Fun with concrete in the garden

About four years ago, my daughter made a couple stepping tiles for the garden. One was a father-daughter project that we did one summer afternoon. The other was a project she did while at pre-K.

Last year I bought the supplies to make a few more but never got around to it. Yesterday we did another batch of stepping tiles and they came out pretty good.

We also decided to try to make something new. I had this idea to cast bowls and other objects because I thought the forms would be interesting for the garden. I had a left-over light globe and my daughter taped glass tiles to the inside surface and then we filled it with concrete. I think we can perfect the process but it still looks pretty cool. It kind of reminds of a mini Death Star or that hovering ball from the movie Phantasm but I like it and we'll probably make some more.

We still have plenty of glass left and we haven't tried out the flower mold yet so I think we may be making more of these over Memorial Day weekend.

Elsewhere in the garden: the alium looks great and I am glad I planted it.

My small dollar-buy off the distressed plants bin at Lowe's, my doublefile viburnum, is doing pretty well also. It is almost three feet tall and should be a full-fledged tree next year.

The five varieties of hostas we have growing by the pergola are also doing well.

I got lazy with the border this year and threw down some perennial seeds last fall. I've since filled it in with some foxglove and bee balm from the front yard and I think it is going to look great this year.

Finally, after digging out all of the hops (a major chore), I found an amythist falls wisteria to climb up the pergola. It has grown over a foot since putting it in a week and a half ago. It also had a bud and should start flowering soon. I also added some seed and transplanted perennials at the border near the pergola. This area should fill in nicely also.

Tending the Garden

As is typical for this time of year, I've spent a lot of time in the yard tending the garden. We haven't gotten much rain so I've watered quite a bit. There are also some new additions to the garden that I am nursing along to make sure they make it through the season. Everything looks very lush and it was a great year for the daffodils and tulips and the lilacs look fantastic but many of the other flowers are a little behind. The allium I planted last year is just beginning and looks great. Here are some pics of what is happening in the front yard.



Raised Beds: After the First Year

This is what the planting beds look after the winter. Everything fared well. I have a minor repair to make to one of them and most of the herbs died this year but otherwise, I am happy with things. I started clean up in this area of the yard yesterday - it seems like it is the first really nice day we've had on a weekend this entire year.

I added a bag of soil and humus to the raised bed before re-planting and will probably do the same for the others. I still haven't figured out what I am going to do with the rest of the beds this year but will likely do some of the same items we did last year: cucumbers, zucchini, maybe some tomatoes and greens.

I also started pulling out the hops this year. A lot of folks will lament this. I am trying to find another place in the yard where I might put them. Perhaps I will start a trellis in another part of the yard. They are starting to spread in a big way and are even lifting up the patio stones. I think that became the last straw for me. I also have always wanted something flowering on the pergola. The neighbor thinks I should put in grapes. I planted a bunch of perennials last fall and they are all coming up again so I am trying to get the area near the patio to be a perennial garden as well. We'll see how successful we are.

A Change of Seasons

I figured I would create a new post so, at the very least, folks don't stumble onto the site and are greeted by Christmas decorations. Spring has hit the Tiny Bungalow but it sure doesn't look a springy as it did last year at this time. The daffodils are in full bloom and stuff is peaking up out of the ground but otherwise, there is not a lot of activity. Hopefully that will change in the next couple of weeks