soaphouse's Blog
soaphouse's posts about: spring
Mar 13, 2008 | 5:51 PM PST
Tags: kale , dianthus , daffodil , spring , mow , weed , viburnum , peach
We have had some wonderful weather here lately and I have been taking advantage of it in the garden! Over the past couple of days I have been doing bits of weeding here and there. Always doing a little at a time helps me keep up on it over the growing season. My girl and I took advantage of the beautiful morning and spent some time enjoying the garden :)
She likes the Daffodils:
We also took some time to examine the dianthus buds:
p>Later on, when she went down for her afternoon nap, I set out to do some more garden chores. I mowed the back yard, edged the beds, raked and weadeated. Always looks so nice when that has all been done!
Here are some more spring happenings I caught along the way:
Baby Peach Tree Planted last spring is flowering:
Viburnum is leafing out very nicely:
Clematis Armandii is starting to bloom:
Carolina Jasmine is doing its thing:
And last but not least...we have a surprise crop of kale growing from seeds that we planted last fall that never germinated due to the drought and total outdoor water ban. We have had so much rain lately that they decided to grow :) LOL
Feb 19, 2008 | 9:28 AM PST
Tags: autumn joy , sedum , coreopsis , allium , iris , spring , globe
I ended up having the day off today....so my little girl and I spent a while playing in the garden this morning (once it warmed up a bit).
I noticed some more signs of spring (just when I was beginning to wonder if some of the things I had planted and moved survived).
The globe allium blubls are emerging!!!!!! That is SO exciting. I got them on sale, but even then they weren't so cheap. Also, the autumn joy sedums that I divided last spring seem to be coming back nicely. And, the iris that I divided in the fall is starting to show itself again. So fun when things work out the way you hoped!
Of course, things don't always work out...one of the coreopsis that i got during a summer sale and looked great until frost is not showing any signs of regrowth and the other ones are. I will give it a bit more time before I give up on it completely.
Feb 7, 2008 | 2:34 PM PST
Tags: hosta , cast iron plant , mahonia , spring , ornamental grass
I have been slowly working away at getting all of my ornamental grasses cut back and ready for spring. Its quite a chore when you have a decent number of them. Well, today I finished cutting all of them back and mulching them. I have 11 or so Variagated Miscanthus, and 2 Zebra Grasses. It feels great to have this chore done - and it looks so nice and tidy. My little girl also helped me with some more clean up....
We Dug up 2 cast Iron Plants that were planted in the azalea bed but were somewhat hidden and not doing too well, so I divided them and moved them to the Hydrangea/ Hosta Bed:
Once I had them in the ground, I top dressed each one with a shovel full of compost. Hopefully that will help green them up a bit.
Also pruned back the artemesia, transplanted a mahonia that was in a bad spot, cut back the clematis jackmanii, cut back the liriope seeds, and deadheaded the camellia. Once the little one went down for her nap, I worked on getting more brush to the curb. I also noticed that a lot of things are starting to come out of dormancy and get ready for spring!
The daffodils in the front are starting to emerge, a couple of the things I bought on clearance in the late summer are showing signs of coming back (the butterfly weed and some hydrangeas most noteabley) The creeping phlox and veronica are also starting to bloom :) The roses I purchased from the Antique Rose Website are showing new growth, all the trees and shrubs have their buds, EVEN the weeds are coming out of dormancy! HAH! So fun watching it all unfold!
Here is what the front of the house looks like today:
My view from the front porch today:
I really am enjoying getting the yard all tidy and ready for spring...very gratifiying!
Feb 1, 2008 | 5:37 PM PST
Tags: companion planting , veggies , spring , plan , shopping list
Well, the steps survived! It wasn't a torrential down pour, but it was more than a drizzle....the great thing is that the rain helped clean up the creek even more and the steps look more settled in.
I spent the afternoon dragging more brush to the curb. I also pruned my crepe myrtles and autumn ferns.
But, most notably, I did a lot of garden planning. I have been reading a book on companion planting lately and I really want to use this system in my spring/summer vegetable beds. But, its a lot to think about and my usual method of buying what sounds fun and throwing it in the ground was just making my head hurt...so I needed to plan.
First, I made my wish list of things to plant, then I jotted down their appropriate companions according to my book, then I made my shopping list. And, finally, I got it all down on paper!
Shopping List:
Seeds
:
Spinach
Radish
Carrots
Beets
Cosmos
Onions
Calendula
Plants: (Due to the drought...I plan on starting a lot less from seed this go around)
Cherry Tomatoes
An Heirloom Tomato
Big Boy Tomato
Eggplant
Bell Pepper
Brussel Sprouts
Bush Beans
Pole Beans
Spaghetti Squash
Strawberries
Corn
asparagus
Basil
Parsley
Asters
Dill
Chives
Bee Balm
Black Eyed Susan
Marigolds
I have 2 existing raised beds in the back (about 8 feet by 8 feet) The plan is to add 3 more by spring time... Here is the plan I came up with:
I know its a bit hard to see on the computer...but it will be so helpful to me. I will print it out before I go shopping and have it as a reference while I plant. Now I can get all that confusion out of my brain and onto paper....so, on to the next task!
Dec 14, 2007 | 6:25 AM PST
Tags: fall , cleanup , rake , leaves , blooms , spring , grass , color , front , yard , back
Its been a while since I have spent a good chunk of productive time in the garden. And, yesterday...I did just that. In the morning, my girl and I made Christmas cookies and when she went down for her nap, I headed out to the garden. I did some clean up; such as raking and pruning. I also had some fun with my new camera. The weather here has been very wacky! The highs for the last week have been around 80, so we are having a false spring....things are blooming and buds are appearing. Its quite strange, because there are still many signs of fall in the garden. The Laurapedelum is in full bloom:
And yet, the grasses are showing all their fall color:
After a couple hours of clean up (It didn't need as much work as I thought, I guess all the hard work in the summer really payed off) This is what the yard looks like:
Front yard:
Side view of front yard:
Back Yard Views:
