Crawling to the Finish Line

This is how I felt by the end of Memorial Day weekend.  In the past 3 weeks we have spread 15 yards of top soil, 5 yards of compost and 5 yards of bark mulch. Most of the compost and mulch was spread over the weekend.   I think I will crawl on over to Bloomin Tuesday and Fertilizer Friday.


It seemed like a great idea when I ordered all that.  It seems like a great idea now... that it's all done.   I'm very grateful for my husband who was a wheelbarrowin' maniac.   Now I can sit back and enjoy it.  If I could only stop myself from buying more plants.  Hasn't happened yet.  I might have to start planting in my neighbors yard.  Anyhoo, I haven't posted anything in about a century so here are my garden updates:


My favorite pic of the season so far - Bearded Iris beginning to open with Catmint Six Hills Giant in the background

A little 'Before' and 'After' action..... the backyard before and after mulching duty:

Close up time:


Rhododendron

Jacob's Ladder with Fringed Bleeding Heart in the background:

My old beat up lantern in a new spot with Wine & Roses Weigela:

Old Fashioned Bleeding Heart that insists on growing out of our brick walkway every year.  The ones I purposely planted in the actual gardens never do this well.  I don't get that:

Bearded Iris and Siberian Iris:

New hanging baskets with Impatiens.... candy cane colors:

As always, some yard views.  Here is the front... I have since dug up the awful pile of sticks that was supposed to be a variegated Weigela.  It just does not like that spot.  And the mountain of compost in the background is now gone:

Side of house.  How about that artistic flair with the lanterns? I was trying to declutter my deck:

Our improved shed.  Amazing how slapping on a coat of stain and throwing up four hanging baskets transformed it from a slum looking shed to an almost decent looking crappy building that used to be a horse shelter.  And there's my wheelbarrowing maniac, and I don't use that term lightly.  The guy is a maniac.  We live near Mt Monadnock in NH.  He climbed it 8 times in one day a few weeks ago :

The area behind the veggie garden is where that 15 yards of top soil was spread so we can add more lawn.  We just can't spend enough time mowing so we thought we'd add on. See that green patch in the middle?   In a blurry-eyed, soil spreading oblivion we grabbed a bag of grass seed, got home and realized we picked up a bag of Scott's EZ-Seed that only seeds 200 square feet.  Well let me tell you - that grass you see in the picture grew that much from seed in ONE WEEK!  Too bad the stuff is so expensive because it is AWESOME.  The pink flowers on the left are a row of red rhododendrons we planted this year which we hope will eventually hide the giant dead fallen tree behind them:

New hanging baskets on the shed:

Side garden with irises; mostly what is blooming around the yard right now.  More artsy-schmartsy additions here (same de-cluttering of the deck episode as previous lantern):

Front and side of pool fence.  And my maniac.  That guy is everywhere:

Irises and our sweet kitty, Lily.  NOT.  She.  Hates. Everyone.  Well, almost everyone.  She liked me, my husband, my step-daughter and my daughter.  She hisses and screams at everyone else..... from 4 yr old kids to my 93year old, four-foot tall grandmother.  We don't understand what's wrong with her. (The cat, not my grandmother). 

A row of Bearded Iris just starting to open.  They almost look like tulips:

We added a garden area in front of the shed and a shade garden in front of a boulder on the side of the yard.  But since I just got it planted tonight 30 seconds before the thunder and lightning started, I thought the smart thing to do would be to put down the metal shovel and take pictures another day.


Happy Spring/Almost Summer Everyone!