The previous post covered the back yard. Here we are leaving the backyard along the south fence. The stepping stones need a little touch-up after a wet winter, less than I'd anticipated. One of the arbor vitae was dead before winter and will have to be replaced.
The peony has buds! When we moved here 4-1/2 years ago, they were planted along the back fence, where they got no sun. To make matters worse, Lloyd managed to mow them down several times. "What? That's a flower?" Before we had the fence put in last summer, I transplanted the scrawny little things to the south side of the house, where they get a lot of sunlight. They seem to like it. :)
Moving toward the front, there is a bush rose already budding out and the red raspberry planted summer before last. Am hoping we'll get some fruit this year. It seems happy here as it is putting up new sprouts. Will have to put up some kind of a trellis for it and define its territory before it takes over the whole side of the house.
The south side of the front of the house has a new feature: a sump pump discharge pipe and gutter. It will be a challenge to plant around it. It has been in less than a week, and already it is apparent that we will have a small swamp right in the pathway from front to back. I'm in favor of a nice little bridge; Lloyd is ready to put in a water feature. Not much was planted here last year. The baptisia is coming in nicely, but the butterfly bush is still a no-show. This area doesn't get sun until early afternoon, so the ground near the house may not yet be warm enough to encourage growth. If the bush is a goner, I'm going to replace with with a much larger butterfly bush. I want to see it growing up and arching over the other sump pump cover beside the stairs. (Yes, an indoor sump and an outdoor sump, both discharging several time a day. Do you think our house may have been built over a spring?)
The southwest corner of the yard had gladiolus and mums last year. Not sure if the smaller mums are coming back; no show of green yet. And fairly certain the glads are goners as I didn't pick them up last fall. Yesterday I bought a
Japanese quince for this corner. Will plant more mums if these don't come back so there will be color in the fall. Will also put in something for summer color, not sure what.
The beds along the sidewalk are coming back but looking ratty. Will put a lot more plants in here in a few weeks.
The north side of the front yard needs a lot of work. The flower beds need to be defined, and the middle area needs to be smoothed and seeded with grass. I'm tempted to have it and the south side sodded.
The magnolia in the northwest corner was lovely for about a day and a half, then heavy rains beat up. Beneath it, the pachysandra that dear friend Norma Jeane planted last summer has also taken a beating. I'm guessing only about 20% of the plants survived. There were three variegated plants from a mail order nursery; I see one of them. The rest came from NJ's yard. Will see how bad the damage really is when I get this corner cleaned out. (Which I could be doing right now if I weren't blogging!)
The grass is growing well outside the fence. This low spot in the brick walk needs to be repaired so dirt won't accumulate. I thought the repairs were to be done last summer, but I'll have to call the mason again to remind him.
There are no photos of the north side of the house. Not much happening there yet except for a lush crop of moss. Time to pull on the gloves and head outside!
The peony has buds! When we moved here 4-1/2 years ago, they were planted along the back fence, where they got no sun. To make matters worse, Lloyd managed to mow them down several times. "What? That's a flower?" Before we had the fence put in last summer, I transplanted the scrawny little things to the south side of the house, where they get a lot of sunlight. They seem to like it. :)
Moving toward the front, there is a bush rose already budding out and the red raspberry planted summer before last. Am hoping we'll get some fruit this year. It seems happy here as it is putting up new sprouts. Will have to put up some kind of a trellis for it and define its territory before it takes over the whole side of the house.
The south side of the front of the house has a new feature: a sump pump discharge pipe and gutter. It will be a challenge to plant around it. It has been in less than a week, and already it is apparent that we will have a small swamp right in the pathway from front to back. I'm in favor of a nice little bridge; Lloyd is ready to put in a water feature. Not much was planted here last year. The baptisia is coming in nicely, but the butterfly bush is still a no-show. This area doesn't get sun until early afternoon, so the ground near the house may not yet be warm enough to encourage growth. If the bush is a goner, I'm going to replace with with a much larger butterfly bush. I want to see it growing up and arching over the other sump pump cover beside the stairs. (Yes, an indoor sump and an outdoor sump, both discharging several time a day. Do you think our house may have been built over a spring?)
The southwest corner of the yard had gladiolus and mums last year. Not sure if the smaller mums are coming back; no show of green yet. And fairly certain the glads are goners as I didn't pick them up last fall. Yesterday I bought a Japanese quince for this corner. Will plant more mums if these don't come back so there will be color in the fall. Will also put in something for summer color, not sure what. 
The beds along the sidewalk are coming back but looking ratty. Will put a lot more plants in here in a few weeks.
The north side of the front yard needs a lot of work. The flower beds need to be defined, and the middle area needs to be smoothed and seeded with grass. I'm tempted to have it and the south side sodded.
The magnolia in the northwest corner was lovely for about a day and a half, then heavy rains beat up. Beneath it, the pachysandra that dear friend Norma Jeane planted last summer has also taken a beating. I'm guessing only about 20% of the plants survived. There were three variegated plants from a mail order nursery; I see one of them. The rest came from NJ's yard. Will see how bad the damage really is when I get this corner cleaned out. (Which I could be doing right now if I weren't blogging!)
The grass is growing well outside the fence. This low spot in the brick walk needs to be repaired so dirt won't accumulate. I thought the repairs were to be done last summer, but I'll have to call the mason again to remind him.
There are no photos of the north side of the house. Not much happening there yet except for a lush crop of moss. Time to pull on the gloves and head outside!
hello... hapi blogging... have a nice day! just visiting here....
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