Finally some pictures

I thought I'd get some pictures posted today and make some notes for next year.

I think I'll just post one area a day so I don't get overwhelmed. I'll start today with the area under the maple tree between the garages. This is where I put my bike, which was suppose to go in the backyard. I do like having something in this spot so I think I'll probably do this again until I get the blocks in for a raised bed. This spot obviously gets most shade so the flowers I bought are not doing their best since they're not getting the proper amount of sun. So I need to plan this area out better for next year if I use the same set up.

Here is a pic from late spring, soon after I planted it.

This is from the end of June

And here's what it looks like now

What I like about this spot:

• I really like the bike, I think it works great for right here.


• The hanging pot from the tree


• The pots of coleus are doing great, they are placed here until my bleeding hearts are ready to be cut back along side the garage then I will move them over there. I definately like the coleus better than the impatients Ive tried the past few years. By now, if I had impatients, they'd be spotty and looking sickly.

NOTES FOR NEXT YEAR

• Buy shade flowers. I like the sweet potato vine and the coleus in the front basket. There is allysum in there but it doesn't bloom because there isnt any sun. So for next year maybe plant a sweet potato vine, and a couple coleus (shorter versions) in the front basket.


• For the side baskets I think the sweet potato vine would do good in there or maybe the butterfly (or is it the dragonfly) impatients like what I have by the shed. If I did sweet potato vine I think I need to add something else with bright color. Ultimately what I want for the side baskets is for them to be completely covered, the petunias did not do that for me.


• Keep the 3 pots of coleus but plan them this time. They were a late thought this year so I didn't have a choice in what I wanted since there was nothing left in the stores to buy. I think each pot has the 4-packs in it.


• The hanging basket I haven't decided if I want to have that there next year or not, if I do, I need to choose shade flowers for it.


• Put in a fresh layer of decorative mulch

Since this is just one pot right by this area I'll add this one to this post. This is my whiskey barrel that gets mostly shade. Ive been planting impatients in this for the past few years. This is the first year I've tried coleus (and it won't be my last) I love it!

This pic is from the end of June

And this one is the end of July

NOTES FOR NEXT YEAR

• I really love the coleus but I think I might want to try a variety of flowers next year, maybe something that'll hang down the edges of the barrel then maybe more of a difference in the heights of the coleus so the ones in the middle are a noticeably difference from the ones around the edge. I really like the mosaic coleus in the flower box on the shed and that one is a little shorter.
• I like the star and I've had it there for years but I've been debating on this star that Sherrie has for sale that you can plant flowers in ever since I saw it in April. I think that would look nice in place of the plan star.
• Keep this area more cleaned up! It seems to be the collection area for leaves and debris (and sawdust when dh is cutting things outside of the garage :) )

Ok, I think that's it for today. If I keep up with my notes for next year, my gardens will be so much prettier than this year. I should really dig out the tags from the flowers so I can list the exact flowers I want to try different and make it a lot easier when shopping the greenhouses.

Im slacking off :)

I have been neglecting this blog lately, I guess I've just been enjoying the flowers and not making any garden notes. I have been snapping pictures here and there and I need to get those loaded and sorted so I can take some accurate notes on here. I will have to say though that I am pleased with some of the beds. I do need to make some adjustments to some pots and work on a couple beds and plan my future beds for next year.

Hopefully this evening I'll get some of my pics sorted and get them posted on here.

Oh and the "holding bed" is doing great with some additions from my garden too. I kind of like the idea of having an area to place flowers until I have a spot or need for them. I could even get some perennials yet this year and put there to use for next year in new beds, hmmm something to definately ponder.

Busy, busy!

I haven't taken many pictures lately but I sure have been busy in the yard. This last weekend I took a 4 day weekend to celebrate our 3rd anniversary. At first our plan was to go to Wis. Dells and do a couple things but dh asked if I'd rather start on the deck redo that we've had planned. Well I chose the deck! So, dh tore our old deck down and got most of the new one framed up and wow is it going to be a BIG deck, I can't wait til it's done. While he was working on the deck I just did some putzy stuff around the yard, I finally got most of the trim painted on my shed & I restained the door, now I just need to replace the deck on the shed and get some mulch in the flower beds and that area will be done. Oh yeah and I need to get some shutters put on too. The back yard is a mess but it'll eventually get back in order again and all the decking material that's been laying around since last year should be in the new deck!

There really aren't any perennials blooming right now but anyday now they will be. Thankfully I have lots of annuals to brighten things up. I think my nieces lilies will be blooming back in the "holding bed" (that's what I've decided to name that section since that's where the flowers that don't have a home currently go until they do have a home lol) soon. I did pick up some foxglove for 1/2 price last week and I have no idea where Im going to put it but I couldn't pass it up because I loooove foxglove. I also picked up some Irish Moss 1/2 price that is suppose to go in between my pavers under the arbor. I just need to get the pavers now :)

Oh yeah I also finished up 3 of my glass plate flowers this weekend (actually it was 4 but one broke) so I'll have to get some pics of those.

That's all for now, maybe I'll get some pics this evening if it's not raining. Some of the annuals are filling in nice while some of them seem to be a little slow.

Irises

Amongst all this rain we've been having the Irises around the yard have started to bloom. It actually wasn't raining last night so I went outside and battled the mosquitos and gnats to get some pics of these beauties.

These light purple ones I took this weekend, they were the 1st to bloom and they are in the clump of flowers that I am housing for my niece until they buy a new house so I've been enjoying them and I like her colors better than mine, maybe I should snag a few of them hehe :) Nah, I don't have a spot for them currently.

Another color of my nieces

And these are ones I planted by my fence this spring that were from the garden group I went to in May and got for free! I was excited to see what color I was going to get. The color is ok, not my fave but I like it, for some reason it reminds me of a rootbeer color, I know I'm weird lol.

In this same flower bed the asiatic lilies are getting super tall, makes me wonder if they'll get taller than me and I would expect some buds to be coming out on those in the next couple weeks. The iris on the other side of the fence didn't give me any blooms :( Oh and the clematis that I thought wasn't going to do any thing this year has just taken off! It must like all the rain we've been getting. I'll have to get a pic of that too and I need to add some more chicken wire to the arbor so it attaches to it.

Besides the Iris in bloom my Peonies are just starting to bloom. I found one opened up yesterday. This is my sadest looking bed this year but it's getting tore out this summer so I didn't do anything with it. The peonies are still my fave though.

One last one, I finally found a bike I just loved and I found liners for the basket so I was able to get it planted this weekend. I like how I have it propped up against the tree, unfortunately there's usually vehicles parked there so I don't get a chance of enjoying it as much as my other flowers, I may end up finding a different spot for it. The tires need some tlc too. I can't wait for the surfina petunias to start filling in some more, it'll be gorgeous soon!

Some pics

I loooove how my flower beds are coming together and all the little "embellishments" (some would say "junk" lol) are really adding a bit of whimsy to the yard. There's still lots to do and even a little bit more planting oh and still more treasures to pick up :) I just thought I'd share some pics that I quickly took last night.

This is the shed, pretty much everything is planted, now I just need to work on the shed. This is the fullest I've had the beds, I love it. These are my hanging tipsy pots that I finished planting yesterday, I really like how they turned out, hopefully they won't dry up too much in the small terra cotta pots.

The birds love all the little bird feeders I've added around the yard. They're quite the little piggies actually. I filled one feeder last night and it's almost empty already! Here's a pic of a feeder I just whipped together yesterday. I think I want to add some crystals to it or something, it needs some bling :) I have a bunch of tea cups & I think I'm going to make some to sell.
Oh and the lily of the valley is in full bloom and smelling absolutely wonderful! I wish it lasted all summer long. I think the peonies will be opening up in the next couple days.

One last bunch of my bleeding hearts. They are getting huge! They're on the downside to blooming now so I think I can probably split them soon.

And this is my little baby bleeding heart plant :) It must've been a stray seed from last year. Look at how cute it is with the two little blooms on it. I was going to dig it up to give away but Im not sure yet :)

Veggie Gardening

So I decided besides doing all my flower gardening this year I am going to try doing veggies in containers. I can't wait to get my little area off the deck set up and start planting my veggies. I am hoping by doing a container garden close to the house I will have more control of it. I tried a bed one year and the critters ate everything as it came up then the weeds took over, so maybe this way will be a little easier.

Here's what I'm trying
Amish paste tomato
Better boy tomato (I think that's what it was called)
Green pepper
A hot pepper (I forgot the name)
Yellow onions
Italian basil (I'm thinking I need a couple more basil varieties)
Cilantro (Im starting this by seed, I could not find a plant anywhere

I wanted to do a salsa garden so I think I pretty much have it covered. I think all of these will be great for spaghetti sauce too!

I got a rickety old table to put some of my containers on and then I have an old galvanized laundry tub on a stand. When we add on to the deck Im hoping to have a place to put my veggies.

Besides all those veggies I decided I wanted some green beans and thought why not buy the pole beans (which was pretty hard to find this late in the spring btw) and plant them to climb up the arbor. I also bought some goard & mini pumpkin seeds to climb the arbor. This all might be too much for it, but I would just be thrilled if my arbor was completely covered this year, and how cool will it look this fall when the goard & pumpkins are hanging off of it. We'll see if what I envision actually happens :)

Well that's it for now. If it's not raining after work I hope to get more planted. I would get more done if the pesky gnats & mosquitos weren't trying to carry me away as soon as I walk outside and I swear insect spray doesn't even phase them.

Garden Goodies (or junk as some would think)

I just realized I didn't post pics of the garden goodies I got last week. I was searching for a bike and ended up get so much more lol. A guy in town has TONS of stuff to dig through and if your bring your creativity along with you, the options are endless with the things he has.

Here's what I got: a metal owl, a huge lightweight pot, a metal planter, a wood lamp base, some old light fixture parts, a chandelier, a huge bowl that is actually wood-it's from IKEA and a rusty bird bath

The chandelier I hope to get painted then adhere some teacups to it to put bird seed in then hang it from my arbor. The birdbath I might paint up and mosaic the bowl, we'll see how much ambition I have with it lol.

And here's 2 bikes I've gotten and I have to decide which one I want to keep.

Is it really the end of May?

I had to cover all my annuals last night because we had frost warnings! I don't know how cold it got but when I got up this morning at 6:30 it was 34 degrees, brrrr! I sure hope that was the last time I needed to cover them. One good thing about the cold, I am really really hoping that it killed off some of the young gypsy moth caterpillars, I don't know if the cold even phases them but I can hope :) I am so afraid that those darn things will end up defoliating all my trees.

I took pictures around last night but didn't get them loaded onto the computer yet, so I'll probably post those this evening. The lily of the valley is in full bloom and smelling beautiful and my bleeding hearts are in their prime right now and wow did they have a lot of blooms this year. After they're done blooming I will be splitting some of them to share. I might just do a few because I may have a fundraising perenial sale next spring for the snowmobile club I am in so I'll be needing some to donate to that. The phlox is all blooming too, some of it is on the downside. Next will be my peonies, I can't wait to see them blooming. My peony bed looks pathetic but I didn't really want to make any improvements to that this spring because our deck addition will be going in part of that bed.

I've still got lots of planting to do and Im still searching for pole bean seeds (everyone is sold out) and cilantro. Then I think I should be all done with my purchasing...hopefully at least :)

Flower Purchases

I just want to keep track of everything I've purchased this year that way it'll help me out for budgeting and knowing what to buy next year.

SHUTTERS
5/17/08
2-sweet potato vines 2.85
1-diamond frost 3.35
5-geraniums 3.35
1-6pk allysum 1.65

REEVES
5/17/08
2-redwine vine 3.69
2-creamy white vine 3.69
5/24/08
1-6 pk deep purple allysum 1.89
1-6 pk coleus 1.89
5/27/08
2-yellow gerber daisies 3.69
1-yellow trailing snapdragon 3.69

TWO MILE AVE. PERENIAL SALE
5/12/08
3-hydrangeas all for 10.00
5/17/08
Hosta 5.00
Hosta 4.00

URBANS
5/12/08
4-light purple firefly impatients 3.79
2-red butterfly impatients 3.79
5/16/08
4-surfina petunias, giant purple 3.79
2-pink million bells 3.79
1-peach million bells 3.79
1-ivy geranium 3.59
5/22/08
2-surfina petunias, giant purple 3.79
2-surfina petunias, lime 3.79
1-peach million bells 3.79
coconut liner 4.50
5/24/08
2-ivy geraniums 3.59
1-white geranium 3.59
2-yellow begonias 3.79
1-purple (?) 3.79
1-better boy tomato 1.15
1-Amish paste tomato 1.15
5/26/08
1-green pepper 1.15
1-hot pepper 1.15
1-italian basil 1.15
mini pumpkin seeds
bag of onions

WIGGINS
5/12/08
1-yellow begonia 3.69

GARDEN GROUP
5/21/08 Everything was free
clump of asiatic lilies
clump of irises
clump of ladies mantle
clump of thistle
spirea shrub

MOM & DAD'S
2-clumps of a hosta
1-clump of a sun tolerant hosta
1-clump of another hosta
Some cuttings from yellow clematis

RUSSELLS
4-purple coleus
3-green coleus
1-purple fern leaf coleus
1-sweet potato vine
2-mosaic coleus
2-Ireland bells 1.95
3-astilbe
1-vine

SHOPKO
3 bags potting soil 3.64
goard seeds

Garden Club

I joined a garden group through my church's summer connections and yesterday we met for the first time. Coleen hosted it and she has lots of flower gardens and had lots to share with us ladies. I love getting mature perenials from other gardeners. I actually got everything, with the exception of the spirea, planted last night. They really helped with filling in the beds and I can't wait to see everything bloom! Coleen shared some asiatic lilies, irises, ladies mantle, and thistle I think it was plus a spirea shrub for my landscaping.

Here's a pic of my goodies loaded up into my wagon ready to be planted.

I also decided that I wanted to have a bike in the garden with flowers planted in the baskets. Im really looking for a rusty one but I guess I can't be too picky. I wasn't sure how I was going to get my hands on one of these bikes so I called the local radio station that has a buy & sell call in show and asked for a bike on there. I didn't get not one but 4 calls from people with bikes! I picked one up on my way home from work yesterday and to my surprise it came with the baskets! What a bonus! I will be checking out 2 more tonight and since Im the type that has a hard time saying "no" I will more than likely end up with at least 3 bikes! I have a friend who will take one of them, if anyone who lives by me is interested in one please let me know, my husband would greatly appreciate it LOL. He wasn't too impressed with the one I had at the house and really loved hearing that he will be making a delivery to Waupaca with another one hehe. Anyway, here's the bike I picked up yesterday. I'll get pics of the other ones tonight & I'll also post some pics of ones that have had flowers planted in them to tempt you with wanting a rusty bike of your very own :)

What's blooming

Lots of flowers are coming up which is exciting but right now just the phlox and the bleeding hearts are blooming. The peonies have buds on them and I would expect to see some flowers in a week or two.

Here's some pics of the blooms. I took these before I weeded and Im still waiting for the lawn to get mowed :)

The pholox are looking even better now, especially after I weeded :) These are the ones over by the shed, the ones by the fence aren't quite blooming yet. I think I'll get some more pics tonight since I got more planted, or maybe I'll wait until the lawn is mowed ;)

Spring has finally Sprung!

It's finally half way decent out and the flowers are starting to bloom! It's still getting close to freezing at night so I haven't planted the annuals yet. I think after tonight we should be ok. I haven't posted for over a week because I've been busy working in the flower beds weeding and planting. I think my beds are finally getting full, I've gotta work on the shade side and the front of the potting shed yet and plant some glad bulbs and I think I'll be satisfied with the perenial portion of the beds. I'm hoping after this weekend I will have everything planted then onto the fun embellishing with the garden art. I've also been tossing around the idea of starting a bed in the back corner of the lot, we'll see though.

Will it ever warm up?

Spring has just been hesitant to come the flowers are still pushing on regardless though. Im actually surprised how much more they've grown in 9 days. I actually had a chance to do some weeding last night. The beds look so fresh and clean after the weeding but kind of bare too, I need lots more flowers :) I also picked up a couple annuals yesterday. Im trying a new impatients that Urban's got in this year, it's a trailing impatient, Im excited to see how it does this summer.

I took some more pics when I got home from work of the beds. The bleeding hearts are starting to bloom. The plants seem small, but Im sure they'll be getting pretty big soon. The phlox is starting to open up too, I love phlox, I just wish it lasted longer.

The peonies are coming up good, the usual 2 plants don't look like they'll get any buds again this year, Im not sure what the deal is with them. Maybe after I transplant these when we redo the deck it'll be different.

A pic of my biggest peony plant.
My sea of lily of the valley which was here when I moved in. I've shared lots of this with family and friends. I can't wait for the flowers, it smells so good when it blooms.

The hosta bed where the bleeding hearts are coming up.

Some close up shots of the bleeding hearts.

The white bleeding hearts never get very big, they look really small this year.

I think the hostas are really hesitant about coming up this year :)

The begonias and trailing impatients (butterfly & firefly impatients) I picked up. I haven't decided yet where they're going to go. I initially bought the yellow to go with the red but Im really liking the yellow with the purple now.

Here's the red one. I hope these impatients don't get all spotty towards the end of the year like the regular ones do. They sure are pretty right now. Still deciding where these will go too.

The bleeding heart bushes on the shade side of the shed. I really need to get some mulch/bark in there to help with the rain run off on the roof, it makes such a mess.

Some shots by the fence, here's some day lilies, sweet william and an asiatic lily.

A shot of the phlox by the fence.

The clematis is looking better than the last pic of it, I definately have hope for it now. Now I just gotta wait and see if it'll get some blooms on it.

And this is the last pic for tonight, this is the label for the clematis, I keep forgetting the name of it so I thought Id put a pic of it on here even though it's a little blurred. Maybe I should've whiped the dirt off it before the pic. It's a clematis chalcedony.