Early June Front Yard update

I just posted an update to the back yard and veggie garden but the front yard is shaping up as well.

After 2 rounds of over-seeding, the grass is green and looking great.

The holly is filling out nicely and we did add a large hydrangea to the corner of the yard.

The boxwoods were a little droopy during last week’s heat wave but they are starting to perk up.  The little globe arborvitae are happy and green.  The irises don’t seem to get enough sun to bloom so I’m planning on moving them.  What do you think should go in their place?  Maybe a tall Bellflower?  I was also thinking that maybe an obelisk with a Clematis would be kind of neat and different.

The curved brick edging to the bed on the right side of the yard is new since the last time I showed you.

The bulbs are starting to die back but I’ve planted asters and shasta daisys that should take over.  Along the narrow part of the bed, I’ve planted some purple phlox.

On the side of the house between the porch and the driveway I planted a bunch of pachysandra that I picked up at the local garden club’s annual plant sale.

On the other side of the front yard, to the left of the sidewalk, the vinca minor (also known as Periwinkle or Creeping Myrtle) is doing well.  We added 2 more flats of Bowles variety to supplement the one we added last year and the selection we purchased from Burgess this winter.  The PeeGee hydrangea we purchased from Burgess is doing great but I’m not confident it will bloom this year.  It does look healthy and green even if it’s still small.

The Pink flowers are Columbines.  I’ve got three clumps of the columbines and I’ve been very pleased with how well they are doing in this spot.

Along the chain link fence, I planted a bunch of iris I got from a lady on a local mailing list last fall.  They are doing great in that spot.  I plan on moving the iris I had in other areas to continue the irises along the fence since they seem to  be doing well there.

A variety of hostas round out the area.  I’m also planning on planting a bunch of petunias to try to keep the weeds out this year.  The Vinca takes time to grow and it won’t fill out the bed enough to supress weeds for another year or two.

The parking strip is another matter entirely.  It’s time for us to plant something there to keep it low-maintainance and relatively week-free.  There are a couple concerns with this area the first being the traffic this area gets.  There is a car parked in front of our house nearly every day.  There is a parenting class center down the street and there is a lot of newborns and stroller traffic on that strip.  I’ve got half a mind to plant one of those low-growing junipers that is really scratchy just to keep people from walking on the area.  “Get of the lawn!” kind of a thing.  Hostas is another viable option.  Lilies would also work great.  The tiger lilies are native around here and do fairly well.  I love the pink daylilies that my grandmother used to grow.  The lilies do break up my purple and white color scheme though I’m sure I could find white lilies if I looked hard enough.  What do you think would be good for the parking strip?  Would you plant it or just leave it a weedy grassy knoll?

So lets review what all I’d like to do to the front.

• Move irises along fence
• Plant annuals to help vinca controll weeds
• Determine plan for parking strip
• Weed and feed lawn to help cut down on weed grows and boost healty grass growth
• Hanging baskets on porch (will probably happen next summer)

As always, I’ll post my progress.  Please let me know what you think in the comments!

Sarah

Early June Veggie Update

In the veggie garden, we’re doing pretty good considering how late the spring started.

The oregano is doing great and the sage isn’t too shabby either. The chives are slow but they really don’t take off until the second year.

Rosemary

Cilantro, Parsley, and mint

The Nasturtiums (round leaves) are doing well.  The baby gladiolus that are leftover from last year are doing surprisingly well considering how cold and snowy the winter was.  The larger seedlings up towards the bricks are sunflowers.  The Carrots in the middle with the soaker hose running through them are about an inch and a half tall.  It’s about time to plant a second flush of carrots for later in the summer.  The tomatoes aren’t doing awesome but we had some really late cold snaps and they are still recovering.

2 peppers and a Basil

The strawberries are doing amazingly well

While not technically in the veggie garden, the window boxes on the porch are doing great. The dill and parsley really perked up and the snapdragons behind them are getting big. I need to split them out I think.

And the lemon tree has been moved outside and been re-potted. Nature is so cool. When the tree was inside we got only one flower that was fertilized and produced a lemon. The paintbrush method is not super effective at pollination. Move the plant outside and let the bugs take care of business and we have a 1-1 flower to lemon ratio. We pulled off most of the lemons so the plant would keep growing but it won’t be long until we have plenty of lemons. Next I want to get a dwarf lime. I can just imagine summer Gin and Tonics with fresh, home grown lime.

 

The peas are about a foot long and growing up the trellis.  The cucumbers have sprouted.

The squash and zucchini have sprouted.  I can’t wait for some summer squash and zucchini muffins!

Just a little longer until the harvest is in.  I can’t wait!

Sarah

Early June Garden Update

It’s been a while since I’ve shown you my garden. I’ll start with the Roses…

The yellow rose is HUGE and blooming. It’s got a red rose branch which must be a shoot from the root stock. I need to sort out which one it is so I can cut it out. In the mean time, I’m enjoying my two-tone rose!

This little pale pink rose is doing great. It was one of the smaller ones when we moved in but it’s really taking off.

The big Knock-Out rose is doing great. It’s still being held upright with a stake but I’m hoping another summer and it will start growing vertical. Any experience picking up a fallen bush rose? Any thing I should do besides stake it upright and hope it straitens itself out?

This is another of the smaller roses that came with the house. It’s growing fast. I need to prune those long leggy branches so it grows nice and bushy.

This is the “New Moon” rose that I planted this spring. No blooms yet but another couple days and we’ll see what it looks like!

And this pale pink knockout is new as well. She was blooming when I got her but she’s on her second flush of blooms.

The big yellow roses smell amazing and I’ve got some in the house and the smell is awesome.

In other garden news, the aster is getting rather large. I think I’m going to try to prune it before it blooms this fall. It got a little too big last year and needed some support to hold it up.

The spirea bloomed and then I pruned it back to a more manageable shape. It’s now a loose globe shape. It’s still big but at least now it looks tidy. Of course I don’t think we got a single picture of it in bloom. It’s been a crazy couple weeks.

The gladiolus are doing well. Another few weeks until bloom time but I think it’s going to be another spectacular show.

And the cone-flower and this white wildflower are doing well. The white flower which I can’t remember the name of, wasn’t doing so well last fall but he seems to have recovered. The cone-flower came back but I think the two of them might be too close.

I’ve also moved the houseplants out for their summer in the sun. The succulents are loving it already.

The pink bowl of succulents is still inside. The dish doesn’t have any drainage so they don’t fare well in the rain. I need to think about how to repot etc.

I’m using the plant shelf for flowers. I just can’t help myself from picking the sweet smelling roses and bringing them in. I can smell them every time I walk into the house.

Tomorrow I’m going to give you a tour of the vegetable garden so come back and check it out!

Sarah