Garden Close Up – Box Turtle

Spring Update

Lots to catch you up on, so here we go.  First up, the problem that I mentioned in my last post is drainage.  Right now I have a large area in the back yard that is mostly a muddy mess.

Our house is located at the bottom of a hill, so we catch the runoff from our neighbors. Much of the back yard is sloped enough that the water continues to roll on to the pond behind us, but there is a relatively flat area that tends to collect water and become very soggy. It remains that way for several days after a good rain.

Compounding the problem is my very large Doberman, Phoenix, who keeps the grass worn down in this area so that it just stays muddy. Consequently, we have to clean his paws every time he comes in from the back yard, and I can’t tell you how tired I am of that.

My solution is going to be:

• Install a french drain (marked by the white spray paint in the picture)
• Run the gutter downspout discharge underground
• Add dirt to the area to give it a gentle slope
• Re-sod
• Create a paving surface for the high impact area around the bottom step of the deck

I have already started on one phase of the project – running the gutter discharge underground.  I chose to begin with the two downspouts by the corner of the deck.  I bought 4″ corrugated pipe, and I’m running it to the back of my property (right under the fence) where there is a small ditch leading to the pond behind us.

 

When digging this trench, I ran into an oak stump. Although diminutive in size, it was impossible to move. I severed three large roots and dug a good sized hole around it, but it wouldn’t budge one inch. I broke my pick trying to pry it up. I finally gave in and called someone to grind it with a stump grinder. While he was at it, I had him get rid of 4 other stumps in my yard, so $200 later I was back in the trench.

I don’t yet have pictures of the finished product, but there isn’t much to see (obviously). I have one more downspout to run underground, but that will probably be completed later this summer. I have done some work on the entrance garden, and I’ll show you that in the next post.

October Update

Well, I have some catching up to do with the blog.  It’s December and I’m just now posting about October and November events.  First, I posted a couple of close ups of my roses that I took back in October (see previous two posts).  They are climbing roses that flow over our backyard fence with significant splendor.  They need to be cut back and pruned, but I’ll do that next spring.

Next up are the flowers that I planted back in October.  Below is a picture of them at their peak.  They looked pretty good, but the mums didn’t last much more than a month.  I think next year a better combination might be dusty miller in the middle with colored pansies on either side.  As a cold weather flower, the pansies are still going strong.

Here are a couple of pictures that I took in early November.  The clematis is trained along the deck trellis, but it looks pretty ragged.  I’m planning to cut it back in the spring and retrain it.  I’m not sure what the other bush with the red flowers is, but it’s eye-catching when it blooms.

 

Finally, I have a big problem in my back yard, but more on that in my next post.

Garden Close Up – October Rose 2

Garden Close Up – October Rose 1

Octoberfest

I decided to start my landscape implementation with the deck. We love our deck. It is where we spend most of our time in the back yard, and it is where we will do most of our outdoors entertaining.

We bought mums and pansies along with a hay bale and a pumpkin for fall flavor.

Garden Close Up – Camellia

Garden Close Up – Lizard

The Artist’s Canvas

Here are some pictures of my back yard that I took back in June when we first moved in.

I made a rough sketch of the way I want my garden to be laid out. This first picture is of the (future) Entrance Garden. The back yard is wrapped around the house in a “U” shape, and the only gate from the front yard leads here.

This long stretch of yard is the Play Garden. This will be modified to be completely open, except for limited landscaping along the sides. This area will be used to play soccer with the dogs, and eventually kids.

The area back in the corner will be the Shade Garden. I am most excited about this space. It will be fenced off and have a water fountain and nice seating area.

The final area in my back yard will be the Flower Garden. I already have a head start since the previous owner has created these nice beds. This space will also be fenced off.

As you can see, I have quite a bit of work to do, but that’s the fun isn’t it?

Welcome!

Welcome to my garden blog.  I have created this blog primarily for myself in order to chronicle the development of my garden, but I hope that you can enjoy watching it grow as much as I will.

I lived at my old house for four years and I never did any landscaping.  We had a yard with great potential, but since I knew we weren’t going to be there for a great length of time I never got around to doing anything.  I drew out several plans, but they were never realized.  I regret that nothing happened until we sold the house.

Now I’m in my new house and I will be here for awhile, so I have drawn out my plans and I hope to bring them to fruition over the next several years.  Progress will be slow, as gardening can be quite expensive, but slowly and surely I will transform my garden into a paradise.

As for the name of my blog, I’m sure it will change and evolve as time progresses, just as a garden does.  I’m a bit of a nerd, so of course I am enamored with all things Tolkien.  In my mind the Shire is a gardening paradise, so what better namesake for my blog?