Just a little gardening adventure...

Spring has sprung here in Texas. We FINALLY are feeling a bit more settled in our new house and can tackle some outdoor chores. But to me, outdoor work really isn't a chore...it is FUN.

I have sooo much blogging to catch up on and I think I am getting back in the groove to finally do it. The last time I uploaded pictures from my camera, my yard looked like this:




Wait, that was just a few weeks ago! When I speak of catching up on blogging, I mean going back to last June. Like June of 2009, when we lived in a different city, went to a different church, and had different activities going on. There is just something in me that still wants to go back and recount some of the highlights. So, watch out!

Not today though...today it is gorgeous and 70 degrees. Yesterday was equally pretty but a little windy and even chilly at times.

The pressure is on in the new 'hood...not to keep up with the Jones', but to keep up with the gardeners. That is my kind of pressure! Apparently the woman who lived here was a master gardener of sorts. We have had 3 separate neighbors approach us on 3 separate occasions singing the praises of her various gardens and trees both in front and back.

She was ill the latter part of her time here though and all we have inherited are a bunch of overgrown beds. We've been warned not to dig anything up until all the perennials come back, but this weekend I got antsy.

We have several beds both front and back. Some are raised and others are not. I am most excited that we have both shady and sunny spots...something I haven't had for several houses.

I decided to tackle a sunny one out front right where everyone turns in to head down the alley. Although it was not the biggest eyesore, it is definitely the one with the most eyes on it and seemed like a good place to start.

This is what I started with. I had put the pansies in a couple of weeks ago. At this point I had already hoed out most of the weeds and possibly some ground cover that was there on purpose. I wasn't sure and didn't like it, so it went away.





Getting them in position.

I picked mostly annuals but a few perennials as well...my first time ever planting Iceland Poppies. Geraniums are my favorite because they bloom well into August here if you keep them cut and watered. My mom often planted snapdragons for us as kids and my girls enjoy them like I did. They are supposedly annuals, but I had them come back at our old house, so we'll see. The daffodils and pansies should be on their way out soon, but I'm hoping the marigolds and snapdragons last through the heat of summer. I planted two variations of Day Lily bulbs in the back center, another first for me. It looks kind of bare back there, but hopefully by June something will be showing up. I'll be keeping my receipt and packaging and taking Lowe's up on their "guaranteed to bloom" offer just in case.

All done!

And while I was having fun out front, my hubby was NOT having fun out back. Poor guy. One thing we lost with moving was STORAGE. In a serious way. We had a two car garage, a huge storage shed, an attic above the garage and an additional attic above the second story. Not to mention tons of internal storage...ALL completely chocked full of stuff. Quite disgusting actually.

We are doing some heart checking, definitely downsizing and purging, tossing and repurposing. But we are still resorting to building a storage shed out back.

I wish I had an after picture of it, but like I said, this project hasn't been fun at all.



Progress is being made though. And although it is after 7PM, it is still full light.

Praise God for Daylight Savings Time.

Now I've just got to break it to the girls that it is NOT a playhouse for them!