Oh My Aching Back!

With temps in the 60's on Thursday and 70's on Friday, I decided it was time to clean out my huge perennial bed that we put in last year. The echineceas, the bee balm, the coreopsis and sedum had long ago died down for the growing season and the remnants remained. So with the break in the weather, decided it was time to get the beds ready for spring.



So Sean and I cut back all the dried flower stalks and cleaned out all the leaves that accumulated on Thursday. We got a huge bag of debris.



Friday, Joshua and Sean went to Home Depot and picked up 23 bags of mulch. I like to use bagged mulch as it's easier than moving a truckload of mulch one wheelbarrow at a time. We just put the bags where we want them and then open them up.

After working 2 hours, we got the front perennial bed, the lower front tier, the bed under the arborvitea, the bed around the linden tree and the side yard perennial bed all mulched.

We still have to mulch the pathway in the side yard and all the backyard beds, but that will have to wait til my back rests and another warm day comes along. I still need to prune back my rose bushes and wisteria in a few weeks.

I can't wait til spring gets here, so I can see which of my perennials have come back and which haven't. I am really hoping that they all do, as they cost me a fortune last year.

My Experiment Paid Off

Well I have got to say that all the time and hard work finally paid off. The picture above is from my new front flower bed...aren't the impatiens simply gorgeous? They struggle through Baltimore's record 54+ days of over 90 degrees. Some days I didn't think they would make it but with enough water, they did. Speaking of water, my water bill arrived and it was 3 times the normal amount for June, July and August...YIKES! But look at the payoff!



How many of you remember reading my post back in August about covering all my grass with black plastic to kill it...well really I should have said weeds with a little grass. Anyway, here's a picture to help you remember what it looked like...



The black plastic along with the sunny, hot and dry August weather really cooked what was under the plastic. I started unveiling and working on reseeding in early September. Most of the grass...errr...weeds had died off with the drought and lack of rain already so killing the rest was pretty easy.



I started by dethatching each section I was working on, trying to work in strips. Then I added new top soil, raking it out as smooth as possible. Then came the organic fertilizer....boy did the flies like that when I wetted it down. And finally the grass seed.


I watered, and seeded and seeded and watered. The grass filled in little by little making a nice lush carpet on the ground. I had to convince a neighbor to take off her shoes and just stand and rub her feet through the new grass....oh, there's no other feeling like it.


I still have some more work to do on the front lawn. There are still some small bare spots that need to be reseeded. And I still have some weeds and I'm taking care of those by hand and pulling them as I see them and as time allows. I've had neighbors stop and look and comment positively about the front yard. I love my new flower bed and front lawn....my last part of this project is to remove the remaining bushes and put another raised bed in that area but alas that will have to wait til next spring, as my budget and back can't tackle another flower bed project right now.

We're Making Progress

Do you ever wonder if sometimes projects take on a life of their own? How does that happen? Well my front perennial flower bed is one of those projects! Since our house is only a block from the middle school and a on a direct path to that school, we decided that the best wall material would be preformed pavers along the sidewalk.




That way if any of the brainiacs that walk by decided that the wall looked like it could be walked on at least the pavers could take it more than the greystone rock we were building the rest of the flower bed walls with.



Of course we have creative ways in doing things in our household. Josh's method of leveling the pavers was to jump on them...not pretty looking but quite effective. Everyone in the house pitched in with Sean and Ian off loading brick pavers from the back of the truck, Josh laying the pavers, hubby had already cleared a few roots out of the way with the axe and of course, my job was to supervise and photograph the progression.




It didn't take too long before the wall was almost done. Less than an hour and most of that time was spent in the preparation of the area for the wall.



Of course there was much discussion as to how we were joining both the inside and outside walls together. Once we settled on the how to's, the wall was complete.




Gone were the ugly evergreen yews that had to be trimmed 2 times a year. Josh had removed them the week before. In their place was a beautiful new stone wall and a vision of what my new perennial bed would look like.












This past week I was able to begin planting some of the perennials that I purchased last week at The Perennial Farm along with some hybrid tea rose bushes that I had picked up at some of the local garden centers. We planted 6 fragrant rose bushes along the sidewalk side of the perennial bed. Some requirements for roses to make it in my bed, is that they not only have to be beautiful, they have to be very fragrant.


I planted some annual impatiens as well...you always need that pop of color that annuals always provide. We still need another truckload of dirt to finish filling n the bed and the old azaleas need to be removed and replaced with some newer ones.




As you can see, some of Mother Natures creatures are enjoying the perennial gardens plants. I love this echinecea...It's called White Swan and the flower head is huge. I have planted about 10 different echinecea varities...Can you tell that this is one of my favorite perennials?





I also planted a dwarf Bee Balm that we found at a local garden center. Isn't it pretty and the bumble bees have already visited it, so I think it was a nice addition to the bed.


This swallow tail butterfly really, really loves my echineceas. He spent the good part of the first day flitting from one plant to the other.

I'm hoping to finish the bed this coming week and I can share with you the whole project. One more truck load of dirt, some bush removal, some more planting to do, some mulching and we should be pretty much done. I can't wait!

My Trip To The Perennial Farm

Today I got to take a trip to The Perennial Farm in nearby Glen Arm, MD. I can tell you that I have lived here in Maryland since 1982 and this farm has been a well kept secret. I never knew it existed and it's less than 10 miles from my house. How I found out about the farm is from my friend and neighbor Caroline. She also ripped out the old tired bushes from in front of her house last year and just got around to replacing some of them this year, hence her trip to the perennial farm for a few knock out roses.



Anyway, today wasn't the best weather day to go...it was humid, but the farm is only opened to the public on Saturdays from 8-4. So braving the humidity and 90 degree temperatures, Sean and I took a trip to see what we could find for my new perennial bed. I was delighted when I arrived to see all the greenhouses...61 to be exact! How this farm ever stays a secret is beyond me. It could be compared to a big elephant in a tiny room, but I guess when you are in the country with thousands of farmland acres around you, it's easy to hide in plain sight!


We checked into the office to get a map of where I could find the perennials I was looking for. Armed with my map, notes, catalog and cart, we made our way from one end of the farm to the and back.



Some of the perennials that I purchased were 3 types of coreopsis, astible, rudbeckia, 3 different echinaceas, gaura, gaillardia, and 2 different sedum. They were out of a few things that I wanted and I will try to purchase those at our local nursery center.





We even had to backtrack to the far end of the farm to get something that I had missed. Thankfully the perennial farm is very accomodating and allowed me to drive my car back there to collect the plants that I missed.





These echinaceas were some that I missed and I am sure glad that I went back for them. Not only are they gorgeous, 2 of them actually have a scent. They are part of the Big Sky series. If you like echineceas these are some must haves.





This gaura is going to be a challenge for me. It's not the hardiest of plants to winter over here in Maryland but boy is it gorgeous. Dark burgundy tinged foliage with fuschia flowers. Some of the information that was shared was to grow this on a sunny hillside as it doesn't like to be too wet. The grower thinks I should be ok with growing it in a raised bed....hope he's right as I bought one there and had already purchased 2 others elsewhere. Can you tell how much I love this plant?





Another favorite of mine are sedum. There are so many different varities and I hope to keep adding to my collection.







Anyone that grows perennials will tell you that they will periodically need to be seperated. The clumps just seem to multiply. One of the easiest perennials to seperate are hostas. They root pretty quickly and are fun to share with friends and neighbors. This is the area that I keep newly divided perennials...not too sunny, not too shaded...just right.







Some echineceas that I purchased from the local nursery....can you tell this is another favorite of mine. Right now I think I have 6 different varieties. Maybe I'll get them all.









I purchased these heather plants for around the pond area. They didn't look so good when I saved them from the local Home Depot. They weren't getting enough sun and water. Hopefully they will enjoy their new home once they are planted.





Some more gaillardia and delphinimums that I purchased at the local Home Depot. We managed to get a truck load of dirt so far and hope this next week to get at least 2 more. Then I can have some fun planting all my new periennials. Can't wait to share with you the final pictures.