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Monday, February 16, 2009

Flower Bed

Looking through my computer for nice pictures to post from the most recent season teaches me that I will definately need to work harder on my picture taking skills. It also makes my eyes cringe as there are so many more things to do in my yard. Note to self: Never plant petunias in beds again. Even a bed that gets plenty of water can't seem to make petunias thrive. So why do I invest every year and plant them anyway? They tend to look leggy, and dry and crummy, which is exactly what I don't want. I do like the "Million Bell" variety in hanging baskets and pots, but I am officially swearing off petunias (maybe). The bed in these pictures sits right under the only large window in my home. It faces west, so the afternoon sun is brutal here. It is also the only current bed I do not have weed cloth in. I used newspaper topped with 4" of super fine mulch. This coming spring I will likely need to do this again. I am always trying to hide the old house. New siding will help at some point but alas, it's not on this year's agenda. That is what you get when you live in the old railroad depot. Historic but no longer fun. Old gets irritating after 8 years, I just want new and pretty.

Many things that I wasn't so sure would come back did. For example, the hydrangea did and of course, the daylilies. I have bulbs planted in this bed and they never have trouble returing. This coming year they should have multiplied nicely. We have a "vole" problem in our yard so we have to plant accordingly. This first year we owned this house I planted 200 tulips and had 2 come up. Voles are awful. We went right to the local vet and adopted 2 rescue cats. They do a decent job but it is actually the dogs that keep the population down. This is a very fun game for labs to play. They team up and do a fine job.
This bed was nicely full this last year but I fixed that by dividing the daylilies for use in the new island bed. I would also like to plant the front of this bed with more perinnials and forego the annuals all together. We have much less snow than the 4+ feet we had on the ground last year. So I am hoping that the spring maintenance will be less. The maple planted in this bed is a small variety that will only get 20 feet tall. I planted it for bird habitat and have kept it pruned from the house.

Some things are done blooming in this picture but you get the general idea. I plan to use more Liatris in my yard this year. The mouse/mole varments seem to leave it alone. Won't spend the money on expensive bulbs in quantity until I test one first next time.
I don't know if any other bloggers feel the same way but my critical eye comes out a lot more when I look at my yard in pictures. My "To Do" list is getting longer the more I look. Good thing there is always next year!

5 comments:

  1. I think your garden looks pretty! I know what you mean about pictures. I don't think I really took that many pictures of just my yard. I've noticed some combinations that don't look so great in mine. I like your yellows and reds together. We don't have voles here, just the squirrels like to dig up all the bulbs. The fun part about this time of year is the planning and thinking about what changes you want to make.
    I think it sounds neat to live in an old railroad depot!

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  2. I'm always critiquing my garden from photos and by just standing in the yard staring. I'm sure if someone saw me they'd think I was a little off, well yeah. I am a little off so there. I use garden photos for my desktop wallpaper. It's especially nice during the dormant season.

    It must be challenging to find plants for Zone 4. I love your daylilies and your design ideas. Cheers.

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  3. thanks for following my blog. enjoy!

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  4. How beautiful!! I love your flower beds...I wish mine looked like yours do....I really gotta work on that this Spring.

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  5. First, thank you for commenting on my post! I really appreciate it.
    I too love your gardens - they are wonderful. I could be so lucky. WoW! The first year we bought our house I planted over 100 tulips and only had a couple come up too. I didn't have any for years and now have some in a tub - the only safe place I guess. We have a busy mole sometimes.
    The pygmy goats I absolutely love!!! Actually, I've always loved goats since I was a kid but pygmies? Oh my word they are sooooo adorable. I'm always telling my husband I want one (or more) but that I'd probably have them in the house and sitting up to the table with us. ;-) One year they had some at the local mall and I would take any neighbor children I could to see them so I could see them myself and not look silly at my age making so many trips. Great blog - I'll be back.

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Thank you for your ideas, suggestions or greetings. I love to hear from you and read them all.
-Heather

About This Blog

We started this blog in Feb. of 2009 to help us stay motivated and to track our progess in the garden. We live on 5 acres surrounded by Idaho farmland. We have wildlife galore and are attempting to attract more in the bird catagory. This is our journal. Welcome!

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Oregon Coast 2008

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