Introducing....A Blank Slate (Part II)

Man is it hot here! I don't know what the weather is like where you are, but we've been breaking records left and right here in Nashville - and since we haven't had rain in over a month now, things are looking pretty brown and crunchy outside. I've been out early in the mornings watering before it gets so hot that any water will evaporate before it can do any good.

But enough about the weather. Here is my new back yard!

The previous owner graded the lawn to run into the creek on the other side of the fence so the house, and in doing so, created this retaining wall that makes a nice patio space. We're planning to use something like cobblestones to eventually pave in this space. You can see (kind of) where someone had dumped a bunch of gravel to try to create a patio space, but the weeds have taken over since it was last taken care of.

You can see where all my plants were pretty unceremoniously dumped when we were hurriedly moving everything in. I've spread them out a little since then.

Here, you can see I was in a hurry to get at least some of my vegetables in the ground. The retaining wall has a pretty handy built in bed, so I've been gradually planting the veggies I started back in February, adding mushroom compost to the soil as I go to give things a little boost.

I do have to figure out what to do with the two scraggly rose bushes in the retaining wall. Any suggestions??

We do have a pretty awesome deck....

...That's built right up to this gigantic hackberry tree. It will probably eventually come down. You can't tell from the picture, but it (and one other tree back here) hangs over the house, and the other tree is even closer to the house than this one!

We also have (actually, that's a had now...I'll do a post on it soon) a gigormous fire pit. Seriously, this thing is like 7 feet in diameter. The previous owners could have roasted pigs in this baby.

The only problem is that the border is just random rocks piled up in a circle, and if you so much as tap them, the go rolling away (maybe a bit of a safety hazard if there's actually a fire going).

Just beyond the firepit, we'll put a toolshed and a compost bin.

And here is where (I think) I'm going to put some raised beds.

So there you have it....my new backyard!

Blooms Day

Still on a role with cheesy blog post titles....I think the heat is starting to go to my head.

There are lots of blooms in my garden right now.

I've only gotten one bloom from the ranunculus tubers I started in my tiny greenhouse back in February. *sigh* It is lovely, though I was definitely hoping for more of a show!

The nasturtiums are really going to town. As many blooms as there are on this one, there are that many more buds ready to pop open!

The hydrangea is kind of a showoff. It blooms green and then turns pink, looking something like a disco ball in the process.

You can see there are many more blooms coming on this one!

Truthfully, I thought violas were not heat tolerant. It has been in the mid-high 80's though, and if anything, they are blooming even more vigorous than they did when it was still cool outside.

The ivy geranium has been giving wave after wave of these pretty clusters of white and pink blooms

The hosta hasn't bloomed yet, but I am hoping for more lovely purple flowers this year! Any suggestions yet on how to move this lovely?

The iris I dug up from my student's yard have finished their blooming, but this lily (also from my student's yard) is just getting started. There are several more buds on this one that have yet to open. Isn't the orange and yellow happy looking?

What kind of show are you getting in your garden? Any ideas on how to pack up and move my garden??

Latest Update and Pictures from the Flower Garden

Ok, so I've been a little MIA lately....things have been a tiny bit crazy in my neck of the woods and I hope I'll have some good news to share SOON!

In the mean time, here's some pictures from around the flower garden to tide you over. I'll cover the rest in another post!

 

Ok, here's a full shot of the right flower garden. Look how giant the hosta is getting! I think it's bigger than the boxwoods.

 Also, here's a closer look at the Roman Chamomile (it doesn't make blooms for tea, but it smells nice when you walk on it!) that's going gangbusters around the ornamental grass that has yet to show anything but dead straw. I'm not worried yet....it did this last year too.

Even though I didn't dig up my dahlia bulbs last year, they're still growing back...who knew? Maybe it was just the crazy mild winter. Also, you can see that the busyness of late has kept me from keeping my flower bed completely weed-free.

Said dahlias are in this left flower bed. There are lots of irises in here, but they haven't bloomed yet. I'm thinking they aren't getting enough sun.

However, the hydrangea and geraniums seem to be lovin' their spot on the side of the house. It's an east-facing wall, so they get plenty of sunshine.

And if you look closely, you can see that I'm starting to get some buds on the hydrangea! Hooray!!

This handsome fella decided he needed to get in on the picture taking...and I couldn't resist showing him off!

What's going on in your garden these days? Any fun happenings?

Some New Additions

I made it out to the local nursery yesterday hoping to find some strawberry plants. No such luck, but I did find a few new (plant) friends!

I went in with a budget (and a Groupon). Here's what I came out with:

I suppose it doesn't look like a whole lot when you put it in one picture, but on the left are two ivy geraniums. They should eventually trail a little bit, and I planted some marigold seeds around them that will (hopefully) fill out the picture and give some nice color contrast.

Also (and I'm really excited about this one), I found a pink hydrangea! I went back and forth about this one for a while, knowing how big hydrangeas can get and how much water they need. The guy at the nursery said I should be able to keep it in the pot for a couple years before it will get root bound. I also made sure to get a smaller variety (Hydrangea macrophylla 'Berner, or "Let's Dance" Big Easy, is only supposed to get 2-3 feet tall). Hopefully I'll have some pretty pink blooms this summer!

Since I didn't find my strawberries at the garden center, I made a stop at the Depot on my way home for some potting soil, a big pot (for my new hydrangea friend) and a couple of strawberry plants.

 

What about you....any new additions in your garden?

Nasturtium Update

A week or two ago, I mentioned that I planted some nasturtium seeds. They must have really liked where I put them, because I've already got some tiny nasturtium leaves!

No sprouts in the greenhouse yet (except for the ranunculus)....hopefully those will come along soon!

What is sprouting in your garden?

Whimsical Violas

As promised, here is a picture of the violas my husband picked out. He's got pretty good taste!

I think I'm going to do some seed planting tomorrow. Some peas and nasturtiums maybe?

Lesson Learned....always stake your tiny greenhouse!

Ok, I finally got around to setting up my little greenhouse in the backyard, only to come outside this morning to find it flat on its front, blown over by the wind. I had potted a few ranunculus tubers yesterday and put them in there, so of course, there was a giant potting soil mess. Major FAIL on my part.

Fortunately, Home Depot is not far, and a quick trip for some stakes seems to have taken care of the issue. I suspect once I get more stuff in there, that will help as well, but for now, it's ready to roll.

Flower Bed Before and After

Remember those picture I posted the other day of my sorely neglected, un-mulched flower bed? Well I've given it new life. I took myself outside yesterday in the rather chilly weather and weeded the bed.

Here is what it looked like before...

After I weeded....

And after I mulched (I used the cypress mulch from Home Depot)...

What a difference! Now I just need to find something to put in it! Last year I did a bunch of annuals, and my neighbors gave me the ornamental grass. One of my students gave me a white chrysanthemum back in the fall, so I put that in and cut it to the ground since there was no new growth. I think that's how you're supposed to do it (according to the information I've found online). I guess I'll find out come spring! It'll either grow back or it won't.

I'd really like to put in some perennials  this year, but am unsure where to start with it. This is a north-facing bed, so whatever I put in it has to be ok with shade for part of the day.

What do you put in your partial shade gardens??