soaphouse's Blog
soaphouse's posts about: tree
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!
Jan 6, 2008 | 4:48 PM PST
Tags: tree , maple , cypress , blue evergreen , canna , iris , sculpture , compost , pine straw , allium , bulb
We had quite the weekend in the garden! Very productive! I got a lot of things checked off of my to do list :) I divided some Iris, transplanted some cannas to pots, spread pine straw in the back yard, moved a pile of compost to the veggie bed, planted 70 allium bulbs and started the sculpture for the front window seat bed. But, most noteworthy is the 30 foot tree my husband took out for me! I felt kinda bad as it is a nice tree, however...it had been planted way too close to the tree next to it and during the growing season, it was growing crooked trying to reach the sun. Not a huge problem now, but would be in the future and then would be too costly to fix, so my hubby took it out.
Before:
During:
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After:
Its funny, it looked much larger once it was on the ground LOL! Now it will be another chore getting rid of all the brush! Whats going in its place? 3 Threaded False Cypress and possibly a blue evergreen of some sort. The vines are doing fun things right now too. The winter jasmine is just starting to bloom :) I look forward to watching them in the spring as they cover the chain link fence.
This week I will finish spreading the pine straw in the back and will finish up the sculpture in the front. But I tell ya, I sure am worn out! I don't have quite to energy now that I am 6 mo pregnant. I guess I better get as much done as I can before I am 9 mo!
Nov 30, 2007 | 2:01 PM PST
Tags: blue sky , winter , christmas , tree , lights , holiday , santa
Well, I must admit there is not much going on in the garden lately...at least I am not doing much. I have really been focusing on the inside of my house lately...decorating and painting and such. It is nice to get some of these projects done! We did just get our Christmas decorating done and I must say I am quite please. Its the most we have done since we have lived here at it was really fun.
Our Christmas Tree:
The front of the house:
My little girl putting the santa hat on our chihuahua statue:)
Even thought it is winter now, we still have some fall color hanging around...
And although we are still in a Level 4 drought, I am really enjoying the crisp blue skies!
Happy Holidays!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jul 18, 2007 | 4:08 AM PST
Tags: tree , prune , dew , morning , weed , eater , creek , garden art , driveway , coffee
So, I am NOT a morning person. Luckily my toddler usually sleeps till 8 or 8:30...a girl after her mom's heart. well, she must have been a bit off today, because she woke up at 5:30. Oi Vey!!! I promptly brewed a giant pot of coffee and then noticed that I rarely see my garden still fresh with morning dew. Very pretty!
Yesterday, my husband was so nice to drag out his saw and ladder and do some tree trimming for me and the backyard looks so nice and tidy :) I can see clear back to the creek from my kitchen window and it brings a whole new perspective on the yard!
The other project I finished yesterday was my bottle path. I used to have a bottle tree. It was the center of one of my veggie beds and the focal point looking through the arbor. Well, earlier this year, it bit the dust and fell over. So, I thought instead of remaking it (besides, now everyone has a bottle tree) I decided to make a bottle path.
It needs a bit more variety, but I am quite pleased with the outcome :) Too bad i never got around to snapping a pict of the bottle tree :(
I also drug some of the creek brush to the curb for the city landscape people to pick up. There is still a LOT more, but they will only pick up so much at once.
Not the greatest pict, but look at all that!
I spent a good portion of last night daydreaming about what to do by the creek and I am getting more and more excited!
I have a full day of garden chores ahead of me (once the pookie is napping) I will:
- Weed eat with my weedeater that has its new "gator" blade attachment instead of those bloody strings. I am excited to try it out (my bday present)
- Routine Weeding
- More Creek Clean out
- Sweep Driveway after brush is picked up
- Possibly paint new garden art (got 4 old windows out of someones trash) I think I am going to paint them all fun and bright colors and place them around the yard as accents and maybe some as trellises
