We only have a few weeks left in Spring and nearly every free moment has been dedicated to planting something or building something for planting. The entire yard is beginning to take shape and the gardening spaces are slowly but surely becoming self-sustaining.
One of the biggest impacts has been mulching. We’ve mulched everywhere we’re growing something, including the continuous bed going around the house. That isn’t included in the projects below because we still have our holly bushes to clean out and mulch before we can call it done. But with the lack of rain and odd heat waves that started back in February, I don’t think anything would have survived without it. Here are some of the projects we’ve been working on so far.
Hanging Baskets
I am an herb queen and my dream garden-scape has been to use large hanging baskets to grow some seasonal herbs. While it took nearly forever to find a spot to put them in, they are finally up and thriving with their first little plant babies! We got started with this project back in March and the last photo is from just a few days ago.
Between both baskets I’ve planted Greek Mountain Tea Mint, Bloody Mary and Whirlybird Gold Nasturtiums, Lemon Savory, and Lemon Balm.
Eventually, my husband relocated those two blueberry bushes to build another bed. Those apricot colored rose bushes are far enough away that we just left them there to help define the walkway and divide between the beds going behind them.
(More) Plant Beds
My husband specifically built this bed for me between the large hanging baskets to (hopefully) keep the little bunnies from making a meal out of my coneflower. I tried for over a year in the ground and no matter where we put them, the bunny rabbits would find them. Now this raised bed holds some of my favorite mint plants and a few other things I’m trying to grow this year.
Trellis for climbing roses
Originally, I envisioned we’d build something, but by mid-Spring we had barely settled on a design that I really loved. First I wanted an arch (seemed simple enough) but none of the lines of that design complimented our house. Then I thought changing the shape would help…ultimately I ended up waiting to make a decision. Then a couple of weeks ago my husband brought home the perfect trellis set.
Before – photos of our temporary project zone. We had hanging baskets here for a couple of years, but no real decor on the wall which was my end goal for this space. It was too much wall not to show some love to!
I cannot remember how long those climbing roses have been in the ground, but they were sticks when we bought them so it’s been a while.
After – as much as I love the baskets, they aren’t nearly as bold as this double trellis set up.
There are four in total, but the other two aren’t as wide as these 60 inch ones. They are probably half the width of the larger ones, but I’m pretty sure I can make use of them since my husband convinced me I needed all four! They are on a wall on the opposite side of the house, and with any decent planning I’ll be sharing an update in June about what we plant there.
Plants for a hanging basket
Pretty sure we’ve had this basket for at least two moves now, and we finally put some plants in it! We were so close to wall mounting this near the front door under one of the lanterns, but so so glad we waited. Rosemary in the middle and signature red double calibrachoa hybrids on both sides because red flowers just get me.
Our next project is underway, but we have a really big one coming up that is going to expand our seated space along with providing some shade!
Fun fact: Aside from two neglected citrus trees and an abandoned sago palm, there were no trees on this property when we purchased it. There were some evil bushes, sand, pine cones, needles, and branches (from the lot next door) and plenty of scorpions, spiders, and no see ums.
When I think back to those battles, I don’t mind putting another plant in the ground at all!
