soaphouse's Blog
soaphouse's posts about: mulch
Mar 19, 2008 | 1:05 PM PST
Tags: rain , persicaria , lorapedulum , mulch , poppy , poppie , maple , saucer magnolia
We have had quite a few rainy days here lately (great for the drought) and today was no exception. I just love the way the garden looks after a good rain! I was planning on plant shopping this afternoon, but it was raining so hard...my girl and I sang songs and watched the rain from the front porch. So lovely! In between rain showers, I was able to get some nice picts of the garden as of late:
View from the front porch:
Various views of the front of the house as seen from the street:
Looks like the redbud will be in its full glory in no time :)
The lorapedulums are doing great and I love the contrast of the Junipers. The one shrub has a piece of it that grows with the white blooms. I have long debated as to cut it out each season, or leave it be. Sometimes I think it is fun and unexpected, other times I think it looks like a mistake...I can't decide.
Saucer Magnolia survived one of the late freezes and is in its glory! I just love it...when the petals start to fall, it looks a bit like a summer snow.
All the front perennials are starting to come up and I look forward to adding even more this season!
These seedlings were easy to spot in the wet mulch...I think they might be poppies. I threw out a bunch of poppy seeds in this bed (not expecting much)...if they aren't poppies, then they might be a weed, I am not sure:
The Japanese Maples are budding out nicely. They were severely affected by the late freeze last year. Looks like this year will be better:
The creek is doing its thing...and all the moisture should be wonderful for the newly planted Great Gunnera Bulb
Nice view of the back yard today (hubby has promised to have all the veggie bed fences done and installed by april 1st for planting time :)
The persicaria is coming back :)
And finally...a view of the back, from the back ( I enjoyed comparing this picture with the same shot from last summer....its nice to see the progress)
I am so enjoying watching spring unfold! Maybe I will get to my plant shopping in the next couple of days. I have so many things on my list to add to the garden...and our home depot landscape supply just stocked up, so I can't wait to check it out!!!!!!!
Jan 13, 2008 | 3:23 PM PST
Tags: fall , tree , clean up , planting beds , mulch , wood chips , pine straw , hydrangea , hosta , path , nandina , conifer , creek , hammock
I had another great weekend in the garden. Got LOTS done as I am taking advantage of the warm daytime temps we have been having lately. I spent so much time on the front yard this past growing season, that now I am excited to get more work done in the back. I have been doing things such as defining the beds and putting in paths. I ordered another load of the free woodchips from the city and got busy spreading it:
I laid down a path in between the beds leading to the back. The bed to the left contains hydrangeas and hostas. I just transplanted all the hydrangeas to a better layout and added 2 variegated hydrangeas on either side of the sweet gum tree - I am looking forward to seeing how it looks come spring.
Here is the same path, from the back view:
My husband cut down the remainder of the trunk of the tree we took out last weekend. He was excited, because this meant he got to buy an electric chain saw. He always loves getting new toys...as you can see it definately did the trick:
I also transplanted the nandinas that were in the front of this tree over to another space so that now I have room to put in a nice conifer garden :) I also finished spreading all the pine straw (this helped to define the beds and create some new planting areas in the back yard. Here is a good shot of the back yard as of today:
The creek area even got some attention this weekend. Once I finish dragging the brush to the curb, it will be all cleared and ready to plant up with ground covers and ferns. I also plan to put an arbor at the gate with a nice vine on it and an outdoor hammock so that the area can be fully enjoyed!
I am interested to see what survived out of my bargain fern purchases that I planted back here in late summer. Once the drought hit, they began to suffer...so we will see. The creeping euonymous is doing well, however :)
On the list for this week: finish spreading wood chip pile and dragging creek brush to curb!
Dec 27, 2007 | 2:20 PM PST
Tags: pine straw , mulch , winter weeds , weeding , knockout , alliums , tulip , daffodil , hellebore , linten rose , new year , bulbs , madame alfred
I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! I have been taking advantage of both the season end sales at the garden centers and my time off from work to get a lot of things done in the garden. My local garden center has all their left over bulbs on sale for 75% off, so I planted 20 purple and 20 orange tulips in the front yard. I also planted 30 daffodils by the azaleas in the back yard. I am still waiting on some allium bulbs I purchased on line. Those will go in the back yard so that I can see them while I do dishes :).
I got 2 more double knockouts for 50% off to compete the grouping by the bird house.
I also spent a good bit of time applying a generous layer of pine straw over the front beds. It took 36 bales! It used to take 90+, but now that the plants are growing in niceley...it takes less. It feels so good to have this done. Here are some picts:
Yesterday, after taking down most of the Christmas decor, I spent a majority of the afternoon weeding the back yard and getting it ready for its winter pine straw application. I have 2 Madame Alfred Roses on order that I will plant on either side of the arbor in the back. I selected this particular rose because: it is thornless, evergreen, climbing, and blooms white....the only rose I could find that met all of these criteria (which is what I wanted for the arbor).
While I was doing this work in the back, I noticed that for the first time, my hellebores are blooming! I got these as little seedlings from my mom's garden 4 yrs ago...patience pays off!
Can't wait for my goodies to come in the mail...but I really can't wait to see the bulbs come up in the spring!
Happy New Year Everyone!
Dec 16, 2007 | 3:02 PM PST
Tags: coral bark maple , double knockout , rose , winter , cold , mulch , pine straw , discount
Well, last week the temps were in the 80's and now the high today was in the 40's with a windchill below freezing! Not that cold for a lot of you up north, but its cold for us here in Atlanta! But, I must say...its about time. I stopped by a local nursery yesterday that has just declared bankruptcy (due to the drought) and they have almost everything on sale. I got a fabulous Coral Bark Maple that I have been wanting for some time to use as a focal point for the new bed in the back yard. I finally got to get it b/c it was 50% off. My sweet (and somewhat disgruntled) hubby helped me get it in the ground today:
BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!!
Can't wait to see it come spring...
I also got another double knock out rose to add to the front. They were 50% off too! I wanted to get more, but only had room for one in the car since we also had the baby with us :)
This will add some nice color by the abelias
My wonderful and still somewhat disgruntled hubby :) is at Home Depot, as I type, getting bales of pinestraw to do the winter mulching. YEAH!!!!
Oct 23, 2007 | 2:53 PM PST
Tags: rain , woodchips , mulch , divide , transplant , drought
Well, its been raining here for 2 days straight!!! I can hardly believe it!!! Its is so wonderful and now I have a glimmer of hope that my fall veggie seeds might grow after all!!! Can't wait to see the garden as the days progress! I know it will give me lots to do and I am so glad! Hopefully I can do some more dividing and transplanting. I am also planning on ordering up some more of the free woodchips from the city for the back yard.
Oct 21, 2007 | 7:51 AM PST
Tags: drought , mulch , figs , fig , pepper , tomato , green , fall
Well, we picked yesterday what I am pretty sure is the last of the harvest. We picked all the green tomatoes on the vine, since the temperatures have cooled off so that they won't ripen. Hopefully they will ripen on the window sill:
We continue to get lots of figs and enjoy eating them right off the tree! We also picked the rest of the peppers.
I had planted a bunch of fall seeds, but since I can't water....they will not grow :( So, I look at my pitiful patch of dirt in despair :(
But, the situation here is so dire, I understand.
I will focus next on mulching since thats really about all that can be done.
Jul 25, 2007 | 3:31 PM PST
Tags: elijah blue fescue , coreopsis , moonbeam , euphorbia , blue haze , berm , sunflower seeds , okra , zucchini , beneficial insects , mulch , pine straw , salvia
Today, my daughter and I took a little trip to our FAVORITE nursery. I had a gift certificate and they are having a summer sale, so I got lots of goodies!
- 2
types of coreopsis, a yellow and a hot pink - 8 Elijah Blue Fescues
- 1 Black and Blue Salvia
- 1 Blue Haze Euphorbia
So fun to come home with this lot and plant them all...heres what I did in the front:
BEFORE:
AND AFTER:
I dotted around the Elijah Blues and put in the yellow moonbeam coreopsis in the new berm. In the fall, i think i will divide the coreopsis and spot it around a bit. There are several clumps from the one pot I bought, but I was afraid it would shock it too much to divide right now in the heat of the summer. The rest of the plants made their way into the back yard.
My hubby also went to get the rest of the free pinestraw I scored on craigslist and I got that all spread in the back. I still need a bunch more, but it looks great. Its amazing what a difference mulch makes!
Here are some other shots of around my garden today...
Sunflo
wer seeds showin up:
Snacked on this guy while pulling some weeds...yum, yum! Also harvested a giant eight ball zucchini today...will sautee for dinner tonight :)
Almost ready to pick :)
Found this guy on the sunflower today and I looked him up in my insect book and he is a beneficial. Maybe he will eat some of the squash borers!
Jul 5, 2007 | 5:08 PM PST
Tags: lawn , fescue , beds , path , berm , fall , mulch
Most of my projects this season have evolved around my plan to minimize my lawn area. Actually, I use the term lawn VERY loosely, it is really more a patch of weeds that requires fairly regular mowing and always looks bad. So, at the beginning of spring, I asked my neighbor (who is a grass guy) about getting rid of the weeds and doing "real" grass. He described the process and really this is something I have resisted all 4 years that we have lived here because of the cost and maintence involved. But, I have done so much with the gardens that a nice patch of lawn will just be the icing on the cake and might finally prompt some compliments from my non-gardening neighbors. (I used to think I didn't care if anyone else but me liked my garden but, yes, i actually do care). So, I decided to add lots of new beds and paths to get my lawn area down to a reasonable size. I am FINALLY done with that and will put out fescue seed in the fall....Here are Picts of the progress so far. And, if you enjoyed this or any other of my blogs, PLEASE take time to add comments...I just love that , it make my day...THKS!
Area ready to make into path:
Gotta Love free mulch from the city:
A good workout later...nice path :)
Side yard with free mulch to make a nice drive area for my hubby's truck:
Good shot of new beds bermed up and ready for plants:
Good shot of my new patch of lawn "ameoba" ready for fescue:
I will keep you posted in the fall.....
Jun 30, 2007 | 6:18 PM PST
Tags: mulch , double knockout , red maple , fall , okra , weekend , datura
-I got all the mulch moved!!! It looks FABULOUS. I still need another load for the right side of the house and crepe myrtle alley.
-Laid out a new bed for the back yard, I will berm it up with the free city compost and plant a red maple as the center. (All in effort of operation lawn minimization.
-Okra is growing :)
-Broccoli is appearing :)
-Squash coming along :)
-Turks cap Lily Blooming :)
-Purple Datura Bloomed!
-T
he inlaws are in town and for my upcoming birthday they gave me a gift certficate to one of my favorite garden centers in Atlanta! Can't wait to spend it in the fall!
-Went to the nursery yesterday and when the sales guy asked me if I needed help, I told him I was looking for half dead plants for cheap....he hooked me up! 3 gallon double knock out rose for $10, 1 gallon Pink Dianthus for $2 and a guaera (spelling?) for $2. Woo HOOOO. I want 7 double knockouts for the front, so I am going to attempt to propogate from the one I got.
-Tomorrow morning is my watering time, so I will give everything a much needed good drink.
-This week my big plan in the garden is to clear out behind my back fence where there is a creek...it is SO overgrown with privet, wild grapes, and god only knows what else. I think I may try to make a wreath or something out of the grape vines that i pull. I'm going to post before and after picts of this one....
-All in all a great gardening weekend
Happy Gardening to all and to all a good night :)
Jun 27, 2007 | 5:32 PM PST
Tags: mulch , lawn , broccoli , okra
So I just had a load of "free mulch" delivered from the city yesterday. This is all part of my OPERATION LAWN MINIMIZATION. I have spent yesterday and today moving the mulch around to create path like areas in my garden where there used to be lawn. Quite a job but SO worth it! AND, its free!!! I should be all done with moving the pile by tomorrow night, then I will call for the next batch...think I will need more. There is nothing like the look of a freshly mulched garden! I also got the side bed that we recently topdressed with compost covered in pinestraw and it looks SO GOOD! Picts to come soon :)
On another note...I am super excited because I am starting to get broccoli and my okra plant is blooming, YEAH!
