Friday, April 25, 2014

Beautiful Compost

 Our compost arrived yesterday, and I began using it immediately. The mulch pile is getting smaller, as I mix the two together to fill my pots in the front yard. I mulched over the entire bed first, and planted some hosta, which are pictured here sitting in pots to hold their site until I am ready. The new hydrangea are in their pots. Our previous pots of hydrangea over wintered really well at the country house.

 New to the garden are Guacamole and Blue Hawaii hosta. The Halcyon and Celandine Poppy are transplants from the country house.
The two azaleas are beginning to open, with very bright pink blossoms. 

 My bargains from Lowe's are $1 a pot Stella D'Oro daylilies in yellow and purple. Our Lowe's (which supplied most of my plants at the other house too) has such a vigorous and enthusiastic ordering person, that they often run out of space and have to put stuff on clearance, DAILY, to my benefit.
 

Dave is digging holes for the trees, and it is an arduous task. The clay and stone from these holes are transferred to the tubs and will supply the necessary drainage and air pockets for the first tier of the fill. When we plant the trees, they will be above grade, and mulched significantly. The first hole he dug filled with water from our neighbors sprinklers and didn't drain after two days, so we refilled it and will be covering that low wet spot with mulch and use it as our plant nursery, with plants in pots, of course.
 Here's my new trick. After all these years of gardening, I just figured out an easier way to plant in a pot. I put the base of potting mix in and then sit an empty pot in place and fill around it with more mix. Then I lift it out and put the plant in the hole. This way I am sure to get the depth right, and get less dirt in the leaves of the new plant.

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Today is closing day on the country house. We passed all the inspections, the walk through, and are closing days earlier than expected. I am ecstatic! This was the least stressful sale of our entire marriage. And we intend to celebrate with champagne. Yay!

12 comments:

  1. Congrats on closing early and easily; always a wonderful feeling!! Your yard is already taking shape beautifully. Looking forward to seeing more.

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  2. Congratulation on closing! The hosta plants are beautiful! I wish I could plant them, but the deer love them and eat all the leaves! Your daylilies were quite a bargain too. The deer eat all the flowers so I have gotten rid of most of my daylilies too. I am down to Lenten roses, daffodils, cora bells, and coneflowers. I plan on planting a lot more coneflowers this year to try and get some color in my yard. You and Dave are going gangbusters on your garden and I can't wait to see it burst into color this summer!

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  3. What a great tip for planting in a pot. Why didn't I think of that?

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  4. I'm always jealous of all of you green thumbed people. Mine is a pretty dark eggplant/black thumb. LOL I guarantee if there's a way to kill a plant that I discover it. Oh well. Instead I can admire the lovely gardens that you're creating from afar. But it's probably time to get a few supermarket bouquets to make the house look cheerful. Happy Friday. :-)

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  5. So exciting! You must be exhausted! It's going to be a showpiece, once again.
    BTW, my girlfriend, a beginning quilter, told me her husband wanted to buy her an art quilt and asked who I would recommend. I gave her three names (the three quilts I have), you, Barbara Lardon and Juanita Yaeger. They bought one of Barb's and one of your's! I can't wait to see which one!

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  6. Please keep updating us on your yard activities. We have bought a new house, and it is wonderful to look to your activities as guidance. Thank you.

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  7. Congratulations on the closing! And thanks for the tip on planting in the pots. I think your beds will be gorgeous in no time!

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  8. In no time at all you have tubs and pots looking wonderful. You are truly an amazing gardener. Great that you are taking pictures as in six weeks it will again look very different!!! I might join you with some bubblie!

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  9. It's good to see you so busy with your new garden. Your plants are looking so green and healthy and when everything is settled in and a couple of years down the track it will be glorious.

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  10. Crack open the bubbly! Hooray for closing! Have a glass or two for me :-)
    The "soil" there is absolutely rubbish! I am amazed how bad it is. I think it is worse than what I was raised on - at least ours didn't have rocks and stone in it! The changes in the garden are amazing to watch.

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  11. YAY! Congrats on the closing! Enjoy the champagne and the moment. The new garden is coming along beautifully! Great plant finds - I wonder if my Lowe's has a cousin to your vigorous and enthusiastic ordering person...might need a side trip today though Spring is definitely behind schedule still in Illinois.

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  12. You are a very determined lady! I admire your tenacity almost as much as your talent at quilting. Having gone through a very bad patch the past 9 months I really appreciate reading of your exploits! Keep at it.
    paula

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Hello,
So nice of you to drop by. I love your comments, and if you would really like a reply, please email me at fibermania at g mail dot com