Hi all :) I just realized how lengthy the previous thread was getting. http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/498548/ Lots of pics, too, which can be difficult for those with dial-up. So, I'm starting this new thread with the pics I took today :)
Here's a pic of the front of the house this afternoon. BTW, those ferns are hanging baskets, we just haven't hung them up yet ;)
Here's the "new and improved" mailbox bed :) We changed the shape a bit, added some annuals just a few days ago, and planted 2 free shrubs from the neighbor next door :) I'm thinkinh those shrubs will fill together and become one...
The lightpost bed w/ annuals added :) The Phlox paniculata has really grown within the last 3 weeks.
Another view :) As of today, there are 3 plants w/ buds. Shasta daisy, linaria, and dianthus deltoides. Flowers soon!!! And, in about 2 weeks, the annuals I pinched all up will be putting out flowers, too! :)
Did you see them??? My babies?? Hosta 'Sun Power'...
Hosta 'Gold Standard'....
There are 4 hostas out front right now. All part of my "full sun" experiment. The two I just showed are partially shaded by a very, very small crabapple for part of the day. But, a baby H. 'Francee' and this little guy, H. 'August Moon' are pretty much full sun all day. I keep them watered. We'll see... Here's the August Moon...
I also have a Hosta Staging Area around the east side of the house where I'm sticking hostas until the larger bed is ready next spring. My very favorite plant period right now is this little gem. Isn't she sooooo pretty??? Hosta 'June'....
And here's my best overall shot of the front yard. Thanks so much for watching my little garden grow, everyone :) Not looking to make any major changes now until fall. Mulching next week, though. I'll post pics again when things are blooming :)
Huga ;)
You have a beautiful home, and your gardens are well on their way to being as beautiful. Good job! Dotti
You and your husband have done a wonderful job, Jacci. Looking forward to seeing pictures when your plants mature. :-)
I am very, very proud of you! You have done a super job in a really short period. Everything looks so nice!!
Aw, thanks Big Sis :)
I am so impressed! You've worked your tails off and it shows. What a HUGE change!
Jacci,
Your gardens look great! I am so proud of my little gardener! Love, Mom
Nice job! It looks great.
Huga--Your garden looks great. Really represents a lot of knowledge and design and dedication and energy and a great partnership with your DH.
Gardens can really be a metaphor for life, can't they?!
Now that yours is up to date for a while, please come down and work on mine! I'll make the lemonade. lol
Keep posting please! J.
I hate gardening.
LOL - not really, but is it possible to have "burnout" or something? Is there a common slump period for gardeners??? I've been at it full-steam-ahead for about 4 and 1/2 years now. Is this like February for teachers? Slumpville. :[
Oh, boo hoo, crybaby, I know. I can just hear Badseed right now, "Sissy crybaby, boo hoo hoo!", LOL.
I think my real issue is that last summer I really, really, really got ahead of myself and marked out too much bedspace. I ran out of time and money and now a large portion of that space is just empty dirt waiting to be amended and planted. We don't have the dinero right now, though, so it's just dirt. It has a lovely shape, LOL, but it's bare dirt. You all know what that means...yup... weed city..... uh huh. I have no time for weed city. No joke, right now I have 18" tall weeds in places. LOL (sort of).
I've been in a mad rush the last 3 weeks to get some much needed school organizing and sewing done and I've barely touched the yard. All that rain and no one pulling weeds = bad combination. Oh, and my favorite ornamental grass (and front bed focal point) didn't come back this year. Boo hoo crybaby. Baby pats, guys, I want baby pats. No, I don't need sympathy and miserable company, but I'd like some.
Uncharacteristically grumpy and pathetic,
Jacci
Sounds pretty normal to me! :) I have to keep reminding myself, It's OK if I do one thing at a time and the yard is a work in progress. Otherwise, I get discouraged at the vast amount of work that needs to be done. And many (most?) of us can't be full time gardeners--we have jobs, children, spouses, and only so much energy (not to mention $$) to devote to each. My enthusiasm for whatever tends to wax and wane over time--it always eventually comes back, though. :) Sometimes you just need a vacation.
pam
I know, I know. But the weeds are out of control. Really.
Thanks for the kind words, Pam.
I still need more "uppers" here, folks...
:)
Hey, Jacci -- I can relate! I've had the bare spots and run out of coin, too. You don't know how many springs and summers I watched trays of plants languish in their cellpacks, unplanted. Sometimes it was because I bought/received too many for the available beds, but sometimes it was because I just got burnt out and depressed about the whole thing. And seeing all those plants eventually get crispy in their pots...That was even more depressing.
BUT...For everything there's a season. Maybe this season is yours to just concentrate on that one bed and then rest. Go back to your garden diary entries at http://davesgarden.com/journal/d/t/SalmonMe/40/ and re-read them. Fall in love all over again. ;)
I am sure that Ohio folks can help you fill that spot. Plants from friends are the best plants, anyway! Plus, if you want to mulch that area, cruise on by your local Lowe's store and look by the mulch area for broken bags. Here, we get them for 50-cents a bag! Know what I dubbed our little hillside?
A drumroll please...
Broke bag mountain. *snort* *snort* (my best Lilly Tomlin snort)
((((hugs)))) Chin up, Jacci. You're not alone!
AAuugghh...*smacks self upside head with brick*...no, not the...BAD PUNS! aagghh
I need another cup of coffee after that one. :)
pam
Alright you sissy, crybaby! Wipe your tears, stand up straight and give me your attention! You CAN do this and it DOES NOT have to cost a fortune! Either get out there and start weeding or use round up if you can. Other options-smother with plastic and mulch. Ammend with peat-buy bales and till it in. If the weeds are really tall, weed whack them or cut them off and then do either of the options above. Your buns are not kicked and you are not losing. Make yourself a big list of everything that has to be done. UGLY-isn't it?? Now, each day, pick one thing, one job, one goal for that day. Make it as easy as you want. Write it down on it's own piece of paper. You'll be so thrilled that you got that one thing done, that you'll want to do a second thing. Always keep everything on the big list so you can cross it off. Always write your daily job on another paper so you can throw it away.
You have your orders. The pressure is on.
Love ya!!!
Oh, I just love a strong woman, Chele! You are a drill sergeant with a heart of gold. :D
Well, I was outside, working on my gardens, thinking about dear hugasalmon today. LOL Another thought occured to me. I bet her house and her kids are clean. I have half done gardens, half straightened houses and the kids and I are dirty. We are all smiling though and that's gotta count for something. :)
Hugasalmon here :) I like you so much, Michelle :) Thank you for the lovely pep talk. Next career... motivational speaker!!! Seriously, I liked the idea of writing the one goal for the day on a separate piece of paper. That's some good stuff right there. And, yes, my house is immaculate and my children are freshly bathed :) I have been busting buns, just not on my yard. I was in the dumps because I got so far behind on the garden by tearing through my "inside list".
but....
I weeded some tonight and planted out some canna that I had started out in pots but hadn't gotten around to yet. Also planted 3 Artemesia 'Powis Castle' that I was waiting for bushier growth on before I planted it. It felt good to plant something. I weeded about 1/20 of what I need to, but still - it's something. *SIGH*, I think I'm hormonal anyway. Not the right time to post about the progress of my little spot of yard! My husband perked me up today, too, telling me that a buddy of his praised our front yard and said that it quote: "Really stood out from the rest of the houses on the street". That made me feel good.
Another thing that helps is that I'm pretty much caught up now planning for the schoolwork we're going to do this summer (yes, school in the summer, BUT it's fun school!) and a good bit of my sewing got done this week. *SIGH* again. I'm such a dope. I know I'll get around to all of it. I just wish weeds hated full sun :)
Thanks for running to the rescue everyone!!!
Seriously, though, Michelle haven't you ever hit a gardening slump??? Or have you been out every spring and summer of your adult life planting out 350 of the seedlings you coddled with the boundless energy we all know and love?
LOL Badseed--me too. My daily "to do" list is approximately 1/3 completed on any given day for both the inside and the outside of my house. The only reason my son is clean is because daddy gives him a bath while I'm schlepping around outside. :)
Huga, what are you teaching this summer?
pam
We're doing unit studies based off of a Draw*Write*Now book. Farm Animal Theme. So, we'll be learning how to draw the animals but also reading about them (fiction and nonfiction), basing our vocab and spelling on the books, working early math concepts in, also some art and social studies/history. Not everything relates to the theme directly, some are spinoff topics. Like, "hens" are the first week. Delaware's state bird is the Blue Hen, so we'll learn some about Delaware! :) Sneaky, huh? That leads into talking about the Delaware Indians a bit, etc. We keep coming back to hens each day, though :) It'll be fun! It just took me forever to write the unit studies up. Some of the things we're doing come from resources online or in books I have, but I put everything together into a 5-day format for each drawing lesson. I'm beginning to teach my oldest to sew this summer, too :)
Oops, just realized that you may not have wanted to know all of that! LOL. Sorry if your question really just required a simple answer like "I homeschool my children". LOL :)
I'm glad you did post it. That's really cool. Home schooling ROCKS!
Hugasalmon, eh? Hah! I didn't realize you'd changed your username, anyway -- what is this new one's significance? Did you and the hosta split up? Why did I not have an inkling of this? You hid it so well...I know hosta are easily divisible and all, but c'mon, I never thought you two would split up. *sigh* Now something's just terribly fishy.
LOL -- do you remember that my hubby's name is Sam?? Get it?? :)
OH! Sheesh. SamHeAm. I'm sleepy, can you tell?
