1. Hawthorns (yay!)
I had to put in three new shrubs this spring to replace the gardenias that died last winter. The new ones did great and are stronger and healthier than when they were planted. They even bloomed a little. Clearly a good choice!
the new hawthorns
2. Perennials (boo.)
I planted a few perennials this year that I got cheap from Home Depot, a little later in the spring. None of them did well (maybe it was too late, or too hot, or they just didn't start healthy), but they almost all seem to still be alive. I moved them around in hopes that they'll do better next year if they get a chance to root over the winter.
new perennials looking crappy
3. Vine thing
We built a small trellis this spring and planted a vine thing (the name is totally escaping me right now), which did great. I'm really hoping it comes back next year and continues to fill in along the fence.
vine thing is blooming well in early summer
and keeps growing but stops blooming in late summer
As usual, the kitchen garden did great, until it turned into a mess and became disappointing. Two tomato plants completely overwhelmed their little cages and toppled over onto the ground. We hung a string trellis for beans to climb up, but it was taken over by viney weeds, so we never got any beans. There were some eggplants and peppers, but they mostly weren't very impressive. Plan for next year- fewer plants and bigger cages-- less is more.
kitchen garden is overgrown and ugly.
5. Annuals and Herbs
It was definitely a hot and dry summer, and I didn't do a great job at watering things- so the smallest plants fared pretty poorly this year. The annuals in the quarter-circle and herbs in pots looked great in the beginning of the summer, and then slowly died off as the weather got hotter and drier. Begonias and basil did okay, perhaps they are just heartier and better at the dry weather. Note for next year- buy more hearty stuff (or learn to water the yard).
a field of alyssum and petunias in the quarter circle in early summer
begonias and hostas in early summer
6. Fall Stuff
After clearing away all the dead annuals, I put in the usual mix of pansies and mums for the fall and winter. Then, I finally used a gift certificate from Burpee that I got last Christmas to order some new perennials. I'm hoping that by planting them this fall, they'll have a better chance of rooting and doing well next year.
pansies under the redbud tree
pansies from another angle
new perennials with mums
mums and perennials from a different angle
mums from prior years still doing well and ready to bloom
7. Fire Pit!
Lastly, we broke down and bought a firepit. We had been talking about it for a while, and decided that since we're definitely staying home more now that there's a bambino- we should have more things to enjoy and entertain in the house. Hopefully it'll help us enjoy the backyard a bit more, since we kind of avoided it all summer due to the heat. Sadly - as soon as we finally decided which one we wanted and ordered it, we found out it was backordered til november.
The Success Stories
For some extra context, let's take a look at how far the yard has come so far just as a reminder that everything I plant doesn't always die. We initially landscaped the yard about 2.5 years ago, prepping it to host our big rehearsal dinner. Each summer and winter since, I've lost some of the original shrubs, but others have rooted, gotten stronger, and grown a lot bigger. Here are some of the success stories of the yard:
abelias
closeup of the abelias- been blooming for like 2 months now
azaleas
arbor vitae
and there's this guy
(I planted snapdragons last summer, and this summer they started popping up everywhere. I tried to move them to a pot, but then they died. So when this guy sprouted in a crack by the garage door, I left him alone, and he did amazingly well. Kind of drives me crazy when all the annuals I planted died.)
No comments:
Post a Comment