How much wood could a Jeffrey chuck...?

I mentioned our mountain of wood chips in a previous post. In all, we had eight giant piles of wood chips delivered when the local tree trimmers were clearing around area powerlines. One pile is all cedar and will be used to mulch the existing beds. But the remaining mixed piles will form the foundation of my new landscape plan on the east side. That long stretch of property gets only morning sun and has a good deal of shade from the large oaks, cedar, hackberry, and various other trees. Grass never grew well there and it's been host to brambles, poison ivy, and other undesirable weeds. So I mowed it all down and am smothering it with cardboard and wood chips. I'll mix in compost, manure, gin trash, and the like as we're able to eventually create a woodland bed for azaleas, hydrangeas, ferns, hostas, and other shade lovers.

The expanse is about 10-15 feet wide in places and extends at least 100 feet, so trucking in topsoil would have been astronomically expensive. I'm really excited about the free wood chips, but it's back-breaking work to move them around and spread them out as we shape the beds. We may have to eventually call in some machinery to get it all where it needs to go, but right now it's our regular morning workout. Jeff calls it "Farm Strong", our personal version of CrossFit!

Queen of the hill

Maybe one day, those piles will look like this!

Good thing we have the girls for help!

Just in time...

for Memorial Day! I got my small porch planters done with clearance annuals and US flags actually made in America (love Lowes!).

And we got the bunting UV treated and hung back up for summer:

Wipeout!

We currently have no gutters on the house (I have my eye on half-round copper ones, but that would be done the road a bit). As such, there is an area on the front corner of the house that washes out frequently when it rains. It happens to be right in the landscape bed, so I avoided planting anything there for fear it would be ruined. But now that all the other landscaping had gotten established and lush, that desolate area looked forlorn.

So I decided to take a chance and see if plant material will 1) brighten the spot, and 2) keep the soil in place as an erosion barrier. It's just free and clearance plants, so there is little risk. I'll report back after a few gully washers and update the blog as to our success or failure!

This corner used to be bare, but some Blue Rug Juniper and a few leftover annuals will soon fill in and hopefully make it cheery and secure.

Climbing Clematis

I spent a lot of time and energy making the front of the house look nice last spring, but I never really got around to the back patio. Some pretty clematis and assorted annuals in a series of planters has helped that situation. I would love to build custom boxes around the base of the posts, but that may be a project for next year after I know for sure that the clematis gets enough sun in this particular location!

Spring

With all the spring rain comes the good and the bad. First, the good:

Beautiful Knockout roses! This is the Sunny variety, apparently the only Knockout with fragrance. And, oh, do they smell good! This is just their second season and they are blooming like little champs.

The herbs are also very happy. My perennial types came back with a bang, as evidenced by this sage. I was pinching it back, but the flowers are so pretty and I have plenty of leaves for culinary pursuits, so I've let it bloom out a bit.

The bad:

Fire ant mounds! I treated quite a few last fall, but with 30-40 acres of pasture on three sides of us, it feels like a never-ending battle. I'll think I've gotten them all, and then I discover new hills while mowing (thankfully from the safety of a riding mower this year instead of while walking behind the push mower)! I hate to use a lot of chemicals, but with a non-native, invasive pest such as these, there isn't much alternative. 

Don't Fence Me In

There was an old chain link fence down one side of our property. Except it wasn't on the property line, it was a good bit inside it; up to ten feet or more in places. So we decided to employ a little "manifest destiny" and reclaim some land!

We had planned to take the fence down for over a year now, but with other projects going, it wasn't a priority. But I decided to post the fence for free on Craigslist if someone was willing to remove it. Wow! I  had no idea so many people would want 200 feet of used chain link fence! From the minute it posted, I had none stop calls and emails until I had a chance to take down the ad two hours later.

With rain and bad weather, it took a few weeks for the guy to get it all removed. But he dug it up neatly and even cut down some of the briars and weedy bushes that were in the way, too. So now we have a new frontier to work on this spring. And we can enjoy the view and feed the horses treats right from the front yard! No "after" photos to show yet, because it doesn't look like much, but maybe one day.

Not so pretty fence

Rusty gate. You can see how much lawn we were losing between this fence and the property line

Just part of the brush pile I removed from the old fence row

(Not) Butterfly Bush

Jeff argues that Lantana should be called Butterfly Bush, not Butterfly Bush (Buddleia, actually). I can see his point. Every afternoon, we enjoy a swarm of butterflies around the walkway and front porch, all congregating on the New Gold Lantana. I have yet to see a butterfly on the nearby Buddleia, so perhaps Jeff is on to something!

Whipper Snapper

I love mowing the lawn! This is a very recent discovery, happily coinciding with the very recent acquisition of a little riding mower.

Our neighbor loaned us an older Snapper riding mower that he doesn't use anymore. I was a bit intimidated at first by the 30" spinning blades, the throttle settings, the gear shift, the hand and foot pedals for engaging the blades, the lack of brakes, etc. It's quite a bit more involved than just priming the push mower and pulling the cord. But Jeff patiently walked me through it and now I'm a mowing maniac.

The mower has had its share of wear and tear, and it gave us a few problem at first. But Jeff persevered and has replaced the belt, fixed the bearings on the wheel, and repaired the front axle when it came apart mid-mow! The mower is sort of hinged in the middle, and every time I go over a big hump or bump or slope, it undulates like a horse maneuvering his forehand and hindquarters. Even more reminiscent of horseback riding is the fact that the seat foam and vinyl are worn completely through on the left side, making the driver's hips sit a bit crooked; so whenever the terrain is uneven, I pitch to the left and feel as though my saddle is slipping!

But there is something relaxing about having a (relatively) easy physical task that precludes any multitasking and frees the mind. And the satisfaction of seeing neat, trim rows of shorn grass is quite pleasant, too!

Plum Shriveled Up!

Here's a sampling of our first batch of "sun-dried" tomatoes for the year. We've been enjoying the fresh, ripe cherry and plum tomatoes in salads, soups, pastas, etc., but when they start coming out of our ears, I turn to dehydrating.

I don't know if it's just the variety I planted, or the early lack of rain, or some other microclimate factor, but my Roma tomatoes are quite small this year. But that just makes drying them go all the more quickly. My technique is to slice lengthwise, arrange on a cooling rack, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and place in the oven at 200 F. It usually takes at least six hours, but with the small ones, I got it done in just over four.

Another little summer treat is homemade peach milkshakes. I still can't get them to taste quite as good as Chik-fil-a, but I comfort myself that they probably use some less healthy recipe or ingredients!

Kicking Against the Bricks

I've been working on the edging for the narrow bed between the house and the driveway. The elderly asphalt had eroded along the sides, leaving a random and variable width. Because of the intermittent hardtop, we couldn't trench it or do any edging that required burial. But we did have a rather large pile of discarded bricks picked up from random places around the house. We killed two birds with one stone by using the unwanted bricks to form a tidy dry-laid edging. I did have a find a source for a few more matching bricks when I ran out partway through the project, which was no easy matter. Who knew there were so many sizes and colors of "antique brick"? But I finally purchased enough and our little band of bricks is holding up well to chicken abuse.

Here are a few before shots. We had to wipe the slate clean of weeds, scraggly thorned plants, two giant yucca with even giant-er tuberous roots, and a small tree planted much to close to the foundation. Then we raised the landscape bed with compost and mulch, before adding plants or edging.

Clean slate, after clearing weeds this winter

Working the soil in the spring

And now, with the matching brick and plantings! For the most part, the edging is containing the raised bed and keeping the chicken destruction to a minimum. I still have to occasionally scoop up some mulch from the drive and replace it in the herb bed, as that is Atomic's favorite worm-hunting ground. But for a $30 investment in bricks, it has been a very satisfactory improvement.

A nice view of the climbing vine shielding the porch

My kitchen herb garden, right outside the mudroom door

Hidden Gardens

On Sunday, Jeff and I enjoyed an afternoon in Old Town historic district viewing the hidden gardens tour. It is put on by the residents of the district to showcase their private yards and gardens as a fundraising benefit, and the event draws quite a crowd each year. We got some great ideas, talked to some friendly homeowners, bumped into a couple of friends, tasted the array of homemade refreshments, and generally spent a leisurely few hours relaxing.

Raised (not Razed)

We have several of the new beds built up. It may take a bit more amending after this first load settles, but we seem to be getting there. I'm thinking impatiens, hellebores, hostas, caladium, maybe some foxglove. It will be nice to play with some shade/part sun plantings here, since my main beds are on the south and west. 

Before

Present

The front walkway beds are coming along, as well. They still need a bit more soil and a top dressing of hardwood mulch to make them uniform, but I'm loving the look. It is a little daunting to think of planting and maintaining all that raised area now, though. But the beds looks so tidy and attractive as is, I don't feel any rush to cram them with plant material. A few annuals and perennials each spring and fall and I think it will slowly take shape. 

Before

During

Present

We hope to one day reinstall the original curved drive that traversed the front yard (right about where those buddleia bushes are sitting), making that central walkway relevant again. But it's already getting hot, so all that digging, leveling, and earthwork might be a good project for fall weather!

Bed Head

Jeffrey made the bed! Well, he actually made five or six. Landscape beds, that is. (But he's actually really helpful with the mattress kind, too!)

We've had edging our landscaping on the brain lately, so we rented a bed edger last Wednesday from a local equipment rental facility and got busy. Jeff practiced first on a few less critical areas in the backyard, like a new kidney shaped shade garden I wanted to experiment with under the tulip magnolia.

We really dig it! It works like a trencher, carving out a two to four inch deep channel, but it has a curved edge on one side to pile the soil neatly up and away into the bed. It makes those perfect "golf course" edges you see and love.

Thursday began the edging in earnest, with the reworking of our foundation beds to include the new walkway beds and incorporate the giant gardenia.

Just for the record, if you decide to try this yourself, have plenty of marking paint on hand! I had a partial can and bought a second just in case, and we ended up running through all of it and spray-painting the grass with gloss white, flat black, primer, and whatever else I had hanging around the garage! 

After Jeff trenched, I shaped the existing soil into a sloped profile. Our next step will be trucking in additional top soil and compost to raise the beds (for aesthetics as well as drainage and soil amendment purposes). And then of course the planting of more shrubs, annuals, and perennials. Back breaking work, but we think it will be worth the effort. 

Master Gardener Grad

Our Master Gardener class had graduation today. We started the program nearly a year and a half ago, back in January of 2011. It was four months of classes and 50 volunteer hours to completion. I am proud to say that our class was the first in the tri-county area to have all the students complete the entire program. Many do the classes but don't get their hours in, or some have to drop out of the class. Our group survived a "freak" snow and ice storm (for Alabama, anyway), major tornadoes, our extension agent/main lecturer breaking multiple ribs, and several other minor catastrophes. But we stuck together and have become a tight-knit group.

Graduation was a fun evening shared with spouses and loved ones, all gathered to enjoy a catered BBQ chicken meal and the presentation of certificates and official name badges. I already have plans with some MG friends for fieldtrips and outings, so the fun continues!

In a class of almost 30, I was one of the youngest!

Surrounded by good friends and fellow gardening enthusiasts

Receiving my certificate and name badge

Pretty Planters

I have been desiring some nice planters for the front steps. The concrete caps are just begging for some green, growing things on top. But attractive planters of a decent size can be expensive, especially once you add in the potting soil and all the plants. So I was thrilled when I found some nicely shaped and sized pots at a local closeout store.

No matter that they were an unattractive beige-y color! I have my favorite "stick to everything" primer always on hand, and I even had sample cans of the perfect paint color right in the shop (the same blue-gray-green as the clapboard siding on the upper story of the house). I bought two sizes of each planter and have been priming, painting, and poly-ing the last few days. I'm quite happy with the frugal result! With some more clearance plants and gifted freebies, the four planters should be full by tomorrow.

Saving for a Rainy Day

Jeff came with me to make a rain barrel yesterday. I've been planning to take one of the classes the Extension Service offers on rain barrels, but so far most have been offered in other counties. This one came up a few weeks ago, and since Jeff would be done teaching classes, he offered to accompany me.

It was a simple hour lecture and demo, and then we were set free to pick our barrels and use the available tools. It's quite simple, but I'm glad we attended the class, because we had access to much nicer barrels than I could have found on Craigslist or something. These are 60 gallon terracotta-colored olive barrels from Greece with threaded lids, which makes adding the debris screen on top much easier. Jeff likes the Greek emblem and lettering on the side, and even enjoys the odor of Mediterranean food evoked by the empty barrels. We each made one rain barrel, but we got the contact info in case we decide we would like more matching barrels.

Waiting my turn for the pipe-threading tap

Wonderful Windowboxes

Since I have quite the little nursery of extra plants built up in the back corner of yard (from gifts, propagation, plant sales, clearances, etc.), I thought perhaps a little color on the left side of the house would be in order. It's a very sunny spot, but the small Knock Out roses aren't doing much blooming yet, and the herb garden will be mostly green. I found bronze colored windowboxes for $2.50 each, and Jeff fell in love with some colorful celosia at the garden center. I used that as my (soon-to-be) tall "thriller" element, mixed in some 25¢-per-pack discount annuals as filler, and tossed in two colors of sweet potato vine for spillers.

These boxes fit nicely on the windowsills outside the two downstairs bedrooms. I think they will really cheer up the western face of the house, which also happens to be the most prominent side coming down the road. I love that I can just open the windows and water them, and I look forward to seeing them fill in!

Hooray for Herbs

I love Lowes! I was in the store pricing some materials for my windowbox project and decided to check out the garden center on my exit. There, I found several pots of summer annuals on clearance that will work nicely in my newest planters for the porch steps. Even better, I noticed a sign after checking out that had herbs and vegetable starts in peat pots mark down to $1.50 through today! I had just been working on the herb bed Sunday, so for once I have the site prepared before the plants come home. I filled my cart again and went through the check-out line a second time, but it was well worth the extra trip.

Botanical Bonanza

Our Huntsville Botanical Gardens has a huge annual plant sale every spring. As members, we get to attend the very first day, which is not open to the general public. I finished my volunteer work with the Master Gardeners and picked up Jeff, who played a little hooky from work for a few hours so we could romp over to the gardens and peruse the perennials, annuals, herbs, shrubs, and other goodies together.

I already have more plants than I can get in the ground, but I have been needing some annuals for the walkway flowerbeds. I haven't amended the soil, built up the beds, or installed any edging yet, but hopefully we will get to that soon. I say hopefully, since we went ahead and purchased a few flats of verbena! The price was too good to resist, and it's exactly what I've been planning for. Their lantana was a bit more than I wanted to spend, but I think I'll be able to find it reasonably priced elsewhere. Those two bloomers, combined with the free variegated liriope we dug a few weeks ago and the purple heart I plan to propagate, will form the main players. I'd love to work in some golden shrimp plant and angelonia, but I don't want to go too crazy!

Tangled Web We Weave

I spent some time this week creating an invisible trellis for my purple hyacinth bean plants. It's a lovely ornamental climbing bean with small lavender flowers in the summer and long dark showy pods from late summer until first frost. A Master Gardener friend got me started on it when she showed me her gazebo covered in it last summer and gave me some seeds.

I started them inside, and as they got growing, they wanted to twine around anything and everything. We're technically a few days shy of the last official frost date for zone 7 (April 15th), but since we just hit the 30's last night and the temps are climbing again, surely we won't have another cold snap! That's my 'hurry up, I want to plant it!' gardening logic, anyhow. So I prepared the beds and rigged up a tidy lattice of high strength fishing line just off the front porch. The vines will block the hot western sun in summer and form a visual screen from the busy road a quarter mile from us. It's just an annual, but it will serve as a nice place holder for the evergreen Clematis Armandii I would like to plant there this fall.