Garden Update

Phew! I've been working hard.

Remember the hexagon shaped planter that I built? Well, I dug all of the evil bermuda grass out of the center of it, stapled weed cloth to the sides and bottom (to keep evil bermuda OUT), and filled with $110 worth of soil (yikes!) I told my husband that the next time I start building a large planter, feel free to ask me where am I going to get the soil to fill it.

 

 

He said no way, I don't want you to bite my head off  LOL!! Probably true :-) 

This morning I planted my seeds in my new planter

 

I've also been working on my pool area.

 

I took down the ugly pool fence and put in this picket fence and a couple of archways last year. I also painted the gray block walls a pretty blue which really seemed to brighten the area up.

The pool deck is surrounded by rocks. Sharp, dirty, ugly rocks. I don't like them. When we bought this house 9 years ago, the yard, front and back, was rock and bermuda grass. YUCK! I've been removing the rock and bermuda ever since. Removing the rock from this pool area is on my list of must do's right now.

 

It is a LARGE job and will take some time, but you have to start somewhere. So I started at the back and left of the pool this last week. To the right of the archway, you can see the darker soil which is my compost.

 

Yep it is just a little area, but like I said, you have to start somewhere.

I planted a pink trumpet vine next to the archway. I think it will be beautiful when it grows tall and vines over. I also planted 3 lavender lantana's which will fill the space in nicely in a few months. I felt like I needed a splash of red, so in went this autumn sage. All plants will be watered through a drip line which I'm still adding extensions to.

 
 
 
 

To the right of the compost is a pot that I am going to plant seasonal flowers in. It is also there to remind me that there are a couple of water pipes underneath. I found this out the hard way while digging this last Saturday. I am normally careful when digging, but I was finding myself very frustrated and plain tired from digging up all that rock and throwing it over the fence and well, let's just say that water shot up about 14 feet into the air when I hit it. :-/ I had to shut off the main water to the house and add about 2 extra hours to my already very FULL day in order to fix it. I had a very LARGE beer afterwards.

 

This hole with the black bucket sitting in it was dug so that I could find the main drip line and add extensions to it. Now that the hole is dug (maybe a little deeper and wider), I think I need a Kumquat tree. My birthday is this Friday and when my daughters asked me what I wanted, I told them to pool their money and buy me a small kumquat tree. They think I'm weird LOL!

 

I have 4 of these little cut-outs in the pool deck around the pool. I'm thinking of Large Red pots for each cut-out. I would probably plant with seasonal purple and yellow plants each season. Can you see it?? :-)

 

Next, after the cut-out and at the back of the pool, I planted a couple of shrubs (cannot think of their names). The one nearest the wall has purple flowers and the one in front of it has yellow. I picked them up at the Desert Botanical Gardens plant sale. They will grow much larger and I think they will look brilliant against the blue wall. Take notice of the many rocks that I still need to remove.

 
 

I just picked up this yellow bells this morning. I only wanted to pick up another bag of soil, but I can never leave without a plant it seems. I think it is going to fit in well here at the back of the pool.

 

Next to that is the Pomegranate tree that I planted last year. I look forward to it getting taller and bearing fruit. The Pomegranate trees at Boyce Thompson Arboretum are just wonderful! (Yep, more rock that needs removed)

 

Here is the pool area from the opposite side

 

And to the left are 2 trees that I planted last Fall. A Pear tree and an Apple tree. I did have a large Oleander tree here that we removed, but I have enough Oleander trees and besides, I'm trying to add more sustainable plants to the landscape. The ground cover is pink Primrose which is filling in nicely and blooms very nicely in the spring.

 

Here is a large rock in the pool area that I once tried to remove. What was I thinking?? It's very heavy and is going nowhere. I'm thinking of adding mosaic to it. The pool are could use some art :-)

 

I just shudder when I look at this area. UGLY! In time though........... :-)

 

Well, that's all for now. I've done a few other things that I will share with you next time.

See ya soon!

Michelle

 

Comments

[Amy (Get Busy Gardening)]

Wow, your yard and gardens are beautiful! I love the trellis in that new raised bed of yours, great work. Isn't it funny how expensive these little projects can be... $110 on dirt! Crazy.

I was just checking out the other newbies on Blotanical, I'm new there too.
Amy

[p3chandan]

All your hard work and determination will pay off when your garden will be gorgeous with all the flowers blooming!

[Margery Viverette]

I'm imagining those trumpets when they're all full-grown. It's beautiful! The combination of pink and blue is just lovely. Do you have table and chairs in your garden? I wanna take a look around your yard. As I have noticed in most garden lovers, they have this hand forged iron tables and chairs that are perfect for tea or coffee in the afternoon while chatting with some friends or just sitting and relaxing by yourself. I went to the hardware yesterday and I'm gonna hang some of my vines in my porch. Hehe!

[Jamie Keifer]

Hard work pays off. And your garden certainly looks like it's a product of hard work. It's an excellent process, all that planning, and working with Mother Nature, to make the garden grow.