Today was the much anticipated Garden Walk in our city.  Nicole and baby Eleanor joined myself, Ross (who insisted he wanted to come) and Francesca on the walk.  It was a beautiful, sunny day and there were some lovely gardens to tour.  Of the seven gardens on the tour, we got to six of them.  Not bad when toting around a pre-schooler, toddler and newborn!  Here are some of the highlights.  Giant Hostas, Astilbes and various Oak Leaf Hydrangeas were a common sight throughout the day. 

The first garden we visited was called a “Friendship Garden”, because many of the plants were received from friends as gifts and divisions.  One of the highlights was a train in the garden.  One of the owners was a dentist and she had repurposed a tooth shaped toy box as a planter.  Her husband joked that she asked him to drill some holes in the bottom and he replied “Good, I get to do a root canal!”.  The kids enjoyed this garden the most as they had snacks - Oreo cookies in particular and a play area in the yard for the kids in the family, not to mention the train .  I’m sure Ross was thinking I was crazy for trying to talk him into going to Nonna’s house instead and telling him there wouldn’t be anything fun for him.

The houses along the path are actually bird houses.

The play area, with a little seating area for children at the very forefront of the photo. 

A very cute garden.  The homeowner commented that she is a haphazard gardener.  It was cute in that it wasn’t a serious garden.  It had many elements of fun and whimsy.  I will share the rest of the walk with you shortly.  There are so many photos of each garden that I need to spread them out into separate posts.  Stay tuned!

Dianthus

I promised more photos from the garden, so here goes.  The Dianthus is a new addition to the garden.

The Endless Summer Hydrangeas are blooming beautifully.  The Salvia annuals clash pretty strongly next to the Hydrangeas.  I had the annuals left over after planting up my pots and didn’t want them to go to waste.  Even with them clashing, having had no color in the yard for so long - I still think it looks nice. 

Pretty, simple Marigolds in the Florida room.

More Florida room fun.

This Pieris Japonica “Valley Rose” or Valley Rose Pieris is along the side of the house by the fence.  It will eventually get 3-4 ft high and 5 feet wide - a good screen for the garbage cans kept behind the fence.  It is an evergreen that blooms in the spring with pretty pink, bell-shaped flowers. 

The side garden is mostly Hostas, with this Astilbe which is growing nicely.  This is the third summer for this Astilbe, it had another planted right next to it which was not as healthy looking.  Last year I moved it to the other side of the house where is is thriving.  Go figure.

And this is what happens when I don’t write down - RIGHT AWAY - in my garden book or file what the name of the plant is.  I think this is Angels Halo or something like that - I can’t find the tag - it was purchased at the Garden Club sale, as was the little wrought iron tri-fold ($1 SCORE!).  I have to find the Popsicle stick with the name written on it.  It will have little yellow flowers on it.

My neighbor’s Phlox has crept over to my side of the garden.  I do not mind at all, it is very pretty and I hope it spreads some more. 

Some pretty annuals in containers up front.

And would you believe I just divided and thinned out the day lilies by the front coach light last year?

It looks too crowded.  I think I need to thin it out again later this year.  If the rain ever lets up I can get back out to the yard and continue to tweak.  I know the rain is good for the plants and that since we have some new additions to the yard the rain is great for helping to establish good roots, but come on.  Oh, and with the new grass in the back yard I am mowing twice a week some weeks.  I’m not complaining, the fact that we have grass in the back yard is great.  I’d love to be playing on it more though.  Looks like we may have some better weather coming.  Come on summer, we are waiting!

No idea

So this pretty little thing popped up a while back - thing is I have no idea what it is.  The only things that I planted that haven’t poked up yet are Coneflowers and Coreopsis.  I don’t think this looks like either so I’ll wait and see. 

Allium

The Allium is coming up nicley as are all the Hostas.

Bachelor Buttons

The Bachelor Buttons which were a transplant from my cousin Carol’s backyard in mid May have already flowered.  The flowers are rather droopy, hence my finger in the photo - oops! 

"Little Princess" Spirea

The “Little Princess” Spirea has greened up nicely.

"Autumn Joy" Sedum

The “Autumn Joy” Sedum, planted last year has grown nicely.  I look forward to its blooms this summer.

Purple Fountain grass

The Purple Fountain Grass is new this year and should get rather tall.

The Bishops Weed is quite invasive so I’ve heard and spreads underground.  It was here when we moved in 7 years ago, right now it seems contained - I’ve heard it’s hard to get rid of.

Peonies

The Peonies (no idea what kind)  have buds on them.  Hopefully they will bloom more than the 3 or 4 flowers we had last year.

I spent the day potting up some annuals my hubby picked up - a very random bunch of yellow Marigolds and orange Marigolds, red Salvia, and other random choices.  Ah well, the heart was in the right place.  The marigolds actually look striking in a lime green pot and a white pot with orange (and other colors) in a band.   I’ll have to get photos.  I also weeded the beds on the sides of the house and the rear of the yard.

Tomorrow I’m off to choose more annuals to complete my pottings.  I still have to turn over the soil in my garden area as well as ammend it, and lie out the plants to decide what goes in the ground, what goes in the pots and what might need to go in a new bed.  I was feeling a little behind not having it done and then we had a frost last night.  It was nice to be able to move the plants in the garage for safe keeping.

I’ve got my work cut out for me tomorrow and the next couple of days but then it will be just maintaining.  I got all my housework done this weekend so that can coast while I garden.  I love being outside and getting things in the ground!

Grass.  Not a familiar term when speaking of my back yard.  At least not until now.  We have grass.  Lots and lots of grass.  This may not be a big deal to you but to me WE HAVE GRASS!!!!  For years two huginormousbig trees dominated the backyard.  That and dirt. Oh and weeds too.  Last summer the trees came down.  We had the yard tilled and added seed.  And more seed.  And more seed.

We are still lacking foundation plantings, which will be coming soon for at least along the back fence.  But for now…we have grass.  The kids have been enjoying the back yard, for the first time they can really run around without the danger of being hurt or being filthy!  The temporary fence we had put up to keep our dog from the back while we were seeding came down.  Moose ran around like a puppy and was rolling in the grass.  So everyone is happy.  See, it’s the little things.

Endless Summer Hydrangea

Not much to look at now but you just wait!

Above, from Left to Right Front - Aglo Rhododendron (Rhododendron Agle”) many Hostas  - 2nd row,- 3Endless Summer The Original Hydrangeas (Hydrangea Macrophylla “Bailmer”) - one on either side and one in the middle, blooming (bought bigger) - climbing clematis - not sure of type as those and Hostas have been here forever.   The Hostas are so big you can barely see the Hydrangea but in a few years that will change.  I thought the Rhododendron had died because shortly after I planted it all the beautiful flowers died.  But look at this next photo - all the green is new growth so I’m sure it’s just fine.  Maybe transplant shock or the bloom time was just over.

Rhododendron

See - looks like it will thrive next year.

Lilac

Common Lilac ((Syringa Vulgaris) planted in the corner next to my neighbors yard.  They have 3 lilac trees on the other side of the fence so this will fill an empty space niceley and make a bigger impact when viewed as a whole.

Viburnum

I thought I had a full size shot of this Raspberry Tart Viburnum (Viburnum dentatum  “Rastzam) but I only have this closeup.  It’s a little bigger than the Rhododendrum right now, it’s supposed to get “showy Raspberry-red fall foliage”.  Should be pretty.    Right now it has these pretty white clusters.

Here are my munchkins enjoying the sunshine and the yard.  I have a lot of work to do still in the back yard - the area with the Hydrangeas needs to be cleaned up and mulched.  I also need to dig out the weeds in  the garden bed along the back fence and in the vegetable patch (not pictured because right now it’s just nasty).  I’ll share some photos of what’s blooming along the back in my next post.  Hope you enjoyed the backyard tour.  Oh and hey, did I mention?  We have GRASS!!

Everywhere I turn these days I am seeing such gorgeous Daffodils.  I don’t know why I haven’t considered them before for the garden.  This fall I want to order a bunch of bulbs for a nice showing of Daffodils next spring.  I see a lot of the yellow ones but www.michiganbulbs.com  has this pretty pink variety called Pink Charm.

photo from: Michigan Bulb 

I like the yellow too - maybe I’ll plant some yellow along the side of the house and then plant the pink ones in the back yard.  They are such a breath of fresh air in an otherwise dreary early spring garden.

On the plus side, my Hostas are popping up - they almost look like little asparagus spears poking their head out - I never really closely looked a them before now.  It looks like my purple Alliums are coming up too, there are little green chive- like shoots coming up.  The daylillies and the Autumn Joy Sedum are poking their heads out too.

My Hydrangeas are still looking sad - just a brown twig at the four spots where I planted them but the twigs,  under the brown -  way down by the soil is green.  Hopefully they are still alive and will grow.

I also have some things popping up that I am not sure what they are but they do not look like weeds.  The only things I planted in that area were the Alliums, Purple Coneflower and Coreopsis.   The leaves popping up don’t look like any of those plants.  I guess I’ll just have to wait and see what pops up!

 

General Ramblings today.  I’m slightly unfocused and scrambled today.  So you get some Random Thoughts.

We have sprouts!  The Roma Tomatoes, Beefsteak Tomatoes, Basil and Shasta Daisies are sprouting.  Ever so slightly and probably not even picture worthy.  Once they’re poking up a little more, I’ll post photos.

Favorite part of Barney (and I.do.not like Barney - but alas, Francesca does) is at the end when he sings his “I love, you, you love me” song” where he says “with a great big hug and a kiss from me to you” - Francesca walks up to everyone in the family (including the dog and cat) and gives us each a big hug and a big kiss!  So very sweet - it makes Barney appealing.

Want to see a five year old boy smile ear to ear?  Get him a bicycle helmet and knee and elbow pads.  Long after he was done riding his bike today with his brand new safety gear, he still had the knee pads and elbow pads on.  He finally removed them shortly before bedtime.

Why oh why do cats like to eat houseplants?  I am a much better nurturer to my children and to my outdoor garden than I am to houseplants.  That is why I never have any.  Ross received a spider plant from his old daycare way back before Pre-Kindergarten started, so back in April or so.  I finally got around to removing the rooted plant from the container with water and putting it in a pot and placing it on the kitchen windowsill.  The cat promptly nibbled on it and ate most of the leaves.

Sisters can be so loving and yet so cruel to each other.  I met an old friend and her two daughters for lunch today and then we stopped in Target.  Her girls are 11 and almost 10.  The ten year old wanted to buy a purse.  When her mom told her it was a little too expensive and we pointed out that it was an “evening bag”, her sister said “Yeah, it’s for going out on a date and you’ll never do that!”  The 10 year old proceeded to sulk for the rest of the shopping trip.

If you stand close enough to Ross when he is in a toy aisle, you will hear him say every so often “Santa, Can you get that?, Santa, can you get this?”  Apparently, since Santa can see you all the time, there’s no need to actually make a list - he’ll just tell him what he wants through the year.

Planted the rest of the flower seeds today.  Hopefully those too will be sprouting soon.

Day three of constant watering.  I reseeded the back yard on Monday and have been watering like a fiend.  Trying to get the grass to grow before all the birds and animals eat all the seeds.  Sam said to me the other morning “You should have heard all the birds chirping this morning when I left for work!”.  Yeah.  I bet they were telling all their friends.

Francesca is finally talking more and more.  She does not say alot but then every once in a while she surprises me.  For the child who barely says one word here and there, today she said “No, it’s MINE” at the top of her lungs when Ross tried to take her ball.

I can no longer take a shower by myself.  Pretty much the last place I could go for privacy was the shower.  Francesca loves water so much that when I grab a towel she starts taking her clothes off and wants to take a shower with me.

And lastly, perhaps it’s time to start potty training Francesca.  At 27 months, she is now in the habit of removing her own diaper when she pees in it.  I always catch her in the act, but maybe it’s time to get proactive (haven’t used that word since I was working - My God, how overused of a word that was at work) and start sitting her on the potty.  Her pediatrician wanted me to start at 18 months.  Yeah. Right.

Okay, so those are my many ramblings today.  Will return with a more cohesive post soon.

Again we’ve had some warmer weather in our area so we took advantage of it and reseeded the back yard.  The kids were also able to get outside and ride their bikes for awhile.  It’s nice to know that even though we may still get some wintery weather, more of it will be nicer and nicer.

I also planted some pepper seeds and Jalapeno seeds in preparation for our vegetable garden this summer.  It’s so fulfilling to be thinking about the gardening season and at least be able to get started on some planting even if it’s seeds and it’s indoors!

Now keep your fingers crossed that we get the rain that we’re supposed to get - it will be good for the grass seed.  I’l post pictures when it starts to sprout - hopefully within the next 7 days or so.  I’m hoping for a decent yard come summer!

What a difference a few days make.  The other day it was 70 degrees outside and now it’s 20 degrees out again at night.  Here are the kids taking advantage of the 70 degree weather.

I also took advantage of the weather by bagging up all the leaves that were left in the backyard after we fenced it off and seeded.  You can see how patchy it is, the grass is missing from all the spots where the leaves fell.  I cleaned it all up and will re-seed again - maybe this weekend.

I also planted peas in the garden - first time planting them.  I  started our vegetable/herb seeds indoors too.  I planted Italian Parsley, Roma Tomatoes, Super Beefsteak Tomatoes, Genovese Basil, Cilantro and Oregano.  I’d also like to plant some lettuce and peppers.

We used egg cartons last year for the basil and it worked just fine.  I also have some flowers to start from seed.  I already started  Shasta Daisy, I still have seeds for Italian Aster, Sweet William, Oriental Poppy, Gailardia and Foxglove.  I’ll get those going by the weekend.

The only thing we started from seed last year was pumpkin, some basil and sunflowers.  I am anxious to see if I can be nurturing enough to get each of these varieties thriving and able to be planted outdoors come time.  Worst case scenario, we’ll have to but the plants at the garden center but I think we’ll do ok.  I’ll keep you posted!

Sam picked up new blinds for the living room windows.  This is a good thing, since the kids have picked at the old ones and broke pieces off.  This looks especially lovely from the outside. 

He put them up today which meant an impromptu jump start on spring cleaning.  I took down the drapes and sheers and washed the windows (on the inside at least).  Not what I was planning on doing today but a nice task to cross off the spring to-do cleaning list. 

Do you think this early spring cleaning mught catapult us into an early spring?  Ummm, ok…me neither but it sure would be nice.  I look forward to getting out in my garden and planting more perrenials and the vegetable garden.   Soon it will be time to start sowing vegetable seeds indoors, most of the plants from last year were purchased already transplant size - this year we’re shooting for “from seed”.   At least I can start planning what will go into our vegetable garden.  That’s a fun process and will have to do until I can get my hands into some soil.

What a difference a few hours make. This morning I was admiring the grass grown from seed in our backyard and noting that we need to reseed to fill in the gaps, and looking outside now that same yard is blanketed in snow.

This past monday I had the opportunity to walk in the back yard, first time since fall when we seeded and fenced it off from the dog. It was really mushy from all the snow and I think it was softer than usual from all the tilling. I walked to the back where my garden is, looking around at where I planted all my Michigan Bulb purchases last fall. I had ordered Mums, Allium, Coneflowers, Coreopsis and Annabelle Hydrangeas.

I am so looking forward to Spring and am very anxious to see what comes up from my purchases last year. I am very worried about the Annabelle Hydrangeas. I walked over to the four Annabelle Hydrangea twigs that I planted and dutifully marked with an orange ribbon tied to the fence behind them and then also tied to a nail in the ground about an inch before the plants. Terrified, as you can see, that I might inadvertently pull them up thinking they were weeds. Nothing. Nada. Zilch. I couldn’t even see the twigs that were visibile last fall. Granted, I didn’t move around the leaf mush (technical term) that was covering them but still, nothing.

Makes me want to go out this summer and buy four “Mentor Plants”. You know, the $40 garden center variety, already blooming, and plant them near the young, naive, less experienced Hydrangea and give them something to aspire to. Kind of like plant role models.

I know that I should have more patience. All the plants - not that there have been that many - but the Spirea Little Princess, Autumn Joy Sedum, Coneflower, Coreopsis and Allium have all been bigger, flowering plants purchased from Lurvey’s. Instant gratification. Also expensive. I have a lot of garden to fill especially since I am not done with the back of the yard and I still want to create beds on the sides of the back yard and along the rear of my house.

I am looking forward to getting donations from friends as they split and divide plants this year, and I will supplement that with some purchased foundation plants. It really is economical to order the little plants by mail - I just wish I had more experience in knowing that they will, in time, actually grow.

I wonder how old the Hydrangeas that you buy in the 5 gallon pots (I think they’re 5 gallons) for $40 at garden centers and even Home Depot really are.
I never thought to ask and I guess I just naively believed they were 1 year old but from everything I am reading, it looks like they may be much older than that. Anyone know?

Come Spring when I trek over to my Garden Center for more inspiration, I’ll have to ask. In the meantime I guess I’ll just have to be patient. Easier said than done.