Remember this picture of our poor flower bed taken over by boys and Beagles?
The Mister and I bought some plants this weekend in hopes of beautifying the area and repelling all creatures under 50 pounds. It does still look a little bare, with everything so young and all, but I still think it looks absolutely fantastic!
That’s our office in the backyard. (Note the chalk on the walls, courtesy of Nico Van Gogh.) From left to right we have a Night Blooming Jasmine Dwarf Tree (Yes, a tree. Those rascally bioengineers!), Nemesia, clover ground cover, our original Gardenia bush, more clover, and Indian Hawthorne. In the empty space between tree and Nemesia is the other Gardenia bush we planted last year: one sad twig of Gardenia bush with nary a leaf in sight. But, it’s alive, and we are hoping with peace and quite the poor fellow will rise from the mulch in fragrant glory, so we left plenty of breathing room for him.
Between the plants and mulch, we are confident this will keep the boys and Beagles out of the beds. Wait a minute. Seriously?! That poor Gardenia twig!
Oh, well. They can sit if they promise not to dig. In the meantime, the Mister and I need to think of what we are going to do with the remaining 2,000,000 yards of flower bed in the back yard.
And because I know someone will ask, that tree really is in our backyard and really is that big! In fact, that is the next project in the garden. The roots are close to the ground, and the earth around the tree compact. Does anyone have any plant suggestions?
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Ok, Jules. Not that I don’t think all of y’all’s hard work is beautiful and all that–the landscaping work is pretty after all…but I’m a little partial to the first picture…the one with the BOYS GROWING OUT OF IT!!!!! I think those are the most beautiful plants! Oh and your yard (especially compared to mine) looks like it belongs in BH&G!!!!!!!! Mine is pathetic. (Can I claim that we’re forever in a drought and just had plumbing problems that led to digging up 50% of said yard???)
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Looks like you get a lot of sun back there behind the tree? Have you ever considered using part of it as a vegetable garden? We had 2 large trees in our yard that we had removed last year and our yard went from full shade to sun. I too am in the process of creating flower beds and choosing plants. I am going mostly with perennials, but we also had a small vegetable garden last year and Ross loved it! We are expanding it this year to add more variety and once everything is in the ground it really is not that much work. Can’t wait to see what you choose for the space – there are so many choices!
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Pat, yes, we have considered a vegetable garden! I was really hoping I could plant something in that raised bed. I tried last year, but not go. Maybe I need to dig out most of it a replace the soil with something amended? The only thing I don’t like about that idea is that I would lose the flower bed on the ground directly beneath it. In tending to and reaching the vegetables, anything on the ground would get trampled.
I think I should skip the vegetable garden idea in the raised beds and put it instead somewhere along the ground. But what to put in the raised beds? Something low maintenance, for sure.
I’m a dolt with plants so I can’t help you there but I just wanted to say I love the new plant bed! So neat and tidy (unlike little boys, though those are awfully cute!)
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I covet your sunshine and warmer temperature. I just want to sit outside in the sunshine.
{sigh} It looks neat and tidy, nice yard.
You should try this company. They sell pre-planned flower beds. I’ve bought three of these and couldn’t be happier. They make it so easy. The plants are itsy bitsy when they come but, they are very hearty and are huge by the time the summer is over. I could have never picked out the right plants for my beds if I hadn’t gone this way. You could also mix in a few vegetable plants with them and then you could have the best of both worlds!
http://www.bluestoneperennials.com/b/bp/specials.html
Toi, what a great resource! Thank you!!
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That pic of your Beagle is hilarious….
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Jules that is a gorgeous tree! Just wanted to say that …no advice on plants. I used to fill my gardens with annuals (hundreds of dollars worth) every year – then hire someone to water them all summer while we went on vacation. No more. I only plant pots now – much more manageable and I can move them around when I feel the urge. Much more economical for us too. However, we are giving a small vegetable garden a go this year. :-)
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I’ve just found your blog recently and been reading the archives. Vinca Minor is an evergreen, perrenial ground cover with bluish purple flowers in the Spring and sometimes Fall. I used it at my last house under a large Magnolia Tree whose roots were very numerous and close to the surface.
Here is a website w/ picture: http://hcs.osu.edu/hcs/TMI/Plantlist/vi_minor.html That way you won’t confuse it with the annual flower, also called vinca. Good Luck!