Bye Bye Turf

Next years garden project - to create a large bed the length of the back yard. I've gone back and forth with this and I've slowly (snail speed) gotten rid of some grass in the area but, would start working on a different part of the garden because, I HATE the labor associated with digging up the grass! I hate grass!

Last weekend, I spent most of my time laying down corrugated cardboard on the area in order to slowly suffocate the grass and hopefully have the cardboard breakdown during the winter months.  It's not a pretty sight, but I've seen this done on a couple of blogs and have decided to try it myself...like I said, I HATE digging up the grass!

Hopefully the neighbors don't notice all the cardboard from afar, especially with the leaves layered on top, hence why I picked the fall season to do this (curb appeal has gone out the window with this method). They probably think I've gone bonkers with cardboard. I still have some more cardboard to lay down this weekend in order to finish off the bed but, I would rather do THIS than dig up the grass and break my back. I will live with the unsightly view outside the kitchen window for now...plus with the snow coming sooner or later, it will all disappear very soon.

Grass, grass go away don't come back another day (sing to the melody of Rain, Rain go away).

Walking Through The Garden....Fall Treasures





Notice the tiny mushrooms...fit for a Fairy.

 

Clematis seed heads

 

  

Fall Blooming bulbs, got these from White Flower Farm last fall, http://www.whiteflowerfarm.com/.

Every Plant Must Go!

Okay, you're driving along, maybe home from work as I was, minding your own business when a sign jumps in front of you reading " EVERY PLANT MUST GO"! Okay, so now do you perk up and start thinking of all the treasures and possibilities that might be awaiting you, or do you keep on driving?!

I stopped!!! I got all the wonderful garden plants below at $6.00 each. I got some Lilac, Canadian Hemlock and a Pine. I'm very excited. I don't have many evergreens...one to be exact, so Hemlock and Pine will have a home in the backyard and the three Lilacs will reside near our property line for some added privacy. Was never a huge Lilac fan, until I saw how beautiful they look in bouquets and that hooked me in.

I did take the time to look over each plant to make sure they looked healthy and free of disease. A bargain isn't a bargain if they're unhealthy. There were some plants that had some powdery mildew and what looked like cottony cushion scale, which probably occurred from lots of moisture and bad air circulation. I actually had cottony cushion scale on my hydrangea hedge against the garage wall. I ended up digging them all up and placing them further away from the garage wall and also treated them with horticultural oil. I don't let my husband water the lawn in that area, he was using a overhead sprinkler, so that had to be stopped (in my opinion lawns are overrated, need more room for my plants :)). But, they've survived and did well this summer.