Trials and tales of a not-so-advanced gardener--both in the dirt and beyond.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

There was an explosion in my garden!

An explosion of color!
I really like these red tulips. Their petals are pointed instead of round like the rest of my tulips.
Purple lilac bushes by the back door perfume the air.
These minnow daffodils flower in bundles and are minuscule compared to the others.
More tulips, orange and pink, in the back.

As I was potting up some hanging baskets this weekend, someone yelled, "Your flowers look great!" as they drove by my house. It absolutely made my day.

Thursday, April 16, 2009

Thinning plants back for a new water hose

I was recently gifted a new watering hose, so I bought a spiffy container to keep it rolled up nicely. It was a bit wider than what I used last year. And I remember feeling like I was going through a jungle to get to the water spicket last year.

Thus my project from Sunday:
  • Remove old crumbling rocks that lead to the spicket.
  • Dig up surrounding plants that will eventually grow to cover said spicket.
  • Replace old rocks with wider paving stones.
  • Put in new water hose and container.
  • Fill in holes with wood chips.

I think the finished product looks pretty good. We'll see if I need to thin back the plants even more. The one in the back on the left (I think it's a tall phlox) will need to be moved most likely.

This took a lot longer than anticipated as every time I went to plant the starts that I had just dug up, I ran into another task (generally weeding) that needed to be done before planting.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day - April 2009

Happy Tax Day Everyone!

Although it's been quite rainy and dreary here lately, many spring blooms are here!


I believe this is a crab apple of some sort. I can't wait to see it bloom as this is the first year I've been at this house; I moved in too late last year to see the blooms.

Hyacinths and daffodils are still blooming everywhere. A few tulips have even shown some color.

This is the first time I've seen these pretties blooming as well.

A view of the front walk. This reminds me of a colored Easter egg.


Monday, April 6, 2009

Snow in April?!?

I love Indiana. I woke up to snow falling. I then spent an hour in my PJs and winter coat hauling and placing various sheets, towels, tarps and buckets on my spring bulbs.

I'm not sure if that was a good use of my time, but I did it and I bet my plants are happy for it.

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Spring work continues

The second garden bed was dug yesterday and I'm hoping it will be complete by the end of the weekend. 2 beds that are 8' x 4' -- according to SFQ that should be plenty of space for everything we're going to plant.

I started some petunia and marigold seeds on Sunday as well. Basil and some others will be started in a week or so.

The tree people removed all most ALL of the brush! There are some larger logs and a small pile of sticks left. But for the most part, all of the stuff is gone! Persistence paid off for sure.