No sewing happened here. ZERO-ZIP-NADA. That’s okay. It’s spring and I’m doing spring things.
If you’ve been keeping up with the blog you know that I had Georgia much of last week and then went to Kelli’s another of the days. Having Georgie here does not allow for sewing at all. She’s a busy gal.
When I did get some free time I was busy doing other things…I’ve had a ton of mail and post office stuff happening…and most of all…IT IS GARDEN SEASON!
I forgot how much I love gardening. I so love it!
Tuesday night while Georgia was still here Kalissa watched her long enough to give me a break and let me run to the nursery. I do to the same place every year. I’ve been going there for as long as we’ve lived in Iowa.
It isn’t super fancy but it’s nice and I trust the owner. To me, that’s worth a lot.
How can a heart not be happy at a greenhouse??!!
Last year with covid I didn’t go until later in the season and everything was so picked over. I think a lot of people were gardening that don’t typically garden so that made sales so unpredictable. Anyway…this year I went early.
Of all of the days of the year, going to the nursery is likely one of my favorite days of all. Aren’t these patriotic buckets so cute!!
Picking plants and colors is so fun.
Here is my haul. It’s a lot. I got three flats of impatiens. I need that many for the front of my house. They are on of my favorite flowers of all. I think mostly because Kramer’s mom had them and they make me think of her.
I did get some veggie starts. There’s tomatoes, peppers and basil. I think I ended up getting a few onions too.
I checked out the trellis’. Last year at the end of the season I took two of my wooden ones and burned them. They were so shot. I promised myself with the coming of spring I could buy new.
Friday night I started the planting process…
I don’t buy premade hanging baskets. I do my own. I think it’s cheaper that way. I started this last year and was super happy with it.
I always…clean out at least 3/4 of the dirt that was in the planters the year before.
I put the nice Miracle Grow with the 6 month feed in the planters to fill them.
Saturday I was up early and I started planting. Here are my red begonias…
This is new for this year. I have double impatiens planted in this basket. I’m hoping to replace this pot and get white but that’s waiting for next year. I got my nice planters from Kalissa a couple of years ago in the fall. She was throwing them out and I asked if I could have them.
These are the big planters. This area gets some sun but not a lot. I put a combo of sun patiens, a fuschia, and new to me this year, supertunias. I’m really excited to see how this combo looks. I loved them last year but changed it up with the supertunias this year.
I got this planter in. This was a gift from Lora and Buck.
All along the front edge are my impatiens.
They are in the boxes along the front…
They are in the stair step boxes too.
I ended up not having enough so went back to the nursery on Saturday around noon. I ended up using a total of 3 1/2 flats!!
I had bought new planters. Ever since we have lived at the house I’ve wanted a planter but the door. I had a fern one year and I bought a hanging basket and took off the hanger another year. In the end the wind would blow it over and I wasn’t a fan.
I saw that my neighbor had new planters and I loved them. I thought something like that would work for me so the next time I was at Walmart, I took time and really looked at the planters. They had something similar and I loved them.
When I was at the nursery and bought flowers for it.
I actually bought two of the planters and put one on the side of the garage.
The more I looked at it, I thought I might want one more so…Karl was going to Walmart and I had him pick up one more. Now I have these two here and one around at the front door.
Now…I’m wondering if I don’t want one more. Oh my word!! What do you think? Should I put in one more by the people door??
Please leave a comment and chime on on whether I should get one more planter for by the people door.
As long as I was taking pictures, I thought I’d show you my creeping phlox. For years and years I’ve always wanted some. I was always so jealous of people who had it cascading. I tried it at several of the houses we lived at but this house was the trick. I finally got it really going. I’m so pleased with it.
Behind the tree you can see that the whole finally got filled. You might remember that the dump truck came and brought dirt. Georgia played in it on Tuesday night.
She just loved it!
I ended up remembering that the neighbor has a skid loader. I ended up going over and asking if he’d help me out and level it for me…and he did.
Next up I need to prep it and seed some grass. Little by little I’m getting it done.
Speaking of getting things done, I split and transplanted some of the hostas and planted them along the south side of the LP tank. I happen to have one bag of red wood chips left so I sprinkled them out. I’ve been wanting to do this since we moved here. Finally my hostas were big enough that I could split them.
Speaking of projects I want to do, this year my goal is to fix up the back of the house. I ended up buying three of the trellis’ I showed in the beginning of this post. They are going to go along here.
I have had two trellis’ before but added the third. My morning glory starts will go here. I really wanted to get a raised bed along here but I’m trying to do things as I can afford them so with lumber prices as they are, that isn’t going to happen. Instead I am going to dig a narrow edge along the garage. probably only as wide as the cement blocks. Then I’ll put some good dirt in and plant flowers between the trellis’.
That’s the plan for now…Â It’s subject to change.
Karl went through the garden with the tiller once. He’s going to go through that again early this week and then I’m planting the veggies.
I think I’m more excited about gardening this year than I ever have been. Things are falling nicely into place. I had wanted to convert to raised beds in the garden this year too but alas…lumber. It’s okay. I need to have things to look forward to and that might be on the next year’s list.
It’s been VERY dry here. We need rain. As much as farmers need to get the crop in, what is in the ground needs rain. We are predicted to have some and I sure hope the prediction comes true. My grass looks terrible. It looks like end of August grass not May grass.
That’s my garden update. I hope to have many more throughout the year!!
My vote is to take the planter from the fence corner and move it next to the people door. Then get something bigger for the fence corner. You were quite energetic the last few days. Your place looks beautiful and it’s going to be spectacular in another month.
Are any of the plants perennials? The only thing that would be perennials for me in Wyoming would be the hostas. Buy a plant here and love it for a season and bless it goodbye at the end of Sept, early Oct. I think your beds are going to be beautiful!!
Your place will look wonderful. I always get spring fever and go look at all the flowers in the nursery. but I have learned not to buy alot as I don’t like the follow up care through the summer!! LOL And we seem to be gone alot, so things don’t get watered enough. I did have a couple of pots on my deck that looked really nice all through last summer. So that made me happy.
Wow –everything look so good–so far. Yes, get one more pot. You can always re-group for another look next year. Looking forward to more pictures to see how it ll fills in later. I like the nursery you went to –very orderly and clean, colorful and good looking plants. We got two inches of rain last week.
hello Jo,
Very pretty plantations. I have also started the vegetable garden, but we are running out of water. Spring is very dry this year also in France. So I don’t make too many vegetables, to be able to water this summer.
You have such a Beautiful yard and home. Not to mention your little helper : ) It must be so wonderful to have such a nice nursery to shop at. I adore anything patriotic and those flowers sure speak volumes. Sometimes it’s nice to get creative thoughts by have another hobby like planting. It can set the mood for sewing ideas.Have a great day. God Bless
If you have room in your gardens I bet the kiddos would love pumpkins to watch grow and then have for Halloween. Your flowers are going to be beautiful.
Yes! I love spring planting time also. I have already been to my favorite nursery and stocked up. I also reuse my hanging baskets. I saw a YouTube video where a man was showing how to rejuvenate the old soil and be able to reuse it for healthy plants.
I vote for a planter on each side of the garage doors, and I climbing rose in that corner of the fence. If not a rose, then a clematis or other plant that suits you.
I cannot get myself to buy annuals since they die every year, so I plant with perennials that return and multiply. I do have some biennials like foxglove and lupine, but they self seed.
LOL, buying annuals for me is like dropping money in those holes one must dig to plant. Don’t ever buy a Japanese Bittersweet!! That is a nasty invasive plant that will take over your whole yard, kind of like kudzu but maybe not quite as bad. And it’s almost impossible to kill it. Ugg, we fight with this plant every year. Horrible.
Your yard does look very nice and cheerful! I envy your veggie garden. Here the soil is glacial till and has equal amount rocks and sandy soil. Any place you want to dig, you are guaranteed to find some rocks too.
I am between quilts so I was inspired to start a 4PP. I finished the first 16 blocks and I’m happy with it.
Have a lovely day, hugs and smiles.
Wow!! Aren’t YOU the picture of a green thumb, Jo?! :o))
You are doing such a great job with the plants and your place will look so beautiful again. Georgie looked like she was having fun in the dirt. She’ll end being a little gardener like her grandma! Fun, fun!!
I also like the idea of moving the planter from the corner of the fence to by the door, and the getting another planter to put at the corner of the fence and put a climbing plant in it, to climb onto the fence. If you have such good luck with morning glories, maybe that would be a good choice. Karl is such a hoot. Love that hat!!Everything is looking so nice, Jo! You go, girl!!
I too would move the pot to the garage door …possibly where the hydrant is …if that can be moved…would plant one of the Radler climbing roses in the fence corner …or clematis. The Radner climbers rebloom and are very hardy . Flowers look great!
I vote for a planter by the people door. Do you have something between the two garage doors?
I think you need one by the people door for balance. Everything is looking good. Those are nice sized planters for those areas.
I would put another planter by the people door. I have annuals in pots on my front porch and back patio. I take the pots to the basement in the fall and water them over the winter and bring them back out in May. I have geraniums, Gerber daisies, diathesis, impatiens, and others. It keeps the cost down. Impatiens are so pretty.
I would get two more of the big white planters and put one between the garage doors and the other by the people door.
Yes, you need a planter by the man-door to give the balance. Those are great planters!
Happy playin’ in the dirt :-)
I also vote for another planter by the door.
App. how big are your morning glory sprouts before you put them in the garden? I started some from seed too. But since this is my first time, I’m not sure how long I should wait before I put them outside. Thanks for thinking about this.
Yes, get one more planter for next to the man door. Do you call that door a “people door” in the Midwest? On the west coast it is called a man door. Funny regional differences!
Hi Hi. I’d add another pot by the people door! Everything you planted looks great!
Your gardening really shows off your home! Love it! YES, you DO need that extra planter next to the man door — odd numbers are always better. Thanks for sharing, I loved every planter box and idea you’ve shown!
Everything is looking fabulous already. Yes, I vote for one more planter by the people door. Loving everything you’ve done!
You can also harvest seeds from the impatiens later in the season. Dry them out and save them to seed directly in your planters next year.