My garden

With the couple of nice days we’ve had, I finally got outside and weeded my gardens. Right now it’s lacking much color, but I just dead-headed everything. When things bloom again, I’ll repost! So here are my ongoing outdoor summer projects…

Front Garden:  It wasn’t until just recently that I realized that not all people have front flower gardens. I really thought that part of being a home owner was having a front garden. I do love my garden! My favorites are the knock out roses (from my mom), lilac bush (also from mom… I hope it will bloom next year!), and the shasta daisies. My goal this summer and next is to get a layered look in the front. I’ve started my list of good plants to plant in the back, middle, and front. I’m trying to make almost all of these perennials.

  

  

Container Pots:  These pots are where I splurge on annuals. I really love colorful foliage, especially Persian shields and coleus. Unfortunately, the dog decided to eat my coleus. I’m also trying my own hanging pots with upside down tomatoes–there are also basil (sweet and Thai) plants and marigolds in them. And since my seeds are finally here, I guess I’ll try some tomatoes and eggplant in containers too.

    

Herb Garden:  This is my favorite section of the front garden. I have all my herbs planted right by my front door so I always have them ready when I’m cooking. I have basil, oregano, mint, sage, chives, stevia parsley, and rosemary. My parsley and mint came up from my plants last year, which was a nice surprise this spring. This is my first time planting stevia, so we’ll see. And really, are chives that different than all the wild onions I pull up out of the garden?

  

Vegetable Garden:  Right now I’m only planting tomatoes, yellow squash, spaghetti squash, zucchini, cucumbers, beans, and arugula in the back. The seeds I ordered finally came in (11 weeks after I ordered them… really?) so I’ll be trying lettuce, carrots, and chamomile back there. Here’s hoping I get something from those seeds!

  

Side Garden:  When Logan moved into the house, there were already tons of Lily of the Valley planted on the north side of the house. I love how easy and hearty they are. My mom has also donated plants she divides to fill in this garden. I don’t do too much with this one… just make sure giant weeds (mostly thistles and dandelions) don’t take over!