Specialty Gardening: Bare Dirt to Cottage Garden (in Pictures), 2 by Wifeygirl

Wifeygirl wrote:
Hey, Psych! I love your little picket fence. You're right, a birdbath or other focal point in front of it would be so cute!

My stepping stones have kind of a funny story behind them. They were all clustered together into steps that led back to the faucet. But all of the neighborhood kids love coming and playing in our yard, and they kept stepping on my baby plants. My own kids are pretty good about not stepping on anything because they know how much work I put into the garden, but the neighborhood kids kept tromping on them no matter how much I warned them. A few weeks ago, though, I noticed they loved using the stepping stones, so I spread out my stepping stones and said the magic words: "Hot Lava!" That was all it took - now whenever they play, they hop from one to another, and my babies don't get smooshed! =D

Photos:
1. A last, mournful look at our lush green grass. With the drought here in CA, it's gotta go. We're not feeding it anymore, so it will get progressively worse as our brutal summer hits. =( We're planning to put up a little sign in the grass "Brown for California!"

2. The narcissus on either side of my path NEVER BLOOMED. I've read about it and I guess that means that I cut down the foliage too soon last year. I'm hoping that if I let it stay until it browns this year, I'll actually get a show next year. Yes, my dog seems to think this is a photo shoot. =) The shrub in the pot is a Sweet Tea Olive, with a lovely smell. I'm so excited to make my garden a all-senses experience!

3. The Mexican Primrose are VERY happy, and taking over the lawn even! LOL. I'm so excited to have a field of nodding pale pink flowers! Somewhere under there is my salvia. We'll see if the primrose has completely crowded it out...

4. I don't know what these little purple guys are. I got a pot with them in it from a nursery that was closing, and when I asked what was in it the lady said "oh, this and that!" LOL. The pot sat on my step for a year, then I planted it in the ground. Apparently while on my step it reseeded EVERYWHERE. I have these little guys coming up in the most impossible places! Good thing I like their little blooms and heart-shaped leaves.

5. I didn't know that Lobelia reseeded itself! So excited for my corner clump to go vibrant blue!
Also, these are Forget-Me-Nots that I scattered seed for last season and...ironically...forgot all about! LOL!


This message was edited Mar 21, 2015 3:05 PM