Planters for the Front

I've always liked the look of houses in the neighborhood that had planters along the front. I didn't think I would ever put them in because I didn't feel that strongly to spend the money on the materials and time but last year, I was given a bunch of cedar from a nearby deck demolition and the idea came to me to use it for this project. 

I designed the planters around existing 36" planter containers I found on clearance at a garden store. The idea was to create a box that I could just drop these planters into, making them easy to care for and change out when needed.  

I don't have the highest degree of carpentry skills but I certainly have enough for some simple boxes that could hold the planters. It took less than a couple hours to cut down the wood and assemble all of the boxes.

Once assembled, I painted them the same color as the exterior trim. I was initially going to leave them exposed but decided they looked a little too rustic that way and the painting was in order. Between the finished cedar and stainless steel anchors used to hold thigns together, I think these should hold up for a long time.

I mounted the wooden boxes with three 6" strap anchors each, screwed to the back of the box and then mounted with a cabinet screw to the face of the porch. 

The porch is broken into 6 sections across the front, with 5 of those sections having windows and one has an opening at the stair. I centered each box on each paired section.

I chose a simple array of trailing and upright plants for the boxes so that purple sweet potato and vinca plants will trail down the front of the boxes. In the center are blue "cathedral" salvia plants that will be bushier and taller. I've used all of these plants in the past in containers in the garden so I know that they will do well in the sun up front as long as I keep them watered.

I am happy with the overall look and the planting and mounting took about a half hour to complete. All in all, with time for paint to dry, It took two days but relatively little time for the project. 

I am looking forward to seeing how they fill in over time. I've spent quite a bit of time in the front garden this year, since the painting and work is just about complete out front. It has taken a beating during the siding repair and painting so it hasn't looked "right" in a couple years. It is nice to have at least a small part of the place looking "finished".

Invasive Grass Dilema

I had a pretty good day planned yesterday. I was going to get a jump start on winterizing my yard, cleaning and taking down the rain barrels, etc. so that I wouldn't be in a mad rush when things started cooling down in late October. Everything was going pretty good until I started some digging and began looking more closely at the grasses that were growing on the corner of the front yard.   

These grasses aren't visible anywhere else in the yard and they seemed to be getting a little out of control. I figured that I better nip this in the bud, literally, and began pulling the grass out. Some of it came out easy but I could tell there was a more significant root system than I first thought.  

I started digging and realized that beneath the top layer of soil was an interwoven network of roots. These went to a depth of about 8 inches. I figured that I better dig it all out or else I may end up with an even bigger problem next year. This is when my small weeding endeavor turned into a four-hour project.  

I ended up removing all of the grasses, along with any other plant material I had in this area. This included several nice perennials and some hostas. I figured that it was better to be safe than sorry. I have a dilemma though. I am sure there are still plenty of small root material in the ground that might grow again. What should I do to keep this stuff from growing again? I tilled the area and removed what I could and then I sprayed it with vinegar to make the soil less hospitable. I think I am going to continue tilling and pulling out any root material until I get tired of doing so and then deal with it next spring. Any thoughts?    

I now also have to relocate about 60 tulip bulbs that were planted in this area. I may even just save them until late in the fall and try to get them back in place. I guess we'll see if anything takes root between now and then.

Summer Garden Photos

It has been an odd gardening year at the Tiny Bungalow. I haven't had much time to devote to keeping things up but luckily, the weather has cooperated and things have been both cool and wet. That has kept the flowers in nice shape for most of the season. I am hoping I can do some more work on expanding the front beds and also clean up and expand the plantings in the back. I guess time will tell. Until then, I am just going to enjoy the blooms.

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.



Father's Day...

...or as I like to call it, "grass removal day".  Every year, I take another bite out of the grassy area in the front yard.  I spent a good part of the morning digging out about 18" of additional planting bed in the front and in the parkway.

I added a few more pathways through the planting beds and moved around a few of the plants.  It is supposed to be pretty hot the next few days so I'll have to take pretty good care of them.

They look pretty good but I have plenty of years of doing this before I've eradicated all of the lawn area.

I am loving the flea bane out front.  I've spent several years trying to get it to grow in one area and it has gone a little crazy.  It is well over four feet tall now and looks pretty great.

The back yard garden is progressing well also except for a couple small problems:  the tomatoes are having some white fly issues and the peas are getting eaten.

The culprit is a tiny bunny.  It seems to be a loner, which is fine and better than when we have three or four attacking the various beds at once.

The red lettuce seems to be doing the best.  The color is great and after only a couple of weeks, it is almost ready to cut for salads.

Procrastinating in the garden

Am I the only person that uses working in the garden as an excuse to avoid other household chores and projects?  I look up at my dining room wall daily and give an exhale.  You know the wall; the one that is supposed to have a mural painted on it by now.  Here it is, the end of March, and it is still sitting there blank.  I haven't even put the primer down yet. 

 I have a few extra hours today and what do I choose to do?  I choose to clean up the yard and move plants around in the garden.  Why not?  The garden is starting to make some noise and it needs a little help.  Also, I've found a lot of new plants popping up this year.  I wouldn't want to have anything crowded out and die because I was neglectful, would I?

This is my second time in the garden this year and I am able to assess things.  I cleared an area and put down some white foxglove seeds that my friend Brian sent me.  Those were put in on St. Patrick's Day and are already coming up.  Can't wait to see how far they get this year.    

The five dollar doublefile viburnum is almost two feet high now and I've found a lot of cool new plants sprouting up.  Both the Pinstemon's Foxglove and the black-eyed Susans have seeded to new areas and I have a few new plants of those.  Some things, like the yarrow and the St. John's Wort were getting out of hand so I had to pull them up to control them a bit.  I also already had a ton of dandelions that I had to pull up.  

I wonder if I saved any other seed that I have in the garage and should begin to scatter.  It seems like we have another bout of warm weather coming in for the next few days so it just might be a good thing to get a jump on.  As for that mural... 

Daffodils

The warm weather has made for a very happy garden this spring.  My experiment with the crocuses didn't work out all that bad.  Some of the purple crocuses and the squill has started popping through.  The daffodils are putting on a big show though.  Oddly, none of the champagne colored ones have come up this year.  Is it possible they changed color?    I used to have roughly half champagne and half yellow.  Now, a vast majority are yellow.