The school year has ended here for all of the kids. That only means 1 thing - the unofficial start of summer. I have some plans for the summer (no surprise there, I plan EVERYTHING!) Planning does not exclude me from spontaneity though, some of our best 'plans' are spontaneous.Most of my recent plans have revolved around gardening - my addiction/passion.
Gardening, oh how I LOVE gardening! There are a lot of improvements that need done to the land on the property and I am definitely the gal up for the task. Last summer, the fiance and I started the work that will need to continue over the next few years until the space is thoroughly revamped into a family friendly and functional space. We put in 150 hostas that were reclaimed from my childhood farmsted last August, that was the first big project we did together. I am not talking about me sitting there watching him do all the work either, I don't believe in that. Want some feminism? Try some REAL equality. I am talking about 100+ degree weather, me running a shovel, slicing into the earth to save some dying plants. Chad is pulling the plants and carrying them to their awaiting chariot of a 1998 Chey pick up. The following day, planting them in a space that was riddled with weeds in the pouring down rain - yeah, that kind of equality and improvement together. Seeing them flourish this year has been a joy for both of us.
Synopsis of the projects done this year so far:
Revitalized the roses (honestly, I did that last summer, but this year - Whoa!) The are on their second full bloom of the year and have grown 6 inches in the last year. Talk about serious improvement :)
Altering the front flower beds into more than just a haven for weeds and the roses. This was another project that we started last year. We took the old wood chip mulch out (terrible to have next to the house, it brings in pests and insect - no thanks) and rocked it with repurposed rock from another part of the property. We also tore up the nonsensically placed pavers and added a few to the front beds so that we could place pots there. This year the beds have had some heavy planting done to them. We added correopsis, lollipop lilies, asiatic lilies, tiny ghost lilies, elephant ears, hen and chicks, geum and sunflowers. We took out the hideous, black scalloped edging and replaced it with a natural rock border. More improvements to come!
Raised vegetable gardens. This was a project we started talking about last year, but knew we had to wait until this year to execute it. There was a chicken coop that sat empty on one of the spots. One of the previous residents had chickens and did take care of them, so they died, leaving an empty chicken coop. What to do with it? REPURPOSE! The chicken coop has become our compost bin (a large one at that) and the base has become one of our raised vegetable gardens. We added some poles and screen for the green beans to climb, making it a very useful space, even though it is small. There are 3 tomato plants in there, 7 varieties of peppers and 6 hills of zucchini squash (green and yellow). Not a bad start for the first year. Did I happen to mention that Chad built another raised garden? Yeah, he is totally my handy man :) We have planted about 30 strawberries in it, watermelon and pumpkins. Next year, we will be adding a couple more to complete the space that was virtually unusable to a sustainable space for our family.
Berry patch and vineyard - this project is just beginning and will take a bit more work than the other projects we have done. We have the strawberries, rhubarb and black raspberries so far. Still to acquire: blueberries, black berries, red raspberries and a couple of different varieties of grapes. Chad and our friend will be building the pergola trellis entrance to it (if I don't find one to purchase that I like) and we will be paving a path through it. Add the tearing out of some invasive tree species and leveling and it's complete.
East side container, paver and rock bed: Chad tore out the rain barrels that he installed at one point in time because they were never used for their original purpose and ended up clogging the downspouts. The old lumber was removed and the surface scraped down. Pavers have been added for planters, which have also been already added. Grass seed has been laid down and now we just need to rock it in. Better drainage in a shady spot? Yes, please!
Driveway random placement of retaining wall blocks: Sometimes I swear the previous owners just stuck things somewhere because they didn't know what else to do with it. This is a prime example. There was about 15 feet of retaining wall blocks running partially along the West driveway. Not the complete length of the lawn and a disaster waiting to happen for someone's tire. We tore those out a couple of weeks ago and repurposed the blocks over to the East driveway where a flower bed with spirea and weigela reside. The railroad ties had begun collapsing and were infested. Two projects in one :) Now the drive on the West is lined with celosia, begonias, vinca and dusty miller. Did his bright little spark ever have fun putting those in!
Oak tree/deck area: This was another one that started last year and is in the process of being perfected this year. Along with the hostas that were reclaimed from the farmsted, I also kept a couple of heirloom lilies. The were my great grandmas and I desperately wanted them to stay in the family.One of the towers above 6 foot right now, with tons of 'babies' sprouting up. Some silver creeper came along for the ride, guess that is going to stay. A winter hardy hibiscus was also salvaged from the farmsted. Joining them this year are purple gladiolas, zebra grass and purple larkspur.
Potted plants? Yeah, we have those <chuckle> The planting thing is a serious addiction. I won't apologize for it at all, I am quite proud of all the work we put in. The kids love gardening, especially Autumn Rosalie. They are eager to help and potted plants often see the quickest results for them. Potted plant run down list? Sure, let's just show how deep this sickness runs: canna lilies (3 different types), salvia, begonias (3 different types), coleus (2 kinds), pansies (3 kinds), violas, lobelia, petunias (4 kinds), asparagus fern, 2 different kinds of vinca, celosia, latana, 3 different varieties of impatients, gladiolas, 3 kinds of begonias, marigold (volunteer) spike (reclaimed), hen and chicks (trailing in a hanging basket), snapdragons and calla lillies. I probably forgot a few that will have to be mentioned later.
Herb Garden? I have one of those too! (Did you really think I wouldn't?!) Peppermint, basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano and chives. Those are the staples for the season. They are placed so that they are accessible to the grill and the kitchen.
Only one project has been started without a lot of real progress, the NE corner of the house. We put in about 20 feet of pampass grass last summer that is taking off well right now. The rest of the space needs a lot of revamping before we can really do anything with it. It is going to require terracing and paving. Plant plans are grass varieties, hollyhocks, lupines, delphiniums, foxgloves and succulents. We plan on creating our own paths, scattering large rocks and giving it a country feel. Maybe I will learn to take before and after photos at some point, it would be incredible to see all the progress we have made.
Back to the 40 and the Oregon Trail! See you off the beaten path!
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