanks for indulging my shutter bug!
Hope everyone has a wonderful and blessed Easter!
Over the past couple of days, I have gotten a great deal done on my fall project list! I spent most of this afternoon dividing and conquering (so to speak). I transplanted and divided some autumn ferns for my front porch bed. I went from 5 to 11 total in this bed and I think they will fill in nicely:
I also divided some daylilies and the green eyed susans and put some in the big front bed by the street. Not much to see now, but hopefully will add some great color in the spring!
This is what the front yard looks like from the street as of today:
I'll be so sad when the first frost gets all that sweet potato vine...it will look so naked!
I also did a lot of clean up and filled up a few landscape trash bags as well as overflow in my wheelbarrow:
I am so enjoying this time of year! There is not as much to be done in the garden it seems and what is to be done is very enjoyable. Also, the trumpet tree is just FABULOUS!!!!!!!!
Also looking forward to my camelia sasanqua blooming this winter. It has SO many buds:
My next task at hand will be to pull out whats left of the tomato and pepper plants and plant the 2nd veggie bed for fall. :)
Today was a pretty mundane but productive day in the garden. Mostly did chores such as weeding and mowing. I also put in some more sugar snap pea seeds for yet another succession planting. I also worked a bit more on the creek clear out project.
Heres a pict of me and my girl mowin the yard:
see that pile of dirt in the back? thats the free compost for the city, we are getting it to berm up a new bed right there...gettin rid of more grass!
Here are some snapshots I took along the way while doing my chores:
EGGPLANT FLOWER :)
GREEN SWEET POTATO VINE AND MINT IN BLOOM, LOVE THE TEXTURES!
HIBISCUS BUDS UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL...
PURPLE POTATO VINE WITH FEATHER GRASS:
AUTUMN FERN FOLIAGE
PROGRESS OF CREEK CLEAN OUT...
COULDN'T EVEN SEE THE CREEK A COUPLE OF WEEKS AGO...
MY FRONT YARD AS OF TODAY:
HAS ANYONE ELSE GOTTEN AS ADDICTED TO DOCUMENTING THEIR YARD AS ME.... SO FUN!
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