My husband has been telling people about my garden blog. I'm touched that he would do that and also a bit intimidated! I created this blog with the purpose of journaling my garden progress, mishaps, discoveries, and to document my journey. I never post with the thought of an audience other than myself. So if you are reading and wondering where the 'good stuff' is for the reader...it's probably not here! I don't have any tutorials about how I did anything, and don't get very detailed. I guess if I ever acquire followers, I'll rethink what and how I write this blog. For now...I'm just talking to myself, for myself.
Summer Begins...
Ah... June! School's out! I'll miss the kids and staff, but am SO excited to have some time in my garden! I had the last week to play (have to return to work for the next two weeks... but I'll be back!)
Here's how the garden is looking on June 10th.
I headed home on Friday, June 1st and was very excited that I would be able to stop at 'Diggin In the Dirt' in Woodland Park on my way home. Tina, owner of 'Diggin in the Dirt' is going out of business (sniff, sniff) and afforded me the luxury and opportunity to stop and shop before her official sale. As you can see in the pictures below...I got a little carried away! I couldn't fit much in the VW bug, so went back Saturday morning to pick up my loot.
I purchased a variety of goodies...and 48 plants! Gasp...I know...very decadent...but I won't be able to go again!
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| Cone Flower, Snow-on-the mountain, Joe Pye Weed, Lilac, Peony, Crane's Bill, Lupine, Veronica, Maltese Cross, Gayfeather, Poppy Mallow, Echinops, Tanacetum, Black Eyed Susan, Potentilla, Sedum, Helenium, Hens & Chicks, Monard, Stone Crop, Foxglove Penstemon |
I cannot adequately express my joy and excitement with the task ahead to plant and play!
I had plans... I had a flower bed that was nothing but grass and was just plain ugly. The weekend before, I hauled eight wheelbarrow loads of dirt from my raised beds that I had been in the fenced vegetable garden (now gone), so I was so relieved to know I had dirt! I worked this up in preparation, so I got busy planting.
Here's how it looked after I got the plants in their new home. This new garden bed will be christened 'Koby's Korner' after my grandson. Since I had created 'Hadley's Patch' I had to provide equity!
Next task...I hunted our property for rocks to create a border...and placed some of the items I got from Tina (watering can and dutch oven). I also moved a dead stump from another area to the back of this bed. I had to dig a deep hole for the post (a broken piece from the garden we took down) and treat it with sealer to hang the sign.
Here are a few other views of 'Koby's Korner', though I admit, my photography skills really need some work!
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| What's planted in Koby's Korner: (1) Cornflower, (1) Lilac, (2) Lower Walker Catmint, (1) Russian Sage, (3) Cashmere, (1) Gayfeather, (1) Snow-on-the-mountain, (1) Poppy Mallow, (3) Lilies, (1) bunch of Maximillian Sunflowers transplanted, (3) Campanula, (3) Veronia, (3) Maltese Cross, (3) Echinops, (1) Verbascum, (2) Joe Pye Weed, (1) Liatris, (1) Peony |
The sign I created to name this bed. I have a couple of buckets of rusty junk I keep 'just in case'... finally a purpose for it! Thank goodness for E600 Glue! I tried a variety of ways to secure the rusty metal and in the end, the glue did the trick. Thanks Danneen for steering me onto this solution!
'Koby's Korner' didn't require all 48 new plants. Where did the rest go? They are tucked in a variety of other spots within established beds.
This is the list of plants that have successfully come back for me at 9,200 feet:
*Delphinium, Siberian Catmint, Lower Walker Catmint, Cone Flower, Lovage, Columbine, Snow-On-The-Mountain, Jacob's Ladder, Joe Pye Weed, Hops Vine, Silver Lace Vine, Clematis, Lilac, Poppy, Phlox, Bleeding Heart, Yarrow, Peony, Lupine, Crane's Bill (Johnson's Blue Geranium), Veronica, Lilies, Blue Flax, Cashmere, Maximillian Sunflower, Maltese Cross, Echinops, Obedient Plant, Campanula, Tanacetum, Potentilla, Sedum, Cornflower, Iris, Rhubarb, Helenium, Penstemon, Monard, Lady's Mantle, Stone Crop, Russian Sage.
*Bulbs: Allium, Tulips
That's 44 different kinds of plants that are happy at 9,200 feet!
* New for me this year so we shall see:
Liatris, Black Eyed Susan, Hens & Chicks, Poppy Mallow, Gayfeather, Geum (Lady Stratheden), Gaura, Foxglove Penstemon
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| I'm starting to have a 'crowding' problem. I have plants I need to mark and then transplant next spring. The delphiniums have grown so large they are crowding out other plants and smothering them...we can't allow that! |
Update on 'Hadley's Patch'...
Here it was a month ago in May freshly planted...
Here it is in June! You'll also see a few more of the goodies I got from Tina...the dutch shoe and the cement bird bath...Tina made that!
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| What's planted in Hadley's Garden: (8) Delphinium, (3) Columbine, (3) Creeping Phlox, (3) Phlox, (3) Lupine, (3) Jacob's Ladder, Poppies, (3) Beard-tongue Penstemon, (3) Shasta Daisies, (these don't always come back for me) (3) Geum, (3) Gaura, (1) Bleeding Heart, Hops Vine at each end. |
What's blooming in June -
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| Low Walker Catmint |
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| Poppies...yeah! |
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| Allium |
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| Delphinium, which seem to thrive here... I'm considering myself extremely lucky because these are one of my favorite flowers! |
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| Lilies |
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| A bulb I planted in the fall and can't remember the name....help! |
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| Penstemon |
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| Columbine |
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| Daisies |
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| Bleeding Heart... this plant is waist high! |
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| Blue Flax...in the morning. |
Fixin' to bloom
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| A plethora of different plants, the largest being the delphinium. |
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| One of the lilac bushes might actually do it this year! (They were very tiny babies a year ago) |
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| Peony??? This will be it's third year...so maybe it will! It's looked like this before and never opened. |
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| Iris |
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| Giant allium |
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| Here's the giant allium and the hops vine which is making rapid growth up the arch. |
My Garden Partner:
Before I can move on, I have to include a note of appreciation for my husband.
He has been INCREDIBLY supportive, encouraging, helpful and indispensable.
He is such a good sport: he 'ohhs and ahh's'
He has put up the deer fence for me.
He just smiled when I showed up with 48 new plants.
He keeps things watered for me when I am gone!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
He may not be comfortable with it yet, but he is allowing me to use his power tools.
He hugs me when I am covered in garden dirt.
He buys me work gloves.
He rigged up a hose system for me.
He goes fly-fishing and leaves me alone to putter.
He loves me.
Projects
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| Here is the view from our property (in May) looking east and you can see the neighbors house. This has always really bugged us and was the sole reason we decided to try a privacy fence along the property line. |
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| A view a bit further back, but you can see that the privacy fence has done the trick! We love it! |
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| Here is the fence before I stained it. |
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| Stained in cedar. Took me 10 hours to stain both sides. Whew...glad that chore is done! In the foreground you can see the raised beds left from taking down the vegetable garden. Once I used up all the dirt, I'll get rid of the boxes. |
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| Bottle tree I created using one of the left over poles from the vegetable garden fence. I made two of these. Thanks Danneed for the inspiration! I see myself figuring out a way to rig this with lights! |
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| Another recycled bottle idea... stole this from Pinterest! |
Outdoor Room
Unfortunately, Jaime Durham from HGTV's show, The Outdoor Room, did not select my entry, I submitted last summer, as a winner. Darn.
So, I'm taking baby steps to create a sense of that on my own.
Started with the purchase of a large picnic table and some adirondack chairs. Still beginning, but off to a start!
I'm open to suggestions!
That's all for this post. I won't be able to play outside for several weeks, but looking forward to getting back to it. Looking forward to lots of company and lots of outdoor time! I'm working on my porch next, so will feature some photos of the porch on my next post.
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