From Drab to Fab

My first project other than my own garden this summer was for my amazing SIL Sarah.  She wanted a garden with lots of color and different heights.  Her husband wants something he doesn't have to do much work to take care of.

The solutions is: A Cottage Garden of course.  They already had a pink bleeding heart and lots of Lamium.  We added Impatiens, Johnson's Blue Hardy Geraniums and Coneflowers in the shadier spot next to the porch.  We talked about a pot of annuals to cover the sprinkler box, stepping stones to the faucet and Lamb's ear in front.  We softened the edge of the house with a Clematis on a trellis fronted with a peony to keep the roots cool.  Another Pink Coneflower and Black Eyed Susans fill in color in later summer.  Then in the curve she picked a Cherry Pink Knockout Rose which is hardy and reblooming.  We surrounded that with De'Oro  Daylilies which rebloom and mixed up our purples with Salvia and Catmint.  A wall of tall Phlox and Shasta Daisies will help hide the gas meter from the view of the road.  They have been happily planting away and I will go back for an update picture soon.

My next project was a surprise for my dear RS Pres SueAnn. She just had this flowerbed rebuilt and wanted something really low maintenance but pretty.  We have hot sun on this western exposure for most of the day with the narrow strip being in full shade most of the day.

 As it was a surprise I didn't get to talk with her about preferences and colors before drawing up a plan and just went on what I knew about her and from snooping about her house.  I saw lots of dark blues and light pinks so I started with a shrub rose and peony and filled in daisy hosta, delphinium, salvia and pinks.  Pink bleeding heart on the corner and hostas down the side will do well in the deep shade.

When we went shopping our plan changed a little as we walked around and looked at things she liked.  We swapped out the rose for Double Play Spirea, a pink bloom, and the peony for Emerald and Gold Euonymous.  She loved the delphiniums and daisy as well as salvia so we kept those.  Swapped out pinks for De'Oro Daylilies, one pink and two yellow.  Then Sue Ann loves alyssum so we bought a six pack and spread them around in there.  We kept the hostas, picking three different varieties and the pink bleeding heart.  We opted for a soaker hose that she can designated that front faucet for.  A once a week deep watering should keep everything growing well.So excited to go back and take pictures as it blooms and fills in. 

The lovely RS presidency that I get to work with.  What a fun project!

A New Canvas

My dear family and I spent most of 2014 in upheaval.  We sold our home in town in March and moved out in May.  We were in the midst of building a new home in a rural subdivision but the planned six weeks staying with my patient mother in law stretched into four months.  I had divided several of my favorite perennials and summered them over in pots.  By the time we moved into our home it was the last weekend of September.  Moving and organizing our new home took all of my time so I had no time to plan or prep a garden before winter.  I tilled a holding bed and plunked my beloved plants into the ground out back to over winter.  

Last summer without a garden to tend and love left me feel off-kilter.  I spent most of the winter dreaming about and planning my gardens as I waited for the seasons to change.  In January I set 2 "gardening goals" for myself: to complete a mixed border along the front of the house and to get my veggie garden going.  My over ambitious dreams involved fruit trees and landscaping the back yard but time and money made me scale back to the original goals. The last month dear Hubby assisted me in tilling gardens, hauling in dirt and building the chicken run for our little ladies.  Then it was my turn to plant.  

Ta-Da!!! Mixed front border.  I made a few small changes from the original plan and of course it has to grow and fill in but I am so excited to see plants in front of my house again.  One of my favorite things is that old loved and storied plants are mingling with my new additions.

 Here I have Iris that originally came from my aunt Patsi, a new Spreading Yew, a dwarf Barberry, white bleeding heart (from Debbie who I visit taught), Karl Rosenthal peonies ( children of the ones that grew along my Grandma Rock's fence), Bluebells of Scotland ( nod to my Fife ancestry), Nicotania, White Petunias and some little Pansies that my Eva won at our local nursery.  She was so proud to plant "her flowers" in our garden.

 I swapped out Annebelle hydrangeas for Pinky Winky Paniculata Hydrangeas that will hopefully hold up well on the south side.  Hoping to add roses in front next year but this year I just moved some blue Bachelor's Buttons in.

 I started with purchased Dwarf Alberta Spruce, Burning Bush, and Lavendar.  Then I filled in with 3 tall Phlox and 3 sets of 3 varieties of daylilies that I brought with me.  I tossed in a few annual Dianthus/ Pinks that I have had with great success overwintering at my former home.  In the fall, I am looking forward to planting swaths of bulbs.  Next year I also hope to fill in with some lower front border plants.

 And since my border is pretty small and green yet, I potted up a few pots for an instant pop of color.  I LOVE geraniums so I popped a white one in with pink petunias and yellow Calibrocha.  Doesn't it just exude happiness?

 My original vision for my garden is a raised bed Potager garden.  But the expense of everything else crept up on us and I settled for a standard row garden this year.  In the back are two beds of raspberries, one traditional 2 year canes from my mom and one Heritage variety than fruit on first year wood from my SIL.  Behind the chicken run is a bed of strawberries, unnamed variety of starts I got from my former neighbor who got them from Kris's grandma Hayes.  Can you tell I love plants with stories? Then of course the veggies.  More on those varieties in another post. I am saving the spot up front for Tal to grow sunflowers and pumpkins.

 Our garden spot was full of rocks.  As we picked out buckets and buckets of them I decided to put some of them to use as a dry creekbed from the downspout.  Thank you Pinterest!

 This is the beginning of my Pollinator Garden.  Most of these came from our former home.  It is starting to take shape and I will talk about these varieties in another post.  Until then - happy gardening!