I lied~ It may have been a three hour project but at the Harrison House [ real life-real time] it turned into a two - three week job. What do you do when the 'yard help' doesnt show up? You dig in.
We did start this garden segment of my spring plan about three weeks ago..with time outs for rocking & cooling down on the front porch, [ because I am old ] then a major four day time out to check out the services at the local medcal facility and on to another recommended in Birmingham [ UAB- ] and continued down time spent with major reclining on the deck in the morning sun. That brings us up to date- with a little muscle from a pick up truck and the right tools my husband managed to remove those gosh awful mystery plants from each side of the front steps. EASY when you know what you're doing. Thanks TP.
FINALLY, after opting for my most loved of all time HYDRANGEAS at the front steps...too much hot southern afternoon sun...then we moved on to spreading out the hydrangeas [ super duper Lowe's sale] all across the entire span of the deck. We debated season after season..will they make it, yes they will, no they won't until time proved my second guess to be the right one. Even that better location meant we sacraficed too many wonderful blue hydrangea blooms to the direct hot sun.
Back to the front porch: Our most recent big idea was KNOCK OUT ROSES on each side of the front porch steps..whoopee, I think we have a winner. Lowe's had beautiful specimens of the double variety, healthy growth with lots of blooms & keep in mind these knock out roses can bloom from February - November in this area. After some collaboration we concluded we should stay with what worked & is virtually carefree. We added two more 'you can't beat 'em' BUTTERFLY BUSHES and can't resist the great prices of a couple of ferns for a little more variety. Ted retrieved one of his CASSIA [ PEANUT TREE ] plants rooting in the greenhouse to fill in the background near the other end of the porch..there's already one at the opposite end. This peanut tree gives a different kind of sprawling green growth that turns into breath taking YELLOW BLOOMS at the end of September/first of October. 2011 the flowers showed up September 28. They linger until it is too cold for comfort [not often] or there's a rough rain storm with lots of wind.
As you look at the photos just fast forward a couple o months and you won't see the bare spots with drain spouts, water hoses etc...I'll come back perhaps in May and show you. We are so pleased & thankful to get this done..these small jobs require both of us with a lot of heart and determination these days to see it through to the finish line.
Your flower bed is lovely. I wish mine was as weed free!I have to water my hydrangeas every five minutes in summer.
ReplyDeleteLove those flowers! I just planted a Knock Out Rose bed, so stinkin' easy to keep alive (that's my motivation:)... and then some lantana (I've hear it keeps the snakes away). You're such a talented gardener. That's one thing I remember about your precious place in Texas - the flowers!
ReplyDeleteOmy Heather...it's not talent. It's timing and being very honest w yourself re how much u can and r willing to devote to the flowers. By timing I mean the right time of your life.I know my limitations and we choose hardy plants that don't need pampering and that come back the next season..perrienials. The rest is HARD WORK -If a plant, flower or herb does not thrive where I plant it..forget it move on to something else. LANTANA is a great choice..for me esp the the low ground hugging variety..the old old variety can be a huge nuisance.yeah- watch out for THOSE SNAKES GIRL!
ReplyDeleteYour yard is to die for(Georgious). You have a beautiful blog. I loved the song (Worthy the Lamb) it gave me chill's.
ReplyDeleteHave a blessed Easter.
Love,Debbie:)