soaphouse's Blog

green "GIANT" update...
Mar 16, 2008 | 2:31 PM PST
Tags: green giant , thuja , arborvitae , oakleaf , hydrangea , lilac , azalea , creek , ivy , willow , mow , tornado

So if you read one of my previous posts, you know the saga of the green "giant". Well, i am still awaiting the 3rd one that mysteriously got left out of its bag...the 2 that were planted already are suffering a bit of transplant shock, but we have had enough rain lately that I still have hope for them. So, today I stopped by the local nursery (SO many temptations!!!!) and they had 3 gallon sizes of the green giant :) So, I picked one to plant in the spot reserved for the 3rd one:

The sticks that you see on either side of the tree represent the other ones that were ordered through the mail. It will be interesting to see and compare the growth of the different sizes...HAH!

The freshly planted weeping willows (from the same supplier) are looking great and getting all their new leaves:

I think it will be so pretty weeping over the creek side :)

Once I got my new tree planted, I set out to mow and edge the front yard. Looks so nice when that has been done. I also got some picts of more spring happenings:

Azalea buds bursting:

I must say I am learning to love my azaleas. They came with the house and would not have been what I chose, but the were in good condition so I left them. I have really started to put some more time and energy into the back beds and I am starting to form a nice shade bed with the azaleas as the foundation. Last year they didn't bloom (due to an extremely late frost that zapped all their buds) and the years before I did not pay much attention - other than to notice that they are various shads of pink. So, I have no idea their varieties or how big they are expected to get. This year...when they bloom, I plan on taking cuttings to the local nursery to have them tell me the varieties so that I can fully develop the design of the shade bed. Should be interesting and fun :)

The newly planted lilac buds are starting to open so I am looking forward to watching that. I have never grown a lilac before:

The oakleaf is budding out nicely as well. Year before last, we transplanted it from a very awkward spot close to the house and the following year, its form and shape was way out of wack, so I had to prune it and sacrifice some blooms, so this year it should be in its full glory :

I also transplanted some large pieces of variegated ivy to the shady side of the creek bank. Hopefully they will fill in and cascade nicely - providing a nice evergreen cover and weed suppression.

I would say, all in all, a great afternoon in the garden. I certainly feel blessed that I could spend my afternoon that way and not cleaning up rubble from the tornado that hit just south and north of us. Amazing that a tornado blew through downtown Atlanta. They say that has never happened before....first time for everything, I suppose.