My First Hellebore Bloom

Now that the trees in the backyard are finally getting larger and with the addition of a shed, we're finally getting/creating a little shade! I'm envisioning a part of the back bed being a woodland area with beautiful Hostas, Lily of the Valley, Brunnera and the Hellebore. It was love at first site with the Hellebore. Once I started to investigate this plant and found out that it's evergreen as well, it was a must for the garden.

So, last Fall, I bought my first two Hellebore's "Pink Parachutes" and the woman wished me good luck (it was very late in the season and our first snow fall had occurred). I thanked her and drove home on cloud nine because, I got these two large plants for a very good price - $8.50! Every Hellebore I've seen in a catalog has been at least $16 for a much smaller plant. So, it's now early March and I have my first Hellebore bloom and the addiction has begun - I need more. It will be the first thing I look for at the garden nursery this year. I hope you enjoy my first bloom.

Crocus Are Out!

My bulbs are bursting through the top layer of the earth in anticipation of Spring, and I'm so excited! As you recall, I spent the fall planting some ~300 bulbs and I'm hoping the show isn't a complete flop. I did pay attention to color and heights and bloom times...so I'm hoping my combinations work together - crossing my fingers. Time will tell I guess, but I'm getting the camera ready!

The crocus are out and it makes me smile every time I take the front door walkway. Seeing them drinking up the sun just makes me want to stop and slow down and take an extra look around the garden. Mother Nature's way of telling me to stop and smell the flowers. After a couple of hectic weeks at work, it does me good.

The pictures below were taken a couple of weeks ago. There are more purple crocus now, will take more pictures and upload. Enjoy my first signs of Sping!



Hyacinth



tulips

Some Favorites of 2011

Didn't take to many pictures of the garden last year, so this new coming year I vow to have that camera handy and with me in the garden. Below are some of my favorites, that I did take in 2011! Wishing all my gardening friends a Healthy, Happy and Peaceful New Year and of course a blooming garden!



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.

Trick or Treat?

Mother nature is definitely a trickster. Woke up today to no power, and at least an inch of snow on the ground. Didn't get power until sometime after 4pm....I say SOMETIME, because I headed to my mothers who never lost power and returned home at 8pm to power! I never expected to see snow covered trees bowing to the ground,snow covered roofs and shoveling the driveway...the day before Halloween??!! Hence Trick not Treat!!


The poor pots, all tucked together after Hurricane Irene and now the snow.

 Well, I wanted to get my peonies into the ground as soon as possible. So, yes I braved the inch of snow. I cleared the snow off the bed and trudged forward planting the beautiful peonies from yesterdays blog. All of them hat a least 3 eyes some had 4! Hope all will be well with them.