Wednesday, June 24, 2020

Digging in the dirt

One of my many goals for 2020 was to devote more time to Next Year, my garden.  I love gardening and beautiful gardens!  One of the many (hard) lessons I have learned:  beautiful, productive gardens don't just happen.  There is mega planning and work involved in a garden.

This is a my curb garden.  It started because there was a huge patch of Johnson grass growing in the lawn.  Applejack dug up the Johnson grass and the area was replaced with bargain and shared plants.

Many people in our neighborhood walk in the evenings, sometimes I see them pause and smell the flowers.

I have high hopes and big dreams for this curb garden.  The plan is for it to be a three season garden:  daffodils and Iris in the spring, daylilies, coneflower, blue salvia and hydrangea for the summer and chrysanthemum in the fall.  

This is oak leaf hydrangea, big and beautiful and one of my favorites.  The next door neighbor hates it.  He has been caught red handed trimming it!

The raised bed vegetable garden.  AppleJack and I built this two years ago.  Yes, more than half the soil which fills the bed came from our very own compost pile.  The first year we planted this garden, the deer saw a sign which said:  "the smorgasbord at Next Year is open, come on down."  They ate everything but the stems!  Deer are not welcome at my house.

War was declared!  Up went the fencing and the bed is regularly sprayed with a deer repellent (stinky stuff).  The bed is planted with beans, sweet potato, peppers, basil and bargain vinca from Walmart for some color.

Flowers (perennials) are like treasured friends anxiously awaiting to greet me with a smile.

No green thumbs, just brown hands from digging in the dirt.  My fingernails are not manicured but stained, my yard clothes are tattered, torn and stained from nurturing the garden.  My garden, like me, will always be a work in progress.

Gardening, good for the body a balm for the soul.

10 comments:

  1. Your garden is gorgeous! I would love to have a raised bed or two at some point. It must be nice to harvest fresh veggies and flowers!

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  2. What a breath of beauty!! Your flowers are glorious.... I love flowers as well and fight to have some nice perennials...but it is a struggle. Our growing season is so very short here...and every year I lose perennials at random and can't keep up with the "replacing." Plus, as you said, gardening requires some sweat and hard work...and so much of gardening is contraindicated with my back issues. We also have a second home on a lake and so my typical annual container gardening has been severely curtailed. And...I made the mistake of putting out a few hanging baskets out there....only to have them devoured by deer. Gah! We have a lot of deer here, but they have never bothered my plants near the house...but eek...up there it's nuts! Looking forward to seeing more of your flowers and gardens! ~Robin~

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  3. Your garden looks beautiful. I agree with everything you said. They take lots of care and planning. Up here we can grow dahlias. We have had the wettest June on record and the slugs think my dahlias are yummy. Almost as bad as deer. By the way, I do not like deer at all!

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  4. Your yard is breathtaking. Thank you for sharing!!!
    Hydrangeas are one of my favorites. That blue is so pretty. I might get a hint of blue but nothing like yours...and of course I never remember to amend the soil. I love oakleaf hydrangeas but I don't have a spot big enough for one.

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  5. And I forgot to mention...deer are nothing but giant rats! I live in the city but with woods nearby and they love to come graze in my yard. Fingers crossed...so far they have only eaten the buds off the Asiatic lilies and I have not used deer repellent for a while. I hope I'm not sorry for being such a slacker.

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  6. This looks like a beautiful place to lose yourself in earthy therapy. I do like digging in the dirt. You have beautiful flowers and it appears that your garden was careful designed to thwart local wildlife.

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  7. Your flowers are gorgeous. My time has been spent battling grass in long neglected flower beds and garden, maybe next year I'll start adding plants back in. Odd about your neighbor, rather downright rude, that he trims your oak leaf hydrangea. I hope he's a good neighbor otherwise.

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  8. so inspiring - lovely gardens and veggie beds. I would love an oak leaf hydrangea. I think I have seen them this far south but mostly in GA and Tenn. Your hard work paid off - everything is lovely. Enjoy Mel

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  9. Your garden is beautiful, plus you plant vegetables. Great for eyes and stomach. Good work

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