These just make my heart happy! Weigela 'Wine & Roses' and Viburnum 'Mariesii'. They're in the front yard bed I expanded and edged this year and are the first things I see coming home. Happy, happy!
Oh yes, I got a 1/2" of rain over night so everything looks fresh and bright.
We sure needed this rain! Your weigela is gorgeous. I'm debating as to which one to buy ... the wine & roses or the variegated. I know my husband would love the darker color. You mentioned in another post that you bought some chocolate mint. My neighbor was thinning out hers, so I got some for free. That's a price you just can't beat!
marion, are you going to put your mint in a pot or plant? I went to the Plant Files and there's warnings about it being invasive.
Pot only. My neighbor is overrun with it. She has a 2'x3' solid spot of it in her yard. Every year she cuts it back and it grows right back out. I wouldn't think of putting that stuff in my spice garden ack! Also, I really don't have much room between my basil and oregano and I don't want the flavors mixing on any of this stuff. Her mint is so thick, it doesn't even allow any weeds in it.
Katy, Beautiful flowering bushes! Those pink flowers against the dark leaves are really striking. I'm curious what the plant with the variegated leaved in the foreground is. The combination is nice. I'm also wondering what kind of bed edging you have in there. I can see a bit of it in the photo. I struggle with my bed edges going back to wild pasture grass. Yours looks substantial but attractive too.
maury, the plant in front and around the Weigela is variegated Arum Italicum. The edging is "LET'S EDGE IT" plastic brick edging from Home Depot. It locks together and is very easy to install.
Katy, I have that same weigela and wasn't sure it was one, so I'm glad you posted as I was going to photograph it and post here for an i.d.!
This is our second season in this house and neither my husband nor I remember this plant being so pretty last year. In fact, we don't remember it at all.
Your viburnum is pretty too. We bought a doublefile last year and just put it in the ground on Mother's Day (couldn't decide where to put it!) so hope it starts taking off soon.
Gwen
My husband let me pick out my Mother's Day present: a doublefile and a 'Ruby Slippers' kousa dogwood. I have also been thinking about a 'Wine and Roses' weigela. How long did it take for your doublefile and your weigela to get sizeable? They are indeed gorgeous.
I just moved into this house last January '05 so don't know for sure how old most of the plants are. The gentleman who was an avid gardener died and his wife didn't know much about the plants. My neighbor believed the foundation plants were all between 5 and 10 years old. She gardened but didn't know what her plants were either. She planted the invading Virginia Creeper the year before she moved last fall (I think she was escaping before it gobbled her up!). I think Charlie was a wonderful old gentleman and my garden is his legacy I'm building on.
Katy, show us some more pics of your garden - I think it's very pretty, what you've posted so far, and I want to see more!
Gwen
Okay. This Rhody and azeleas are under my bedroom window in back. I'm still in the process of expanding the bed using the lasagna compost method. The red and purple together are striking.
This is the area in front of my pond. I'm pulling the rocks and supports out because it sank on one side. Sadly, I discovered I can't level it by removing support under the higher side so I'm going to need help raising the side that sank. Logs were used on that side and they rotted. All I can think of is to use a hydraulic jack to raise it up and push concrete blocks under there until it's level again. In the mean time it doesn't look so pretty.
There's KittyMoose with her new summer haircut, she lost her fluff!
Bummer about the pond!
Kittymoose looks so funny. LOL I knew people shaved dogs for the summer (we did it last year) but I didn't know cats!
I started doing the 'lasagna' method last yearand altho it's a ton of work, I love the way it smothers everything you cover over! I need to plan ahead and cover in the fall for spring planting. Last year I did a lot of layers and just planted right in them. The stuff I did turned out great but all the extra layers to make it deep enough to plant in right away were a ton of work.
I was just reading yesterday in the vegie forum about people who are planting tomato plants directly into straw bales which I thought was very interesting! There appears to be some prep work involved and the thread is hundreds of posts long (actually is three threads now) so I don't know if I'm up to reading thru all of them this year. But it's something I might read thru over next winter and try out for next year. I like trying new stuff like that.
Gwen
Katy, what's the lasagna compost method?
You have some gorgeous plants!
You have your work cut out for you with the pond. If you have a contractor friend, you could see about getting concrete pumped under it to raise the one side. Would be more form-fitting than blocks, I would think, and you could hide the concrete with the stones/timbers.
Gwen, KittyMoose is a Manx (you can't in the photo she doesn't have a tail) and she has a thick waterproof underlayer that can mat so badly it can tear her skin. I brush and comb her every day but the black area is impervious! She loves the haircut.
Marion, the lasagna method is just layering green/brown vegetable matter and newspaper/cardboard. I used the sod I've dug up for the veggie then keep building it up to the height I need. It's wonderful for creating new beds and easy compost. Here's a new bed I've started in the front yard using sod dug to expand the flower beds. I'm just laying it over the existing lawn.
Gwen, I saw the hay bale method last year on tv. The lady had severe leg problems and it was hard for her to bend over and plant or harvest. She elevated the bales on other bales and then planted. It was all done at waist level or higher. Makes cleanup a breeze!
I like your plastic brick edging. You said Home Depot has it? How expensive was it? My husband wants edging of some sort. I am using the brown fiber edging that Home Depot has that comes on a roll, but he doesn't like that. I suggested cedar edging to match the fences, but he didn't seem too keen on that. The fake brick may be just the ticket.
Marion, I don't remember exactly what it cost but I did research edgings extensively and with the amount I estimated I would require it was the least expensive per foot. I ordered it over the Internet and got free delivery early in 2005. I don't remember if that was a special offer or not.
Beautiful stuff , Katy! I just found your thread. I must now seriously think about that weigela. It's stunning. that variegated shrub that Kyra pointed out when you were all here, and I was having an estrogen moment and couldnt'remember what it was, is a variegated wiegela. I love it. So now, wine and roses. hmmm.
Re your pond, do you think it would be easier in the long run, and maybe more stable, too, to empty the pond and remove it, replace good supports, then put it back in? You could store your fish in a childrens swimming pool until it's done. I know you'd have to remove the edging, but I'm wondering if it would actually be easier to get it even that way.
You know Pixydish, I'm thinking you might be right. I may even be able to do it that way by myself and get it just the way I want it. It will have to wait until after the rains I suppose although I could start pulling more stuff away from around it on a "showery day" if it dries a little bit. I have a couple of very large/deep plastic bin things here the fish should be fine in if they're in the shade and some shallower ones for the little plants you gave me.
Okay, you made up my mind for me! I'm going to do it!
It sounds like a plan. sure you don't want to invite some of us locals down to give you a hand? I believe we all proved our worth at the packing party! LOL With help, it could be done in an afternoon. Plus, you wouldn't hurt as bad afterward. I'm learning my lesson on that one the hard way.
Thanks Pixy, that a thought but I'm terrible at planning (and to think I used to do it for a living!). In my new mode I just jump in and do something for a while then jump another direction and do something else. Do you think I'm rebelling?
I was poking around out there a bit and guess what, I think this thing was made from one of the original satellite dishes! It's got these hugh steel pipe supports all around it and criss-crossing underneath it. Wow, that Charlie was some character! LOL
Very interesting! I've been trying to get rid of one of those in my backyard since we moved here! I just found someone yesterday who's coming to get it to make it into an umbrella/cover to sit over his daughter's sandbox. I thought I'd never get rid of that eyesore.
Gwen
Gwen, this thing is heavy steel I think. I wouldn't want to see it hanging over any kids head! LOL Squish!
