Backyard Planting Finished

After a ridiculous number of trips to Home Depot and Lowe's, I am finally done planting in the back yard.  This weekend I finished the last of the pots.  Hopefully I can get everything established before the crazy heat sets in for the summer.  I also added new rugs, since the cheap and fun plastic rugs I buy for the back tend to disintegrate after a year.

 My tomatoes are growing like mad.  I've also got some peppers, squash, asparagus and various herbs attempting to grow.

 I got several perennials for this corner that I'm really hoping become permanent.  Meaning, I hope I don't kill them.  My hydrangea is doing so much better than the last one I tried! 

 

The pots have quite a variety of annuals in them.  I know geraniums always work for me but I tried to add in some new stuff as well.

 I bought a mandevilla vine for my trellis (since I killed the previous vine) and until it starts growing, I'm using my solar IKEA bird lights to decorate.  They are pretty cute.

 

Hopefully with a dedication to watering, I will keep the yard looking great!

Backyard...Another Year Later

 

More Back Yard work

 

I've almost finished the back yard for the most part.  Over the weekend I added a lime tree and a lemon tree.  I planted more peppers and some canteloupe back with my watermelons.  I finished stoning the back left flower bed to match the new bed.  It looks emtpy but that is because my lantana is slowly coming back in and it's very tiny at the moment.  My neighbor chopped down 3 trees along our fence line, including one that was pushing my fencing apart!  Very exciting!  Other than that things have just been busy and not a lot of home improvement has gone down.  I'm needing to focus on the front yard now that I have the back pretty much together.

New Flower Bed

I love weekend projects that pack a big punch when they are done.  This weekend's weather was great so I decided to tackle the back fence in my back yard.  I had planted roses at the end of last summer but never got around to creating the actual beds they would live in.

Please ignore the weeds that are all over the yard.  I'm working on getting those out but for now I just welcome the greenness of them.  I had about 20 concrete bricks in the bed on the far right so I headed to Home Depot to pick up 40 more for my expansion.

40 stones at 25 lbs each.  Each carried one by one from my car to the back porch and then from the porch to the yard.  That's quite the workout.

I got them laid out Saturday morning and then Sunday morning went back to Home Depot to stock up on some more flowers and mulch.

Between the hole digging and mulch toting, Sunday was another workout.  It all turned out great though!

I can't wait until things start to fill in a little.  It's hard to see but I added another rose bush, several flowers and then my crape myrtle is starting to grow a little.

If I can keep everything alive I think it is really going to look nice in a couple of months.

Spring Begins

Rainy weekends and late freezes have been hampering my spring yard projects.  I think we are finally past the freezes so in between a few rain storms this weekend, I was able to get a little bit done.  I started with some color to get me in the mood to tackle the larger projects...like my weed issues and building out flower beds in the back.

I also refreshed the soil in my garden and planted a few items.  I am starting with 3 tomato plants, 1 jalapeno, 1 habenero and a squash plant.  This year I've removed the lattice squares.  This will help give the squash room to spread, as it tended to do last year.  In the pots I've got sweet basil, cilantro and then I'm trying my hand at some strawberries.

I actually planted the tomatoes a couple of weeks ago and they have really grown.  The others I just bought Saturday.  I still have plenty of room for a few more veggies but I'm still deciding what to add.  In the mean time I've got beds to build and weeds to kill.  The only thing still alive in one of my back bed seems to be my dog, who is really going to have to find a new place to hang out.

Spring is Near

I'm slowly trying to come up with a game plan for my 2013 landscaping.  I am hoping to put some defined beds in the back yard, get the garden back up and running and make the front yard a little more presentable. In the meantime, my first rose of the year bloomed this week!

All four rose bushes survived the winter and look like they are going to be beautiful this year!

Fall Yard Cleanup

You know you're getting old when you are still sore from yardwork you did 3 days ago.  This past weekend I cleaned up the yard a bit just in time for my bulk trash pick up.  The front yard had again filled with acorns and also leaves from my neighbors' trees.  The back yard was just getting downright shaggy.

I started by cutting back my garden.  I got rid of everything except my pepper plants that are still producing ample peppers.

Next it was time to tackle the alley.  I don't think I've been back in my alley since I cleaned it up in the spring.  It's not a fun place to hang out, but the vines that were growing through my back fence were drving me crazy.

 That vine made a pile in the alley that was almost as tall as I was.  I sprayed a little RoundUp in hopes of keeping it clean back there...at least until next spring.  I think I now have the cleanest alley area on my block.

Next up a mow for the backyard and suddenly things were starting to look much neater.  If I would just get around to building those flower beds along the back fence.

 

I also need to figure out why my roses are laying down on the job.  Oh well, at least they are blooming and beautiful.

Green Plastic Thumb

My backyard green thumb continues to florish.  As a matter of fact, just this morning I found a bunch of new tomatoes growing in my garden.  Unfortunately the same can not be said for my indoor gardening abilities.  First there was the The large tree thing I brought home from the office and put in the dining room.  Granted it wasn't in the best shape when I brought it home but conditions have not improved since.

I also managed to kill the other plants I brough home from the office.  What hit me the hardest was probably the cute succulent I got for my living room.  It was a brand new plant, not one that had lived most of its life in a 60 degree office with no real sun light.

This was what caused me to give up on my indoor green thumb and imbrace my indoor plastic thumb.  Thanks to the fake plant section at IKEA it was a pretty cheap fix.

For just a few dollars I now have the same look on the coffee table but no longer have to worry about watering.  I also got a plant for the window ledge in the kitchen and one that will eventually find a permanant home in my under construction office.

I gave it my best shot when it comes to indoor gardening but it looks like fake plants are the way I'll have to go for now.  I think they look great.  Hopefully they are not a gateway drug.  Otherwise next I might be telling you how I gave up on my front lawn and put in Astroturf.

Backyard Update

I've been coming up with various master landscaping plans for my backyard lately.  I think I may be able to get some of my beds formed this fall/winter and then have them all ready and weed/grass free by spring planting season.  This past summer taught me alot about the sun exposure in various parts of my yard.  I learned what plants thrived and which ones just died.  Luckily, my main plants are all doing good. 

The new roses I planted went through a bit of shock at first but they are now sprouting new growth so I think they are going to make it.  They aren't the prettiest things right now but I see their potential.

And my crape myrtle is looking good as well.  I have no idea how long it will take for it to grow another 8 feet but I haven't noticed any movement as of yet.

And of course my garden is still growing like crazy.  I'm picking peppers a few times a week to keep up.

The challenge coming up will be to connect all of these features into some sort of flowing backyard landscaping.  Nothing like a little manual labor.

End of Summer Garden Update

Well summer is on it's way out but with temps still in the 80s and 90s my garden is still growing.  I know you've all probably been on the edge of your seats wondering what was going on with the garden.  It went through a bit of a rough spell and I lost several boxes.

 The weather was so hard on my peppers they were turning bright red but only growing to the size of a gumball.  The peak of August heat caused my tomatoes to quit producing and many branches of the plants to brown.

September's cooler temperatures and rain gave many of my veggies a whole new life.  Just look how much they've grown!  I have tons of peppers coming in and growing to normal sizes.  And the okra is doing great as well.

My tomatoes are still pretty sad.  They seem to be growing outward, escaping the box.  They are starting to flower so who knows, maybe I'll get a few more tomatoes out of them.

My baby carrots were a huge flop.  I finally just pulled them all out.  They look fine...until you realize just how tiny they are, about the size of the first joint of your fingertip.

I will definitely be doing more peppers and tomatoes next year.  I might do okra again as well as squash, but I look forward to coming up with some new flavors to add next spring.  If the weather cooperates, my peppers may still be coming in for a few months!  I still haven't researched what I can plant in the winter months but I'll let you know as soon as I have it all figured out!  My first growing season has encouraged me to keep it up!