It’s almost 10pm, and I am exhausted after a very long day of gardening and hiking. So instead of a product review, I will show you a few pix from my garden.
Because Jeff has been in and out of the hospital three times over the past 5 weeks, I haven’t had as much gardening time as usual. But since Jeff is home again (hopefully for good), today I spent hours and hours trimming the shrubs in my front gardens that were very overgrown.
Since April, I’ve been working on replanting the grass in my backyard. I know that we’re supposed to give up our lawns, but I have about 11 gardens, so if I want some lawn, I think I can have it. In May, I had two and a half yards of a loam/compost mix delivered to my driveway. Wheelbarrow by wheelbarrow, I wheeled it to the backyard and put in down in the areas that needed more loam (much of the backyard and all of the shaded areas). I put down fertilizer and grass seed. Most of the backyard lawn now has new grass growing, yahoo! Here it is after the first mow a couple of weeks ago.
In September, I will put down more soil and seed in the area in the front lawn and the few areas in the back and try to get the last areas fixed before winter.
July is pretty much peak time for the garden. The spring flowers are long gone, most of the roses are finished till September, the day lilies are in primetime, and some other perennials are either blooming or getting ready to bloom. My friend Sue is not a flower person, she has a gorgeous garden of plants of different shades of green and yellow. When she comes over, she doesn’t say anything about my garden. Another friend told me she found that “there is too much going on” in my garden. Fortunately, Jeff is my big fan, and he loves the riot of colors in my cottage gardens. 🙂 Plus, the hummingbirds, bees and butterflies love it, and that’s good enough for me. 😀
Roses
Daylilies
Other Perennials
The hummingbirds go absolutely crazy for monarda, aka bee balm. They’re tall, red, mop top flowers. I hope this is the right video, and you can see the little hummingbird. I made this video on a day when the wind is blowing, but I had no idea how loud the wind was. Sorry!
https://vimeo.com/729838236
Enough, right?
I have lots more flowers, I think that’s enough for now. Hope you scrolled through quickly. BTW, the green photo above is more of the new lawn as well as my shade garden and the woodland garden in the distance.
Here’s the last photo, one of the critters that visited my yard last week, an Eastern milk snake, 3 feet long:
Do you garden? Have any tips or photos you want to share with me??
Thank you for the garden tour, Allison. Everything is beautiful. It’s good to know that Jeff is out of the hospital. Hopefully, your life will be getting back to normal now that you have him on the road to recovery.
Thank you, thank you, Cynthia 🙏🏻🤞🏻🍀😊
Allison, your garden is absolutely GORGEOUS! Your hard work shows in every detail of your stunning garden. We have kept the lawn alive in our front yard, but have let it die in our backyard. The drought is so severe here that the city will actually help pay for replacing lawns with drought resistant plants, and we are only allowed to water on certain days. We are in the planning stages of what we will do with the lawn area in the back, but plan to do something that will encourage lounging and gardening! I hope that Jeff turns the corner, and that he is home for good! Sending lots of love to both of you!
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Thank you so much! You are right to look for drought resistant plants. I should too!
Now this is the garden I would have ONLY more flowers and less lawn. I love having (used to – apt living now) all types of flowers and colors. And all kinds of yard art and love your yard furniture. And the metal basket turned out beautiful. Unless I missed it you don’t have a bird bath in your yard.
Oh heavens, Gloria! I already have 11 gardens as well as plants around the perimeter of the lawn in the back, I couldn’t handle any more – that’s why I still have a lawn (plus I like to play croquet). I do have a bird bath that’s surrounded by perennial geraniums and goat’s beard in another part of the yard. 😉
I don’t know how you have the energy to take care of that many gardens.
LOL!!
I don’t know the first thing about gardening. I admire people that can continuously keep plants alive. I love the variety of beautiful flowers you have.
Thank you, Claudia!
The yard and gardens look beautiful, Allison. But I’m especially happy to hear that Jeff is back at home! Fingers crossed that he’s there to stay now 🙂
Thank you, Kim xoxo Jeff is home, but I can’t say that the saga has ended quite yet. Hope so. And hope you’re having fun!
Hi, Allison – You seem to be a master gardener! You sort of remind me of the hummingbird with the flowers. Lol! This is a very colorful post — I appreciate that. Your new lawn is turning out well. Thank you for telling me when each type of flower has its season; good to know. You’re an inspiration to get myself out there and do more. I haven’t done much since I twisted my ankle at my sister’s house. I’m so glad Jeff is home. The gardens are very good for his health and yours too. I wish the two of you good health and happiness together. XO – Angie, http://www.yourtrueselfblog.com
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I love gardening, Angie, and have since I was a kid. Jeff has also been gardening since he was a boy. He has a big vegetable garden in a community garden area. Because of his health issues, the poor garden isn’t doing quite as well as it usually does since he hasn’t been able to be there, but I did get some kale, basil, celery, and radishes, so I shouldn’t complain. Hope your ankle heals soon, and you can get out there too!
Allison, thank you so much for the beautiful pictures! They lifted my spirits on a hectic day. Your flowers are lovely and I admire your persistence in growing grass from seed. My son-in-law takes care of our vegetable garden which got a late start this year. And my only gardening tip is to plant hydrangeas. They spread and take up a lot of room and aren’t too fussy. But on the subject of color, I agree with you. I don’t get the all green or green and one color garden. It’s a trend that needs to end:). I prefer color and the more of it the better. I always say it’s an old lady thing! Glad to hear that Jeff is home and hopefully on the mend.
Hi, Denise, you’re welcome! We just came from Jeff’s vegetable garden, and since he’s been out of commission, weeds were absolutely everywhere! Oh well. You are luck that your SIL takes care of yours! I love hydrangeas, too. I have 3 that are 20 years old and huge. They are two babies from the original plants are in a sunny spot, so I often have to water them during the day. I have a huge lace cap on the side of the house that gets morning sun, but it seldom flowers. During the first year of the pandemic was the first time it had flowered in 15 years, and it hasn’t flowered again since! If it weren’t so much trouble to dig it up, I would probably replace it with something else.
I love your space! And man! Those roses look gorgeous!
Thank you, Michelle!
I’m sending my best to Jeff! I hope he’s doing well.