Usually I record these thoughts in a file on my computer, but I thought this may be a better place for them. This year was "an outdoor year" as J deemed it; we concentrated most of our home improvements on the exterior landscaping. We started with 4 cubic yards of bark mulch to replenish the mulch we laid down about three years ago. We also dismanteled our existing compost pile and spread its contents throughout the perennials in the yard. We would have liked to keep it, but the tall maples surrounding our yard keep increasing our shady areas every year, plus it seems like our yard is too small to accomodate the ideal 3-bin composting setup. We have considered getting one of those prefabricated bins, but they're not cheap.
North side bed: Johnny One-Note Daylilies
Noticing that the plants hadn't spread all that much, we dug down to the landscaping cloth we'd put down and discovered that the plants were being hindered. So we ripped out a bunch of the cloth surrounding each plant, gave it some compost and mulch. Well, that did it because the entire bed exploded with blooms this year! J was diligent about about deadheading the blooms as soon as they wilted to prolong the blooming time, and her efforts resulted in the longest flowering period we've had with them. Even so, the hot dry weather we've had this mid July cut off most of the plants before they were ready. It was advertised in White Flower Farm's catalog that these would last until October! That hasn't happened yet, but some of the plants that don't get as much sun are readying themselves for a second flowering.
Front Window Boxes
In last year's notes I wrote, "Started indoors in peat pellets in mid April. Could even wait until late April to start indoors. Set outside to harden off in Mid May. Transplant to window boxes by Memorial Day." Well, I didn't really stick to this timetable. I don't think I got seedlings transplanted until mid-June due to the August-like weather we had in May. I didn't want them to fry, since I had nursed them along from seeds under grow lights in the basement. This year I started pansies and phlox indoors from seed and they were the first to bloom. I just direct-seeded the nasturtiums into the boxes since they are so quick-growing. They are just starting to bloom now that the pansies and phlox are waning. I came across the nasturtium seed packet recently, and I might sow a few more of them to take us into the fall.
The "self watering" window boxes are working out great! I love that I can just fill up the reservoir and the roots will draw it up as needed. This is ideal for someone like me, who tends to forget to check if the soil is dry until it is too dry. I wish the pots were better looking aesthetically, otherwise I'd use them for my houseplants, too.
I must remember to pull out the pansies and plant them in the garden for an early spring second bloom. Two years ago we let the pansies go dormant right in the box and I thought they'd died because we had a pretty harsh winter. But they actually came up again the following spring.
Front Yard Garden
This is our sunniest, most care-free spot. The Cornell Pink Azaleas were beautiful in the spring as usual but they're still pretty small; must research what to do to encourage more growth. The Dwarf Kalmia (Mountain Laurel) were transplanted here as well and they're faring better than they did in the shady south side bed. Luke picked out and helped plant a red verbena that has just flourished in the northeast corner of the garden. But the nearby Gaillardia, which gave such a great showing last year, has so far not bloomed, even though it has spread. I believe that they're not getting enough sunlight because the oak tree has spread out and shades that side of the house more than it did. In fact, it's really encroaching upon the house and we may want to consider pruning it back. But to do that we're going to need to buy or borrow one of those long-arm pruners like what Anita S. has. If the Gaillardia don't put out any blooms this year we're going to have to move it in the spring. The other perennials from J's mom (Centaurae thistle and perennial phlox) have really spread out this year, putting out more blooms than ever before. And the Coreopsis has REALLY REALLY spread. We may have to dig some up next year and give it away or swap it so that it doesn't take over the whole bed.
We also have a couple of unimaginative shrubs in the front, two junipers and two of another evergreen shrubs. "Say no to 70s bushes" is J's sister's philosophy, and intellectually we agree, but then that would leave us with nothing to hang our Christmas lights on. Maybe we just need to do some drastic pruning to the low bushes. J pruned the junipers last year quite heavily and the mockingbirds refused to nest in it this year. It's also hard to part with them because without them our front yard would look completely dead in the winter. We're going to have to look for better alternatives.
We are entertaining the thought of extending the front beds out to the walkway next year. Cut down on some lawn and put in some more flowers. Of course that would mean putting down some more mulch. I could get on board with that.
Coming up, notes on: South Side Bed, Backyard Beds, the Lawn and my Container Grown Tomatoes
