Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category
Tuesday, May 5th, 2009
I’ve been trying to do as much gardening as possible before I leave for Ireland this Saturday. I have just about gotten the majority of projects started or completed. It is a great relief the see the fruits of my labors over the past couple of months as a lot of stuff has bloomed, is in bloom, or is getting ready to bloom.
I have been planting a lot of oranges and purples, my two favorite colors. I have found some vibrant orange azalea bushes at two of the local Ingles Grocery stores and I love them! 
I have paired them with purple azaleas and two lilac bushes in front of the house and down the side of the slope in between the arborvitae trees. I still need to get another 6 bushes to complete that project, but it seems that only Ingles has the orange ones and I snagged all that I could (only $17 each).
I also broke my back finishing the stone path on the opposite side of the gazebo, but I think it looks great! I planted some lemon thyme and lime thyme on the edge and in between some of the stones and so as they spread, they will fill in some of the space between the stones. With the extra stones that I didn’t use, I stacked them up in the corner of the fence and created a stacked sculpture.
I’ve also been doing a lot of container planting, on the patio and the front porch. Other than buying plants and potting soil, I’ve been able to use and re-use pots and containers I’ve had taking up space around the Inn. Here are some miscellaneous photos of my container plants. See if you can guess what the plants are (there are some that came back this year and I honestly don’t know what they are).
Saturday, April 18th, 2009
This is turning out to be the perfect spring so far. Rain for a few days; sunny for a few days; more rain for a day or two. The temperature has been a little up and down, but I think it has finally taken a turn. I still see a few nights in the upper 30s, but the days are in the 50s, 60s, and 70s.
This has all been great for the gardens around the property and I have spent as much time as possible planting new gardens and cleaning out all the trees and bushes that didn’t survive the winter. Thanks to my dad, the waterfall has been cleaned out and is up and running. I have to refill it every few days, but I always enjoy watching it when I’m walking by.
Down in the lower patio area and around the gazebo, I have been planting all new gardens. I even found a giant pile of slate buried in the back, back yard. It was obviously left over slate that had been used to build the upper and lower patios and it’s been buried under debris and mulch for many years. I have been pulling it out little by little and am building a new path on the opposite side of the gazebo. This is also an area where I just planted a brand new garden where none had ever been (up until last year, it was all overgrown and neglected). Today I put in spiraea bushes, purple pin cushion flowers, orange geum flowers, silver mound, and yellow Carolina jasmine to run along the fence. In addition, I had transplanted a Filburt tree and there were already some hostas and day lillies in the area. It is supposed to rain tomorrow so I wanted to get everything in the ground before the rain and so will take some photos in a few days to post.
Another garden I just planted runs along the lower patio walkway and in that area I planted some spiraea bushes, hydrangea, sedum, violas, catmint, golden oregano to go along with the tulips and lantana already in the section. If I was smart, I would have taken some “before” photos, but if you can envision empty space, you’ll get the picture.
Throughout the property, I’ve been busy filling my hanging baskets with petunias, ivy, ferns, and various other hanging plants. In pots, I just planted some succulents, boxwood, peonies, elephant ears, coleus, ferns, spiderwort, and many other perrenials. I prefer perrenials over annuals since they tend to come back each year, but some annuals are so beautiful that I can’t help myself.
I get a 20% landscape contractors discount at the local BB Barns so I shop there most of the time. They are more pricey than Lowe’s and Wal-Mart, but they have an immense selection and a beautifully enticing set up. While I’ve never been very good at gardening and remembering the names of plants, I am starting to enjoy building several garden spaces around the property. The exercise alone makes it worth it.
Saturday, March 7th, 2009
Today saw temperatures in the 70′s. Pretty amazing when less than a week ago, we got about 6″ of snow, a rare sight where we are in the valley of Asheville. The next several days are looking to be in the 60′s which makes me very happy. I am definitely a warm weather kind of person.
The daffodils and hyacinth are starting to come up and this year, I am happy to report that they are EVERYWHERE on the property. Last year, whether because of the drought or a late cold spell, I did not get many spring bulbs.
I’m leery of putting my indoor plants outside yet and will wait another couple of weeks, but I can just tell that they are ready to be back outside. The photo on the left looking inside one of the dining room windows is of one of my Amaryllis bulbs. I planted it just after New Year’s and the flower finally bloomed last week. It’s gorgeous with about 8 flowers in bright red. I planted 5 other bulbs, but other than growing long green leaves, none had blooming flowers. I’ll store them and hope that they bloom next winter.
It’s also about time to go clean out the waterfall which has been turned off and neglected all winter and rake up the leaves from the fall that ended up in the bushes and all those not-so-easy-to-reach areas.
I am getting psyched up to start doing some hefty yard work and to begin planting new bushes, plants, and flowers. I just bought a rain barrel and hope that using rain water will help save on my watering bill this year. I’ll have to remember to compare my bi-monthly water bills to see if there is a difference. More rain this year will help so I’m not sure how accurate a comparison will be. But capturing rainwater is a good way to keep going green and I’m happy to do it.
Now, if I can get myself to start growing fruits and vegetables, I will be accomplishing A LOT!
I have paired them with purple azaleas and two lilac bushes in front of the house and down the side of the slope in between the arborvitae trees. I still need to get another 6 bushes to complete that project, but it seems that only Ingles has the orange ones and I snagged all that I could (only $17 each).
