New Flower Bed
Is there anything more exciting to a gardener than a new flower bed? The idea of a planting space full of fluffy, freshly amended soil ready to be planted made me giddy with anticipation. The new flower bed is actually an extension of a current flower bed that parallels the street. We extended it so that it now exists where there used to be driveway.
This is what the space looked like in November of 2009.
This is the new bed now from a similar angle. Can you see that the new bed is located where my car was parked last November? (Look for the fresh mulch!)
You can’t really see that there are things planted here for many of them are transplants that are quite small. The only new plant in this bed are Crinum bulbs. Everything else was divided and moved from other beds. So far I have planted Mums, fall blooming Crocus, Catmint,
Iris, Sedum, Verbena Bonariensis, Rudbeckia, and Purple Coneflower. There are a few more deer resistant plants that I’d like to add that I’ll need to buy. (Note – I regularly spray Liquid Fence on my Mums, Sedum, Rudbeckia, and Purple Coneflower as the deer sometimes feed on these.)
Iris, Sedum, Verbena Bonariensis, Rudbeckia, and Purple Coneflower. There are a few more deer resistant plants that I’d like to add that I’ll need to buy. (Note – I regularly spray Liquid Fence on my Mums, Sedum, Rudbeckia, and Purple Coneflower as the deer sometimes feed on these.)
This spring we worked very hard to grow grass in all of the areas disturbed by our driveway project. Our hard work was in vain because the grass didn’t survive this hot summer, even with the TLC we gave it. Crabgrass and Wiregrass have taken over and we are prepared to do battle with it this fall when grass planting season starts again. I should buy stock in Round Up.
When the driveway guys were working, I frequently raided their trash pile and saved stones that were to be discarded. I wish I’d saved more. I made two sets of stepping stones out of the scraps.
The new bed will provide a bit of privacy from the street for our patio once it fills in with plants.
It dawned on my last night that by making this new bed I’ve eliminated any access to the back yard by a vehicle. Let’s just hope that we don’t have to have any tree work done in the future.
When I started this project, I knew that the soil in this area would be a big challenge. Part of the area had been a driveway and the parts that weren’t a driveway were run over repeatedly by construction equipment. After I killed the grass in the area and scraped off the sod, I dug out every bit of compost that I had from my pile and Mr. SP tilled it into the clay. We also added several bales of Peat Moss and 10+ bags of composted cow manure to the area. Mr. SP spent a long time with the tiller to make this project possible.
I think he’ll be glad when I go back to school on Monday so I won’t have time to come up with any new projects that will require his assistance.
Paula, it’s looking wonderful! The hardest thing to deal with here in NC has been this horrible red clay that passes for soil! I honestly don’t know how anything grows- it’s like trying to dig a hole in concrete!
xoxo Pattie
WOW…you all have done a lot of work this year in your yard. Beautiful and your so right the heat has killed our good grass in our yard also where we were trying to grow some in.
I love the privacy you will have later when all of the shrubs grow.
Wow, Paula! It’s looking awesome! You have been a busy girl. Maybe you need to go back to work for a vacation!
Lookin’ good!!! You are an outdoorsy wiz.
That’s gonna look GREAT! I’m so impressed by you since you can grow plants. If I had to rely on growing my own food, I’d starve to death. How smart were you to save the scrap pavers? What a fabulous idea! Your stepping stones are cool!
I can’t wait to see how beautiful it turns out!
My flower beds have been very sorely neglected this year!
Your yard is looking so beautiful!