new perennials in b4

I pulled out some daylilies (relocated to the daylily bed) and paired these sedum and speedwell with the black eyed susans, hydrangea, asters, echinacea, and salvia. 

My Latest Vegetable Garden Fantasy

Our current front yard - not bad, but could use some improvement

Maybe some day:fenced veg garden with arbor, new driveway with block edging, house facelift

Saving the Berries

I bought some bird netting to put over our raspberry bushes.  I have heard some reports of birds getting caught in them.  I really hope that doesn't happen.  I also only partially covered the bush since it is so huge (well over 7' tall x 5' deep x 20' long).  I'll have to keep an eye on it.  But since we only got about two berries last year, it is worth a try.  If it doesn't work, I'm whacking down the bushes and planting something more tame.

Second Vegetable Garden Planted!

There are just too many vegetables that I want to grow!  I had to expand!  I started with a meager 4'X8' plot, but today June helped me add another plot 4'X7'.  I removed the grass, then added 3 bags of Vigoro Organic Garden Soil. 

In it we planted:
Burpee Organic Garden Bean - Provider seeds (55 days to maturity)
Bonnie Straight Eight Cucumber- plant (50-75 days to maturity)
Bonnie Straight Neck Yellow Squash- plant (46-52 days to maturity)
Bonnie Japanese eggplant - plant (50-60 days to maturity)
Bonnie Jalapeno Pepper- plant (72 days to maturity)
Bonnie Yellow tomatoes- plant (72 days to maturity)

New Veg Garden (fig tree behind and original veg plot to the right)

Now we just need to keep the bunnies and deer away and prevent the little kids from trampling the little plants - always a challenge!  Time for another round of Liquid Fence!

First Harvest

We planted six cloves of garlic last fall.  They all popped up and grew into great big bulbs!  I had never tried garlic before, but I'll definitely do it again this fall.  I'm not exactly sure what to do next.  I think I need to dry it somehow....?
We also ate a bunch of the romaine.  I am completely amazed that the bunnies and deer didn't get to it yet.  I guess the "Liquid Fence" actually works.  Either that or the foxes ate all the bunnies. 

Today June and I planted some red potatoes.  They were just 4 little potatoes from the super market that were growing little eyes.  So I threw them in the ground.  We'll see.   We also put in some bush peas.  They are an heirloom variety that don't need staking.  I need to expand the garden plot.  We have run out of room, and I didn't even get our orange cherry tomatoes in yet!

Front L to R:  oregano, parsley, basil, romaine, potatoes, peas, thyme.  Back: Sweet peppers & Tomatoes

Garden Shed complete

After a weekend of digging, drilling, and nailing, my husband has completed my garden shed!  I am so excited to fill it with all my garden junk!  We bought a shed kit from Home Depot, and I must say I am very impressed with the quality of the shed.  It is made in Canada and was shipped quickly.  All the pieces are red cedar and it came with all the hardware and VERY thorough instructions.  If you are in the market for a garden shed:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Outdoor-Living-Today-Spacesaver-8-ft-x-4-ft-Western-Red-Cedar-Double-Doors-Shed-SS84DD/100655549#.UbDXkJywVW4

SPRING IS HERE!

Daffodils and tulips by the family room

Helleborus outside the kitchen window

Woodland hyacinths everywhere

Vinca on the north side of the house

Star magnolia in bloom

I move the daffodils under the magnolia last week

Also blooming now: Forsythia, Pear Tree, Cherry Blossoms (the neighbor's), hyacinths.
Crocuses and snowdrops have finished up. 
I'm also happy to see that my oregano came back this year.  I moved the rosemary bush out of the vegetable garden plot.  It was just getting too big!

Bed by the street with rosemary bush and relocated sedum

Veggie Planting Schedule - Zone 7

Spring Cleaning!

Spring cleaning has begun.  I cut the fountain grass down to size, deheaded the hydrangea tree, and pruned back the butterfly bushes.  Next, rake the beds and add fresh mulch.  It is a perfect day today to work outside and the kids were equally happy entertaining themselves in the sandbox.  Hooray!

Winter Containers

My trifecta of winter containers: Yellow holly with red twig dogwood and southern pine, juniper with mini red holly and southern pine, and red ilex berry with boxwood.  All for the bargain price of $10 FOR EVERYTHING!  Thank you Scott Arboretum for the Winter Greens Sale!!  AND I still have red holly and some other winter greens to add the my wreath or mantle.  I also plan to pick up some free douglas fir greens from the Christmas tree place.

Goodbye Cousin It

Before

After

Hugh and I had been thinking about removing this 8foot wide grass plant for ages.  A previous owner had created a 4' diameter concrete pond adjacent to the driveway with this grass plant beside it.  The plant grew so big it covered the pond completely. I broke up the concrete with a sledgehammer in the spring so we wouldn't have any stagnant water to breed mosquitoes.  I had asked our lawn guy to give us a price to remove it, but he never gave us one so I took matters into my own hands.  I created a craigslist post advertising a free grass plant but specifying that they would have to bring their own tools and dig it up.  Sure enough, a guy came and dug it out (in four pieces).  A levelled the dirt mound with a metal rake, added 4 bags of topsoil, then planted some grass seed.  I can't wait to see it all filled in! 
In related news, Sav-a-Lawn came and aerated the entire lawn and added more grass seed. 

tulip bulbs planted

June helped me plant twelve tulip bulbs in the daylily bed. Hopefully the squirrels won't dig them up and eat them before spring.  I've been dreaming of rearranging all the bulbs, but never quite found the time.  Maybe next spring. These bulbs I purchased from the supermarket - impulse purchase.

Basil Harvest

While Robin sat quietly in her stroller, I took out all the basil.  Robin is pretty grabby these days, and couldn't resist trying to stuff some basil leaves in her mouth. After letting her do a little taste testing, I made a big batch of pesto.   I froze most of it in ice cube trays to use later. 
I also took out a tomato plant, harvested a fig, and planted 10 cloves of garlic. 

Harlequin Bug on Brussel Sprouts

First Figs

The first two figs ripened and I picked them  Delicious!  Funny thing is, there were four there all summer.  These two ripened, the other two are almost ready to go, then BLAMMO!  Now there are about 12 new ones suddenly.  I wonder what will happen to them?  Will it get too cold for them?  will they ever ripen?? 

Monarch

Our butterfly bushes are really doing their job this summer!  I love the bushes right up against our family room window.  The girls love to watch the butterflies from inside without any of the bother of the mosquitoes (which seem to get worse every year!)

Raccoon Babies

Spotted today in the back yard then later on the front porch.

We don't usually see them during the day, but they look pretty happy and healthy, so I'm not too worried.

What's blooming now

I have been neglecting the garden lately, and it needs a serious weeding, but here is a brief update on what is blooming now:

Swallowtails and House Wrens

Spotted this week in the garden:

House Wren

Tiger Swallowtail

Yay, wildlife!!

Red Admiral Butterfly

Another great thing about planting these echinaceas next to the family room window is that it attracts butterflies and fuzzy bumblebees (June's favorites) which we can watch from the window.  This red admiral butterfly was hanging out on the flowers long enough for June and I to grab the insect guide and look it up.  June was delighted to match the picture to the butterfly.