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My Garden
I have decided to finally make a post about my garden and the work I've been doing in it. This one is going to have a cut tag because I actually managed to take pictures of everything!
Description: This section has two flowers I forget the name of, roses, grape hyacinths, hyacinths, a dahlia, zinnias and garlic.
The unidentified flowers bloom later in the season, but seem healthy so far. I have my doubts about the roses but we'll see how it goes. The hyacinths are done blooming, but I wasn't sure if I needed to do anything with them. I will probably try to thin them out, because I have a LOT of grapes hyacinths, and I could spread them around if nothing else. I'm waiting to see if the dahlia will bloom and if the zinnias will actually grow beyond sprouts. They are both new experiments this year, so fingers crossed. The garlic was planted from store bulbs that were sprouting, so I have no idea what will happen with it, but I'm hopeful.
Weeding this section of the garden isn't too bad, especially now that I can see where the zinnias are. I just have to be careful to mind the rose bush.
This contains an azalea bush, another of the unknown flowers from the front, a seedum bush, roses, and a hydrangea.
This section of the garden is actually the easiest to keep up, since four of those things are perennials, and the bushes cover most of the room where weeds could grow. I'm not sure if the hydrangea is actually in frame here or not, but it currently has no flowers so it is hard to see either way. That is another new one I planted this year and I have no idea if I did it right, so I'm hoping it survives the winter and gets blooms in the spring.
The hydrangea is better framed here, there is another seedum, a lilac tree in the corner, a rose bush behind the lilac, then a bunch of rose of Charon's and some random things I don't know.
The part of this section that touches the side fence is easy enough to maintain, and fairly low upkeep. There is a fourth one of the green unknown plants hiding under the seedum bush, though it only has two leaves, probably because it gets zero sun. I think I'm going to try trimming the bush and seeing if that plant will actually grow. If not, I may transplant it and see if it will grow elsewhere.
The section along the back fence, with the lilac tree... Well, that didn't get touched at all last summer, and is the biggest item to deal with. It's rocky, which didn't actually stop weeds from growing, just makes them harder to pull out. There is bittersweet vine everywhere back there, a bunch of leaves to some unknown plant, probably about 5 Rose of Charon's, the rose bush, and an actual second lilac tree. I'm not sure what I'm doing with the extra lilac yet; I like them, but I have no desire for them to take over my yard.
A grown mountain ash and baby ash tree (I think), a young lilac, hibiscus, flowers that might be weeds, and a yellow bush.
As near as I can figure, the two trees are indeed the same species, and the grown one gets orange berries on it. My grandma called it bittersweet, but internet research shows that not right. The internet also leads me to believe it is a mountain ash tree, but if anyone knows different, I'm happy to hear it. The lilac here is the youngest of the three trees, and not yet out of control. I'm planning to keep up with the trimming so that it stays healthy and gets lots of flowers, but doesn't take over the yard or the fence.
As far as weeding... This section is one of the worst ones because there are thistles everywhere, and they like to grow up through the middle of that bush. I try to stay on top of it, but some days the weeds win. I am reserving judgement on the leafy plants until later in the season, to determine if they are staying or going. I know they were there last year, and they flowered, but I don't remember what they looked like, and they appear to have multiplied. If I like them, they will stay, if not, they are getting removed and I might plant something there next year. The hibiscus is more than welcome to stay.
The yellow bush, rose of Charon, hibiscus, unidentified plant,rose of Charon, more (of the same) flowers that might be weeds, milkweed seeds, and the edge of the monster lilac.
That is the same yellow bush as in the last picture, it's sort of a sprawling beast. Also, more Rose of Charon's. I need to remember to clip them as soon as the flowers are done this year; I don't need a bunch of babies popping up. The butterfly milkweed... I planted the seeds but I'm not sure I planted them soon enough (May was weird this year.) I'm hoping they grow and flower this year, and keeping coming back, because I like butterflies, and it would be nice to have flowers there. We'll see how it goes I guess.
Weeding this section is currently a pain, because I don't want to accidentally pull out any baby milkweed. There are also lots of tiny weeds, the ones that take forever to clear all of, that I usually miss about half of, and generally make me think of razing everything with fire. I'm doing my best though, and I'm hoping it will get easy as the season goes on.
The giant lilac tree, more (different) unidentified plants in the tomato cages, hibiscus, hostas.
The monster lilac! It flowered really well this year, and I didn't trim it at all last year (didn't know what I was doing.) It got a major haircut this year though, to try to keep it in check. This picture is actually post-trim, so the tree was even bigger before. I don't think I trimmed too much, so I'm hoping it still flowers next year, but if not, the trim was still badly needed. I don't know what the plants in the cages are, but I'm hoping I'll find out as the season goes on. Until then, I'm content to leave them alone and let them grow.
My patio, table, and swing, with the lilac in the background. The branches were trimmed to make the patio and sidewalk usable.
This is the other side of the lilac. I included it for perspectives sake. It's a lot easier to see from this side where the sidewalk and patio are, though since the tree is already trimmed, you'll have to imagine the low, overhanging branches that were doing their best to eat my patio.
Hostas and hibiscus behind the swing, in front of the fence.
The hostas and hibiscus seem to like it much better by the fence than under the lilac tree. I can't believe how big these ones are, and I do pretty much nothing to them. They must like something about this spot. The glider has been sanded and repainted a brighter red, so it will hopefully be protected better from rust, and I have a nice place to sit and look at my yard now. (Though a lot of the view is blocked by the lilac, but hey.) I may post a picture of the glider later, but it was painted after the first set of pictures was taken, and I really wanted to get this post written.
Whew! This is a giant post, but I did it! Pictures of my garden and probably more rambling descriptions than needed, but now there is a frame of reference for when I mention my weeding and my lilacs. Comments, tips and suggestions gladly welcomed, even if it's just to say hi!
Description: This section has two flowers I forget the name of, roses, grape hyacinths, hyacinths, a dahlia, zinnias and garlic.
The unidentified flowers bloom later in the season, but seem healthy so far. I have my doubts about the roses but we'll see how it goes. The hyacinths are done blooming, but I wasn't sure if I needed to do anything with them. I will probably try to thin them out, because I have a LOT of grapes hyacinths, and I could spread them around if nothing else. I'm waiting to see if the dahlia will bloom and if the zinnias will actually grow beyond sprouts. They are both new experiments this year, so fingers crossed. The garlic was planted from store bulbs that were sprouting, so I have no idea what will happen with it, but I'm hopeful.
Weeding this section of the garden isn't too bad, especially now that I can see where the zinnias are. I just have to be careful to mind the rose bush.
This contains an azalea bush, another of the unknown flowers from the front, a seedum bush, roses, and a hydrangea.
This section of the garden is actually the easiest to keep up, since four of those things are perennials, and the bushes cover most of the room where weeds could grow. I'm not sure if the hydrangea is actually in frame here or not, but it currently has no flowers so it is hard to see either way. That is another new one I planted this year and I have no idea if I did it right, so I'm hoping it survives the winter and gets blooms in the spring.
The hydrangea is better framed here, there is another seedum, a lilac tree in the corner, a rose bush behind the lilac, then a bunch of rose of Charon's and some random things I don't know.
The part of this section that touches the side fence is easy enough to maintain, and fairly low upkeep. There is a fourth one of the green unknown plants hiding under the seedum bush, though it only has two leaves, probably because it gets zero sun. I think I'm going to try trimming the bush and seeing if that plant will actually grow. If not, I may transplant it and see if it will grow elsewhere.
The section along the back fence, with the lilac tree... Well, that didn't get touched at all last summer, and is the biggest item to deal with. It's rocky, which didn't actually stop weeds from growing, just makes them harder to pull out. There is bittersweet vine everywhere back there, a bunch of leaves to some unknown plant, probably about 5 Rose of Charon's, the rose bush, and an actual second lilac tree. I'm not sure what I'm doing with the extra lilac yet; I like them, but I have no desire for them to take over my yard.
A grown mountain ash and baby ash tree (I think), a young lilac, hibiscus, flowers that might be weeds, and a yellow bush.
As near as I can figure, the two trees are indeed the same species, and the grown one gets orange berries on it. My grandma called it bittersweet, but internet research shows that not right. The internet also leads me to believe it is a mountain ash tree, but if anyone knows different, I'm happy to hear it. The lilac here is the youngest of the three trees, and not yet out of control. I'm planning to keep up with the trimming so that it stays healthy and gets lots of flowers, but doesn't take over the yard or the fence.
As far as weeding... This section is one of the worst ones because there are thistles everywhere, and they like to grow up through the middle of that bush. I try to stay on top of it, but some days the weeds win. I am reserving judgement on the leafy plants until later in the season, to determine if they are staying or going. I know they were there last year, and they flowered, but I don't remember what they looked like, and they appear to have multiplied. If I like them, they will stay, if not, they are getting removed and I might plant something there next year. The hibiscus is more than welcome to stay.
The yellow bush, rose of Charon, hibiscus, unidentified plant,rose of Charon, more (of the same) flowers that might be weeds, milkweed seeds, and the edge of the monster lilac.
That is the same yellow bush as in the last picture, it's sort of a sprawling beast. Also, more Rose of Charon's. I need to remember to clip them as soon as the flowers are done this year; I don't need a bunch of babies popping up. The butterfly milkweed... I planted the seeds but I'm not sure I planted them soon enough (May was weird this year.) I'm hoping they grow and flower this year, and keeping coming back, because I like butterflies, and it would be nice to have flowers there. We'll see how it goes I guess.
Weeding this section is currently a pain, because I don't want to accidentally pull out any baby milkweed. There are also lots of tiny weeds, the ones that take forever to clear all of, that I usually miss about half of, and generally make me think of razing everything with fire. I'm doing my best though, and I'm hoping it will get easy as the season goes on.
The giant lilac tree, more (different) unidentified plants in the tomato cages, hibiscus, hostas.
The monster lilac! It flowered really well this year, and I didn't trim it at all last year (didn't know what I was doing.) It got a major haircut this year though, to try to keep it in check. This picture is actually post-trim, so the tree was even bigger before. I don't think I trimmed too much, so I'm hoping it still flowers next year, but if not, the trim was still badly needed. I don't know what the plants in the cages are, but I'm hoping I'll find out as the season goes on. Until then, I'm content to leave them alone and let them grow.
My patio, table, and swing, with the lilac in the background. The branches were trimmed to make the patio and sidewalk usable.
This is the other side of the lilac. I included it for perspectives sake. It's a lot easier to see from this side where the sidewalk and patio are, though since the tree is already trimmed, you'll have to imagine the low, overhanging branches that were doing their best to eat my patio.
Hostas and hibiscus behind the swing, in front of the fence.
The hostas and hibiscus seem to like it much better by the fence than under the lilac tree. I can't believe how big these ones are, and I do pretty much nothing to them. They must like something about this spot. The glider has been sanded and repainted a brighter red, so it will hopefully be protected better from rust, and I have a nice place to sit and look at my yard now. (Though a lot of the view is blocked by the lilac, but hey.) I may post a picture of the glider later, but it was painted after the first set of pictures was taken, and I really wanted to get this post written.
Whew! This is a giant post, but I did it! Pictures of my garden and probably more rambling descriptions than needed, but now there is a frame of reference for when I mention my weeding and my lilacs. Comments, tips and suggestions gladly welcomed, even if it's just to say hi!