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!
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