It's Time For Bee-utiful Gardens!

Yes my friends, it's that time again. Spring has sprung and now the hard work begins.  Cleaning out flower beds and making the house look pretty again after winter.  It's a lot of work, but the end result is to sit back and enjoy all your hard work.  The hubby and I moved 5 yards of pure black gold mulch to spruce up the the flower beds and nourish the plants, bushes and trees, they need to eat too!  So while I was out there, this little guy was having a good time searching for pollen.  I love the bees,  they are so good for our environment.

Coming in for a landing and nailed it!

 These are a new garden attraction for Mason bees, The Mason Bee House.  Mason bees don't sting, they are gentle little pollinators. Found this pretty house at Target for $14.99. Hang it facing the morning sun to "wake" your bees up to start work pollinating.

 OMG, Heeeeee's back!  The ground hog, my arch nemesis, he has to go!  He eats or ruins everything, digs huge holes in the gardens, takes out beautiful, growing bushes every year.  I have now resorted to sticking cat feces in his hole to get rid of him, I know it's gross, but I had no other choice, I physically do not want to harm him.  It does work by the way, so far, so good.

 Bleeding Hearts, one of my favorites and lots of Rhodies.

 Another one of my favorites is Irises, so old fashion, love them!

 My small herb garden is planted and growing.  Fresh herbs are the best in the Summer, or all year round for that matter.  I use a lot when cooking on the grill.

 The lavender grows like a weed around here, it' so calming and soothing.

 Got my local tree guy, AKA the hubby,  to cut two cedars down that got damaged from heavy snow.  Replanted a cherry tree in their place.

I planted this honeysuckle last year and didn't expect it to live.  To my surprise it did and it's beautiful and fragrant. It wrapped itself around my deck railing.

 A little shelter for the birds, away from the house.

 Beautiful Peony grew inside my globe garden ornament, they are so pretty!

 I grow a few different kind and colors- hot pink, blush, pale pink and pink with white center.

 When they bloom I always have bouquets of them around the house.  I mixed this one with Lamb's Ear.

 The house is almost in full bloom now except for the Crepe Myrtles, they will bloom very soon.

And here comes another one of my arch enemies this time of year, destroying a tree right now.

It's time to grab your shovels, rakes and gloves, and get moving in your garden.  It really is good exercise, and you can enjoy the fruits of your labor for the rest of the growing season.  HAPPY GARDENING!

Spring Has Been Kind This Year

I go through the planting ritual of Spring every year, sometime Spring is good to me and sometimes not.  In the past Spring has been very hot, more like Summer temperatures, and no rain.  When that happens, it's very hard to keep up with the watering, and some plants and flowers just don't tolerate the heat well.  I have alot of trees around the property, but there is also alot of sun.  The sun burns plants and flowers out, even if they are supposed to be planted in the full sun, that's how hot it gets here.  So this Spring has been kind to me and my plants, so far.  Everything is coming up nicely, including the vegetable garden (more on that later).

Pretty pot of petunias and a mandevilla on the font step.

 The rhododendrons in full bloom, and the knockout roses are peeking their heads out!

The peony garden is poppin'!  These are my absolute favorite flower.

I have them in all kinds of sizes and colors.  I covet the yellow peony, I want them for my garden.

I have a long row of peonies in front of the house, and can't wait until they all open, they are so pretty.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

My house has been busy, busy for the last four weeks, no time to write a blog!  The flower beds are all done and I finally got the vegetable garden planted, not done yet though.  I am waiting to see if my Critter Ridder truly does work in keeping the animals at bay.  So far it has, it's been 1 week and it's still standing.   I may fence it, but only if the animals get out of hand and eat my plants.  I would like to keep it natural looking, putting up a fence is a pain and makes it hard to get in and out of, kind of like Fort Knox! I love wildlife but it frustrates me when all they do is ruin everything I plant.

I planted corn, beets, kale, spinach, green beans, yellow beans, purple beans, peas, sugar snap peas, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuces, fennel, onions and carrots.  It sounds like a lot but I didn't put a lot of plants in, just enough for us.  I also planted herbs - basil, oregano, rosemary, Italian parsley, chives, sage, mint and thyme that are on the deck.  I love using fresh herbs all throughout the year when I cook, I also use them in drinks, for cool refreshing flavors.

This is my secret weapon, supposed to last for 30 days, we'll see how that goes!

This Is My Plot

STILL working in this yard of mine, going on three weeks now! Not done yet.  I started a vegetable garden for my son, the vegan in the house.  I thought it would be good for all of us to grow some of our own foods to eat, also cheaper than buying in the market.  Since he is vegan we are now eating alot of fresh foods, rather than packaged foods, better for us and healthy too.  I can't wait to see my small plot of land produce some crops.

Also doing some cleaning up around the property, and planted more flowers.  The deck is finally cleaned and all the pots are full of flowers, bring on the summer weather, I'm ready!

I mapped out a 26 x 26 foot spot for my vegetable garden.  My son rototilled it for me, got out most of the rocks, then I used a rake and a shovel to clear the rest of it.  I raked the soil smooth, fertilized it, then started some vegetable seeds as well as some plants.  I planted, zucchini, beans, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, beets, corn, carrots, fennel, peppers and eggplant  I also have growing in big pots, 4 different kinds of lettuce, kale and spinach.

My big power washer broke, had someone look at it, and the cost to repair it is almost what I paid for it! Yeah, it's still sitting in the shed.  So I decided to go on QVC and buy this little one, about $114 shipped to my door and works great.  I only needed it for a few spots on the deck and railing so it did the trick.  I had paid someone last year to power wash the deck, railing, deck boxes and gutters, it was too big of a job for me to do, it was worth it. 

 A few of my kitties, soaking up the sun and watching the birds, they love that!

 Planted poppies this year never had them before, they are so colorful!

So after I was all done, I was thirsty so I made myself a refreshing beverage, spring water, fresh lemon and fresh mint,  AHHHHH, I am going to go sit, enjoy my hard work and relax right now.  Hope all your gardens are full of bright and beautiful plants this year.

Out In The Garden

Sorry I haven't been writing lately, I have a huge task on my hands, spreading 8 yards of Super Soil in all the garden areas around the house.  It's been rough on the hubby and I for the last 2 weekends, from sun up to sun down, weeding, planting and spreading dirt and mulch.  But, it's almost done, just have to do the back gardens around the sea grasses, and then I will be on the deck setting up for the season.  I can't wait, that is my sanctuary, my staycation (I still have 2 in college so vacations are out of the question!) I like to relax on the deck with a glass of wine (and snacks of course!) listen to the birds and watch the sunset.

I have my flower pots planted and waiting for them to bloom, and I started some veggies - kale, spinach, beets, tomatoes (5 different kind), cucumbers, lettuce, peppers (3 different kind) eggplant, green beans, yellow beans, purple beans (yes they are), onions, strawberries, fennel (love it!), Italian parsley, oregano, rosemary, basil, sage, thyme, mint, lemon grass and catnip for the kitties, they love fresh catnip so I plant it every year for them.

Here is the monstrosity of a dirt pile, it doesn't look like much, but the pile is dense and never ending!

Before and after of a small flower bed.  I plant basil in here too, because I love the fragrance of it when you walk by.

This is before the new soil was spread.

 
New soil spread and weeds cleared.  Now the grass has to be cut.

Left: Before the new soil 

Right: After all weeds are cleared and soil is spread.

These shots are before the new soil.  I have a long row of peonies growing in this garden and they are just starting to pop up.  A small bunch of Lamb's Ear grows in here too.  Every year I pull it out and it always comes back!

A little bit of eye catching wrought iron artwork, and a ceramic Eldreths Pottery bird house hangs in the center for the birds, they nest here every year.

Before and after of the front garden. 

I planted a mix of ranunculus, jumping jacks (viola), alyssum, lobelia and a new white hydrangea in the corner.

Before and after of the other side of the garden.  Rhododendrons, azaleas, lilacs, hydrangeas, hostas and crepe myrtles grow on this side.

Fresh and cleaned up, a small bird bath in the center, the cats love watching the birds as much as I do!

Before and after.  This goes all the way around to the back side of the house.

Fresh soil and mulch, looks great.

A couple of big field stone rocks to dress it up, and around the back, pavers to hold in the new soil so it doesn't wash away.

Lilacs are blooming.

On to the mailbox area.  This area is tough, it's right on the driveway.  Even though I have paving stones, everybody drives over it and ruins everything I ever plant.  This year I moved everything back, I planted bleeding hearts and coral bells in the front and 2 different colors of clematis in the back, that grow up and around the mailbox.  Hopefully everyone will be careful and not run over it anymore!

Sundial for eye appeal in the daylily garden.

This is the daylily garden coming down the driveway.  It's a big circle of Rose of Sharon trees, rhododendrons, a new oak tree and a huge variety of daylilies.

We got crackin' on the weeds, dug up the rocks that use to border it, they all sunk, because you know, everyone is driving over them!

After spreading all new soil and mulch in here, I re-set the rocks and added some new bigger ones, hopefully people will be more careful.

This is the garden around the shed.  Every year I plant and every year the groundhog, deer, you name it animal, eats everything I plant.  So last year I planted daylilies and knockout roses, so far so good.  I planted small sunflowers in the basket for the birds.  I love the moss that grows on the concrete blocks, so I leave it there.

This stuff here is my new best friend, Critter Ridder.  It does not hurt any animals, it just deters them from areas where you don't want them and from eating all your plants.  I do not spray it on my flowers and plants, I spray the border wherever I plant.  It lasts up to 30 days after you spray, but please be careful and do not spray on a windy day, I found out the hard way!  If it blows or you inhale it, it will burn your eyes, throat and lungs, it's like pepper spray and is to be used outside only.  PLEASE read directions carefully!  Groundhogs live under my deck and shed, so this planting area is like a salad bar for them.  They do not like the smell or taste of Critter Ridder so they won't come back.  It has worked for me, groundhogs were digging holes right at my foundation,I sprayed this around the whole area and they are gone!