Flower Bed Makeover

We've spent the past several weekends working on our front flower beds. This is what the front of our house looked like when we bought it a year ago:

What was planted in the flower beds was ugly or refused to thrive. The only plants I saved were two hydrangea bushes that I transplanted to a cooler location. They are so happy now and have tripled in size.

Chuck worked really hard on laying the bricks correctly. It bothered me that they were not level and covered just about everything that bothered to grow.

Below is a photo of the drip system we installed to keep my new plants happy. The hose is on a timer that comes on in the morning for 30 minutes. I've covered all the hoses with a cedar mulch that was cheap and it smells nice.

Chuck put the system into my hanging baskets too. It has worked so well!

My plants have grown a bit in the past few weeks but I'm really looking forward to what they will look like in a month. I am pleased. Ta-dah!

She's Been Digging in PooPoo

This is how my daughter described what I did all afternoon. Yes, it is true. This weekend my husband purchased some topsoil for my front flower beds. We had no idea it would smell so horrible. Is it horse or cow poo? Katherine thought it might be cat.

It's been a few days and it's still "whiffy" but that wasn't going to keep me from finishing this project. All my flowers and plants have been planted but they are not ready for a reveal yet. They need a few weeks to grow into their new space.

Above is a photo I found on-line using one of my favorite plants, a sweet potato vine. I think I'll try to imitate this tomorrow!

Garden Project

I have a bad habit of starting every spring with over enthusiasm for planting. We buy tons of flowers and plants and I end up letting them die in late summer because it's too hot and muggy to water them. I understand that watering in the morning would be the best solution for this but judging from the past it's not going to happen.

Here is what one of my flower beds looks like now.

It's horribly embarrassing, but moving on....

Last August when all of my planted beauties had died, my friend Emilie's front flower beds looked awesome. Her husband had installed a drip system in the beds and along the porch to her hanging ferns, genius.

This year we installed one too! I can't wait to see what the results are going to look like!

More Resolutions

Of course weight loss is on my list and has been for many years but I won't bore you with the details on that one.

My next resolution is our family's food storage. Our church encourages a year supply of food for self reliance in times of hardship. This has also been on my list for several years but I always end up quitting in frustration much like weight loss. It is such a challenge to figure out what works best for your family. I want to serve my family more fresh food and be able to store it myself without a bunch of added salt, sugar, and preservatives. That means a garden. I don't know much about this subject but I do own two excellent books on gardens?! My plan is to read read read and then talk to some relatives who garden about their experiences and then just do it. I'll let you know how it goes.