Spring Garden Tour

Spring Garden Tour


Ok yall,
grab your favorite beverage and put your feet up for a few minutes,
because well be taking a tour of our Spring Garden.


Our Spring mulching is finished...


all 322 bags
(23.85 yards)

(We usually get mulch in bulk, but both big box stores had a great sale on bags, which made it less expensive)

So glad its done!


We finished mulching the flower beds late this year.
A few years ago we started too early and were finished in March. Youd think wed know by now that April is the best month to get this job done.  The weather is still cool and the perennials havent popped up yet so its easier to spread the mulch.
It was near 90 degrees (with a lot of  humidity) a couple of days that we were working in the yard. 

On to the tour:
Lets start in the front yard. Our youngest daughters boyfriend got us off to a great start and spread the mulch in the front flower beds.
Thank you Blake!
It was a big help. 
I trimmed all 25 of the shrubs in the front by hand the day before and cut out 3 shrubs with my new pole saw.
I tell ya, I was ready to cut all of the shrubs down when I was about half way through trimming them. 



This photo shows what is seen from the front yard, looking into the back.


Our "North" garden raised beds are just beyond the Bradford Pear tree hiding behind two Cleyera shrubs.


This year I expanded my herb garden.
A few years ago I planted mint in a container in the ground to contain the roots. The oregano is doing really well and both the mint and oregano are perennials pretty enough to put in a flower bed.
This year thyme, cilantro and two kinds of parsley were planted. I plant basil ever year, as well.


Oregano...

 Mint


These are our North garden raised beds and the wood planters  Mr. DIY made for me  last year.
Weve already been harvesting broccoli and snow peas. Potatoes and garlic should be ready next month.
Cucumbers and squash are about 8" high.


Turning around toward the house you can see a long line of hostas. They are the first plant to come alive in the Spring.

Now we are back up "topside" on the side of the garage looking down into the backyard.
Our "South garden" veggie beds are to the left along side of the house.

Walking down the hill into the backyard...this is one of the easiest photos to take in the morning because the light is perfect. Photos taken from this part of the yard show the true color of the yard and need no editing at all.



Everything from this part of the yard looks so green, even the lawn which is at least 50% weeds.


Weve had a few difficult summers and the grass has had a hard time.



Ok, seriously, this is the last one.



Back up on the deck looking down into the yard...
you can see the garden path leading down to the patio in the woods and my childhood playhouse.


Looking a bit to the left...



...a bit to the right...


...and a little more to the right.  
If youd like to see how the garden before we did any work, you can click HERE. 
It wasnt always a backyard oasis. It was REALLY rough!
When I look back at those before pics, its hard to believe. 


My parents gave me the little blue playhouse for my 5th birthday. Its painted just like our first home back in SoCal. We brought it with us when we moved to North Carolina.


Weve changed things up over the years. When our girls were little, their swing set was where the paver patio was and the playhouse was farther back. The path used to wind around to the right and then continue almost to the creek. 



We use a yard of cypress chips on the path. The chips last a long while and we only have to freshen it up every other year.

When the weather is nice, we love having friends over to have a fire in the fire pit. Just wish we could get rid of the mosquitoes in the summertime!


Mr. DIY installed the patio in the woods pretty much all by himself. I think I helped a little. I remember we had a pretty big pile of sand and our girls played in it. I vaguely remember a pretty cool photo looking through a tunnel in the sand and Im going to have to dig that up. (I think it was before digital photography)



This stone frog sits in the ajuga growing near the edge of the paver patio.

Begonias and a trailing vine do well in a shady spot beside the patio.


I love this spot....

Stepping back into the mulched area...






Looking back up the path toward the house...


My favorite outdoor space is under the deck. Ill have to show you that space another time.

Do you love hostas as much as I do? They are easy to grow from rhizomes. I think I bought 3 bags of 8 hosta rhizomes and planted them in the Fall about 12 years ago. When the plants got bigger, I just divided them until the back of the house and the North side along the house had a long line of hostas.
They are so pretty.
Deer dont seem to bother the hostas planted near the house.


...another hosta near the  patio under the deck.

Spring Garden Tour