Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gardening. Show all posts

Tuesday, June 23, 2015

What We've Been Up To...A Garden and Yard Tour

It seems so long since I've sat here and composed a post...the month of June has gone by so fast it seems, but that's most likely because we have been completing quite a few projects on our to-do list!

 We've had a pretty wet spring, but that hasn't deterred us from tackling some outside projects.

We dug out some existing gardens and got the soil levels down away from the foundation.  I've planted some hostas along with a dwarf Japanese Maple tree that the kids bought me for Mother's Day along the back of the house.



I also painted the support posts on the "carport" sitting area black to clean them up and make them last another year until we can really tackle this project.



McG and I dug out the shrubs and stone from this area and added new gravel and a small shed to hold our garbage pails and recycling boxes out of sight.


McG got my fountain up and running in its new home as well.  I love to hear the water while I'm out in the garden.





I've been busy adding to the garden under the tree in the back yard.  Most of it we brought from the garden at the other house, but we've added some cedars and small shrubs to this space as well.



I've cleaned up the garden bed along the "carport" as well thinning out some of the plants and adding some pots of flowers.


McG has started to remove the grass for our new patio.  It will be a space where we can put our outdoor fire pit and enjoy some marshmallows and hotdogs cooked over a fire.


The brick edging for the back garden was recycled from some of the existing garden beds that were here when we purchased the house.  This area under the big Maple tree in the back made the perfect garden space as there wasn't much grass growing under the tree anyway.




We will be moving the stairs to the other side of the deck soon and re-routing the sidewalk to make access to the septic tank cleanout a little easier.


Earlier in the spring McG finished trimming up the pine trees along the driveway.  This gave me even more garden space since it provided another area that had no grass growing in it.  We cleaned up the edging and I've been planting along there as well.




Most of the hostas in this garden were splits from ones that were already in the yard when we bought the property.  A few of them I purchased new and the rest I split out of my Mother's garden.  She was very generous and helped me fill up this space.


All of the garden art and other "pretties" came from the other house when we moved here.  It is so nice to finally have them in their new home!


This garden is approximately fifty feet long.  It's really taking shape and we've been getting many compliments from people passing by.


I've also been working on trimming all the existing bushes in the front of the house and adding a few hostas and perennials to this area as well.






McG also set up my smaller fountain in the front garden under our bedroom window.


Most nice days you can find me in the yard, cutting the grass or weeding the garden beds.




It's been a busy month around here as far as the yard goes, but those projects are almost finished up.
Next we will be onto painting the exterior of our home and rebuilding our back deck.

Never a dull moment around here...what have you been up to around your home?

Tuesday, June 03, 2014

Garden Blooms

Since there's not much in the way of DIY'ing and home decorating projects going on right now, I thought I'd give you a quick tour of some of the garden today. 

These pictures were taken yesterday morning after a quick rain shower. 
 They were edited however for some reason when I transfer them to the blog
 - the green is showing up very intense.  




This is the back garden - I LOVE the Weigelia bush when it is in bloom.
..below is a closeup of the flowers.








 My container of black velvet petunias is starting to fill out nicely.




These are the Blue False Indigo in the side yard.
  I never think to pop over there much and end up missing some of the flowers.  




This past winter has been hard on the garden.
 My Clematis in the front yard is usually a show stopper
...this year only one bloom!!  




This is a Double Million Bells planter out in back. 




It's blooms resemble small roses.




This bloom belongs to the Dwarf Highbush Cranberry.
 It kind of resembles a hydrangea.




Here's a view of the front yard looking up from the driveway.




One of the many varieties of Hosta covered in raindrops.




The peony buds in the side yard.  They should open this week.




And the variegated Iris...a real show stopper!!
And that grape Koolaid-like scent gets me everytime!

Thanks for stopping by my garden this week!!

Cheryl

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

Awarding News in the Garden!!

Some of you are aware that our front garden was nominated for a Trillium Award, and WON!! 
 I was so excited when we got the letter in the mail a couple of weeks ago...
THANK YOU to whomever took the time to nominate us - WE ARE GRATEFUL!!  
This is the metal garden ornament we were presented with. 
 It is to be displayed in the front garden.



The ceremony took place last night at the monthly meeting of the LaSalle Horticultural Society here in town.  There are about 75 members, along with a elected Committee that runs it. 
 Last night's meeting consisted of a speaker from a local tree farm and the presentation of the Trillium Awards. 
 I have to tell you that I was quite nervous about the whole thing
...to think that MY "little garden" had won an award!!

They told us that many yards were nominated and that they usually award 10 awards,
 but this year there were 14 front gardens that won!
  Each homeowner was called up and their address was announced,
 so that members could find out where the "winning gardens" were should they wish to drive by and check them out.

We were presented with the garden ornament and a certificate of achievement.


Below are pictures I took of the garden this morning. 
 There are quite a few so I will keep the comments to a minimum...


This is the view from our front door.











The View from the street.











Below is the award in the garden!





We have more EXCITING NEWS as well!!  
We were asked to consider putting our gardens in next year's Garden Tour!!
  I am quite excited at the prospect, but I could see McG thinking that this might mean extra work for him.
Someone from the Committee will be coming to see our backyard to see if it meets the criteria for the Tour.
 I will keep you posted!

Thanks for touring our front garden today...we hope you enjoyed it!!

Saturday, September 14, 2013

What's Blooming...The Late Summer Edition

Well, here we are half way through September already!  I can't believe how fast the weeks go by now...

I haven't posted about the garden in awhile now.  The weather this summer was not the best here, and while we had a lot of things blooming early on, there has not really been anything "NEW" blooming until this week.

It has been crazy weather here - earlier this week, we had record high temperatures for September with two days in the 90's with high humidity.  Today, things are much cooler, with temps only in the 70's and no humidity.  But, I think that couple of days of extra warm temperatures was just what was needed to get a few things blooming!



The Mums have opened this week...at least the yellow and orange ones have
...there are still some burgundy and purple to come.




They really add a fall flavour to the garden!

Some of the Hostas are just blooming now as well.


Next up are the Sedum...the bees just love this flower!



The best in show award this week, however, goes to the Morning Glories who have just started to peak out!
I planted the seeds back in May but the plant is just coming into its own. 
 I am hoping the frost doesn't come too soon and kill it off.



The blooms are such a vibrant blue colour - it's too bad that don't last longer than one day!





Today was the perfect day to be in the garden.

Those who follow on Facebook know that our front yard has won a Trillium Award from the local Horticultural Society.  We were very shocked when we received the letter in the mail last week.  We have no idea who nominated us, but we are very grateful!
We are attending a ceremony this coming Tuesday to accept the award.

I will be sure and post about it next week...and I will show you what the front garden looks like then as well.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!

Cheryl