Ten sore fingers and two dirty hands later, one of my gardens has gone from this:
to this:
I know it doesn’t look like much (yet). But it will. Oh, it will. Once it has some plants and some mulch, we’ll be in business. This garden sits on the left side of the bulkhead. I tackled the right side of the bulkhead last spring. You can read that post here but here’s a quick recap.
Right side of bulkhead before:
Right side of bulkhead after:
So yes, plants and mulch go a long way. I’m still waiting on some beautiful, colorful bulbs to come up in between those mini boxwoods above. I can. not. wait.
But I digress. Back to the eyesore that was this:
All of the green shoots coming up are bearded irises in deep purple that look like this when in bloom:
Beautiful? Of course. However, they were in a spot in my yard that gets full sun, and I have been dying for some peonies for a few years now. Peonies do well in full sun. So, the irises would get the boot to a shadier spot (they still thrive in part shade) and I started in on weeding. I did it by hand, as I always do, and it took forever, as it always does.
Once I was left with a weed-free garden of iris shoots, it was time to prep their new home. Cue the giant pile of patio pavers and bricks in our front-side yard.
Yes, that pile is an eyesore.
Yes, you can see it from the street.
Yes, it has been there for 2+ years.
No, we don’t know why it took us so long.
We moved them one wheelbarrow load at a time (4 total) to behind the garage until we decide if they can be used in some capacity. If we can’t, which is likely, anyone need bricks or flat, square stones? I think I’ll end up posting them on Freecycle. I’ve heard its great.
After that spot was raked out, I dug up the irises and popped them in. Even the lobster iris went in.
A quick water and they were done. They’ll be none the wiser to their new home, shaded by my Rose of Sharon shrubs.
All of the irises didn’t fit in the new spot above, so I placed them randomly over the yard, but not too randomly. There’s always normally a method to my madness. During the process, Griff was on standby.
At first, at least. He quickly moved into a more comfortable spot and snoozed away all afternoon in the warm sunshine. I can’t really blame him.
So as we head into Sunday, we’re looking at a nice clean bed in which to plant my 4 beautiful peonies! Maybe some evergreens too, just to keep it lively during the winter months. We’ll see.
I have two dark pink and two light pink peonies ready to make their debut. I want to get them in the ground tomorrow, as well as plant some calla lilies in containers. It’s supposed to be another great spring day, so everything should go according to plan. Anyone else get a chance to spend some time outside today? Here’s hoping.
Hope you’re having a great weekend!