My garden

Our backyard... it has come a long way.  It was bad, I mean really bad - like that hot mess celebrity that is a train wreck waiting to happen but you just can't look away. 

See the hot mess here...I'll wait for you to come back...
http://www.dragonfliesandthistles.blogspot.com/2013/08/my-backyard-mess.html

A real mess right!  Well we did get grass last year.  It was an amazing transformation! Well, on one hand it was so bad that it could only get better right! 

http://www.dragonfliesandthistles.blogspot.com/2013/09/backyard-progress.html

The side is still in the same shape as it was last year.  I couldn't decide exactly what I wanted to do.  At first I wanted to plant lots of bushes and flowers and make a pathway BUUUTTTT.... we have dogs and they tend to run along the fence line and trample things.  So until we are dog-less, (and that isn't likely to happen till I'm 90), I have to come up with something else. 

Then I thought about just leveling it in sections and using rocks to make the sections.  Then flagstone the part right off the cement area by our porch.  I know it is hard to visualize.


So this part... move the fence more toward the front of the house or add an addition fence for the trash can.  Oh yeah take all the other junk to the dump!  This is the wood my husband 'agreed' to get rid of, we still have 6 shelves of scrap wood in the garage. 
So here I would level with dirt and lay mulch and flagstone to make a patio area.

Then tier it as it slopes down the hill.

Yes we need to continue to replace the fence on this side.... just add it to the list! 
We've tried for years to get rid of all the rocks that were here.  Obviously we are still working on that!
I use to pay the kids $5.00 a wheelbarrow load each for shoveling rocks! 

I think you can see the hill better in this angle... and Gizmo our Malti-poo.  He's the smallest of the dogs at a whopping 12 pounds.

When it rains the water just rushes down this hill and under the trampoline, we've got to do something! 
I would just use dirt and large boulders and mulch on this entire area.  I think...

One thing that is great is my garden.  I use to grow veggies of all kinds in this area but my husband asked that I just grow flowers and he likes the flowers better.  I can say that I enjoy coming out every week to relax and weed and look at what is blooming now.  Yes weeding is relaxing for me... yanking out weeds gives me an odd satisfaction. 

 If you remember a post I did a few weeks ago about taking spent bulbs and re-planting and tricking them into blooming again - it looks like it worked!!  Check it out in the below picture!  Right in the center is a Daffodil from that set coming up.  The ends look a little bad, I think the snow 3 weeks ago got it but hey it is going to bloom!
http://www.dragonfliesandthistles.blogspot.com/2014/04/its-april-and-it-is-still-snowing.html

 I like to buy perennials.  My suggestion is to spend the extra money and get them.  You can add annuals and other seeds around them to make a great looking garden. 

This is Russian Sage (purple) and Queen Anne's Lace (yellow/white) and the pink is a wildflower that is self seeding - so even though it is an annual it comes back every year. 



My Columbine is even coming back this year!

 

I bought self seeding annuals from Home Depot, I purchased a Hummingbird mix and a Butterfly mix.  Self seeders will have seeds in their dried flowers and you can harvest them as I do after they dry and spread them around in the spring again.  BUT be careful, if you use Miracle Grow feed on your garden it will inhibit and usually kill the self seeders.  Some of the feed prevents self seeding things from germinating.  It is intended for weeds but many wildflowers work the same way.  So read those labels before you feed your garden. 
Here are some of the wildflowers coming up already.

 These below have gone crazy.

The garden is looking good!  As is the backyard, all the grass came back after the winter/spring we've had.

The one thing we have to decide on is that one poor tree.  It is still VERY stressed and again only produced leaves in the center of the tree.  It now has some very dead branches that will need to be cut down.

Most of those leaves are from the tree behind it in our neighbors yard.  I really don't like chopping down trees but I think this one is going to have to go.  I'll keep you updated as I baby it a bit more this summer.  But doesn't the grass look great!!! 

 

To re-cap: 

1.  My suggestion is to buy perennials and self seeding annuals. 

2.  Remember to read on the tags of those perennials to see how large they are going to get.    

3.  Remember before you feed your garden to read if it is a weed preventer.  Many self seeders act the same as grass/weeds and those weed preventers will prevent your seeds from germinating. 

4.  Buy packets of wildflower seed mixes from your local garden store and sprinkle them into your garden.  Their little pops of bright colors will be a welcome addition to your garden and many wildflower mixes contain plants that attract hummingbirds and butterflies. 

 

Have a great weekend!  I am hoping it is going to be nice here in Colorado as I've got several painting projects I want to get done.  I also have a July 4th craft idea I'd like to finish and share. 

Thank you for stopping by.  Be safe.

Victoria

 

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