Saturday, May 27, 2017

How Does My Garden Grow?


It is a sad fact that the only reason I have a garden, is because my husband plants it.  We decide on things together, I tell him what to do, and he does the work.  I am really that lazy.  The design of our yard is based on a plan that I drew up and our handyman/landscaper implemented.  Tommy helped with a lot of that labor too.  Since I am frugal, a lot of time is spent splitting perennials and planting things that spread out.  It would probably be easier on him if I just let him put in all new annuals each year.  But that gets to be too pricey for my cheap tastes.

This year we placed an order for annuals, taking advantage of a group purchase made by my sister's neighborhood gardening group.  Tommy planted a number of wave petunias and coleus in the front yard to augment the vinca and strawberries that come back each year.  We splurged last year and had a Unilock border put in and it makes it easier to add new top soil and mulch every spring.  But who am I to comment on what's easy or not, since I don't contribute to the labor.


Our hell-strip is a dry, barren, cement-like scrap of land that seems to grow nothing but weeds.  It's too hard to break up so we've given up trying to plant anything there.  Instead, we use three big barrels, surrounded by gravel.   This year, the focal point will be cream colored marigolds.  I forget what the other small flowers are -- but they are sun tolerant and that is all that counts.  One of the barrels got cracked recently.  People run into them or open car doors on them.  They just generally take a beating.  I prevailed on the marigolds, which TBG hates.  They passed the test because they aren't yellow, orange or gold.  All I care about is that they are hard to kill.

We did get a few plants at Home Depot and I'll be picking up a few hanging pots too.  But for the most part, I think we are done planting and now he will just have to keep up the maintenance.  It's not worth it to take picture of the garden yet.  There is a mess of puddles and weeds that have to come out and a lot of recovery from all the rain.  I'm looking forward to having a nice space in another couple of weeks.  Best of all, it gets that way without me having to get my  hands dirty.

6 comments:

  1. I too love perennials because I see them as an investment that multiplies each year. I've been good about watering my flowers this year and they're looking so pretty. I really want to plant veggies eventually, but I want a raised bed and that's a big project, so it will have to wait.

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    1. We are drowning here with record rain fall. I would love veggies, but they don't seem to work out well since we go away so much. You always do such pretty stuff in your yard!

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  2. I've been working on xeriscaping my front yard, though it's less about wanting a beautiful landscape and more self defense against having to water and mow all summer! I've never seen cream colored marigolds though! I might have to see if I can find any. Not sure if this holds true for the cream ones or not (they might be some sort of weird hybrid in which case this might not work) but with regular marigolds you can save the seeds and you'll have more than you need to plant the next year.

    So my question is... who has to haul the hose around every day to water those planters, or do you get enough rain there that you don't have to do that?

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    1. I collect my marigold seeds most years and will be sure to do that with this variety -- I really like the color. TBG does most of the watering. We have a rain barrel that he's got to work on and if he sets the soaker hose up, that will help. But mostly it is his job too!

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  3. It has taken me years to get my perennial all spread out but so worth it. You are lucky your hubs takes an interest mine well.....

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  4. I love perennials but use them as background color. They have such a short blooming time. I justify buying annuals each summer because they bloom for such a long time with deadheading. I too have gone to mostly barrels easier on the knees.

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