Saturday, April 17, 2010

My Garden Saga

Now that planting season is here again (praise the gods!), I am full of ideas on what to grow this year (flower bulbs and seedlings are quaking in fear right now). As a born-and-bred urban apartment dweller until 2005, gardening in the fresh air on my own land had always just been a sweet dream. So, for the five often fun, often frustrating, often clueless years of being a rural homeowner, my front and back yards have been the victims of ongoing gardening "experiments."

Here are some pics of my gardening "attempts" over the last five years:

This is what we started with:


Not bad, right? But it was a little bland. Silly me started to dig up that beautiful front lawn to see if I could grow a small flower garden in the middle of it. Here are some of my "tries":





Impatiens, nasturtiums, some rocks dug from the soil, a $2 shrub from Wal-mart,some gladiolas, a thrifted miniature wheelbarrow with a nest that fell from our lilac tree. That was fun for awhile, but I was a little...unimpressed. So I dug it up and started a wildflower patch:




That was fun too, but all it got me was some scraggly cosmos and poppies and a lot of weeds. So what did I do? I decided to dig up more front lawn and go bigger:











We had nice mix of black-eyed susans, purple coneflowers, sweet william, forget-me-nots, rose mallow, candytuft and more, but it was still a little...unkempt. Though it yielded some beautiful bouquets and attracted hummingbirds and butterflies, I like an organized garden, or so I thought. I can't show you the rose garden I started in the wildflower garden's place because...well...it got eaten by Junebugs the size of Volkswagons. Sigh.

So at present, our front lawn is in shambles and our front shrubs are torn out to make way for a more appealing, low-maintenance, and spider-free garden (the shrubs were shrouded in thick white cobwebs, so lovely). Meanwhile, the shrub trunks are still in the ground, claw-like and eerie-looking, because we couldn't get them dug out before winter last year. What to plant in their place?

Here are some perennials I am thinking of adding this spring:


Purple Ice Plants


Galaxy English Daisy Mix


Blue Cascade Rockcress


Manhattan Poppy


Dwarf Sorbet Lilies


Double Lilac Geraniums


All can be found here at Dutch Gardens.

Spring has sprung, my garden muse is working overtime, and the ground trembles as I pass. Here's to another great botanical "experiment." Wish me luck. 'Cause I'm gonna need it.

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30 comments:

The Glamorous Housewife said...

I too have the garding bug this week, but I started by repotting my indoor orchids. I am thinking of heading to Home Depot tomorrow with my kids to buy stuff like flowers and a few tomato plants and start outside. I had to laugh at your post because I too have grander garden ideas then actual execution. I look forward to seeing how this year turns out for you.


Thanks doll,
The Glamorous Housewife

Jjjj said...

I am loving all your green. Green with envy am I.

Ally said...

Simply lovely! Very nice!

FourthGradeNothing.com

William Bezek said...

You have the best of intentions but you are lacking a good plan. The garden should complement your house, not sit in front of it as a fenced off experimental area like some nuclear test site. Where is the front path to those porch stairs? Start there and line the sides with your flowers.

Retromodgirl said...

William,

Thank you for your comment. I totally agree. Because we are on a slope, a path to the front stairs might be a problem. But I do agree that there needs to be a plan. I am thinking about using one of the landscaping companies in my area, but a little skittish about cost.

Little Messy Missy said...

Happy planting!!

Heather said...

You've won an award! Come check it out.

Unknown said...

I would have to read lot of books on garden design, and find designs that I like, or troll through images on the web.....
You house is wonderful, but has a georgian feel to it, where everything should be symertrical.
Kx

William Bezek said...

Don't hire some bonehead to tell you how to do it...you have enough style sense to come up with a plan and you could use that money to buy more plants!

Miss CherryBubbles said...

Lovely! The little fence around your first flower garden is neat - wherever did you find it?

Lizzy said...

Ohh! your garden is great!! Please show it us later after you plant more flowers, it's gonna look greater!

MomWaldsPlace said...

Never Give Up - Never Give In! This not only applies to world wars, but gardening also. Good for you to keep trying. Someday you'll find what works for you, so enjoy the adventure along the way.

Our spring has finally sprung. Come see my tulips. I blogged them today.

BTW you dream selection looks pretty good and hardy. Perennials rock!

Amber Von Felts said...

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Kimmy said...

I personally am not a gardener, my sister on the other hand is so ridiculous about it she uses a ruler to measure the length between plantings. My sister and her many floral pursuits and I thought I was bad about Christian Louboutins!
You have a lovely home & garden, cheers!

Gaytha said...

Love the poppies! Just found your blog and LOVE IT!!!

Amy Seager said...

GORGEOUS!!!! So pretty!
Aimee
x

Tonia Lee Smith said...

I have no green thumb at all. Can't even say how I found you but I'm glad that I did. Stop by sometime.

My Gold Hair said...

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Connie Schwarz said...

retro mod goddess! where are you? its been a long while now since your last post! why mod girl why?
sob

bebipelucha said...

beautiful flowers:) it is a lovely garden. so I want to have one like this :)

C'est La Vie said...

very nice! i love gardens, the food from them are just SO much better everytime, aren't they?

my dads a huge gardener but they had SO many bunny problems he ended up making a portable garden haha. he's so cute

bruiser and bowie said...

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Keith said...

Thanks for sharing these with us. Good luck with all your gardening.

de Rain said...

That is very wonderful flower. I do not have that kind of flower in Indonesia. U have beautiful garden.

I also love plant.
u can visit my blog
Moen Moen Plant and Garden

Unknown said...

Wow watta great blog.

I love the tips about gardening...

Kind Regards
Kathy
Motorhome Hire Motorhome City division

Gail Gardner @GrowMap said...

My gardening bug is all about growing what I can eat - which, ironically, could be flowers too.

My Master Gardener friend Stephanie has a blog with gardening tips you may find useful especially since she also answers questions.

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منتديات كرومبو said...

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