Saturday, May 16, 2015

making progress

I've started to spruce up the outside of the house.  As I've said before, I'm not a gardener, so I'm sticking with perennials (since they come back every year and are pretty easy to grow) and just a few annuals (cheap!).  And one tomato plant.  (I figure if I kill the tomato plant, I've only wasted a few dollars.)

I did a little weeding in the garden last night. It's a bit intimidating; there's a lot of plants in there and I have no idea which ones are weeds. I need a little help in identifying one of them (see below, last picture).  There's also lots of grass growing in.  I figure each time I go outside I'll pull a few weeds.  Eventually it will get done.  I planted some fast-growing ground cover in hopes that the grass will eventually be choked out.

Tomorrow it's on to mowing the lawn.  We have about an acre and a half and usually use the push mower. We have an old sit-down mower, but it needs two new tires.  I figure it takes about a full day to mow the whole lawn.  That assumes we take a few breaks to eat, drink and rest.   A couple weeks ago I mowed the lawn for the first time since I was kid and I enjoyed it. I get a lot of satisfaction out of it:  it appeals to the creativity and perfectionism in me, and I'm now physically able to do it without feeling like I'm going to drop dead.

Here's some pictures of my progress and a few plants I bought.


My lone tomato plant.  Wish me luck!


Just because I love this bush.  So pretty.  
It wasn't in bloom yet last weekend.  I love the wild look of it.


Columbine. Delicate, tissue paper-like flowers.  I love this.
This is going in the front of the house. 
Or maybe the rock wall. Not sure yet. It will grow into a four to five foot shrub.


English daisies and Tidal Pool Speedwell (?).  
These are going in the front of the house I think.
(Cat won't be planted.)


A few annuals.  Needs more weeding, but looking better than it was.


A few annuals next to the pond.



My new coffee table for the patio.  Tempered glass and metal; 
it was only $10.00 at a tag sale!
(Yes, I need to weed the patio.)


Anyone know what these are??  They're a little scary looking.


2 comments:

  1. I will wish you tomato luck. :) I wonder if those strange looking things are poppies?

    I have chicken helpers, so weeding is totally their job and they are excellent at it. Of course they like to eat the things I am trying to grow as well, so they must be well supervised!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! The consensus seems to be that they're poppies. I finally found some other pics online and it appears that is what I have. I'm glad to hear they're not a poisonous weed; they're certainly scary looking!

      When I was a kid we had bunnies. We would put up landscape fencing in a circle and put them in the pen. A few hours later we'd have a "mowed" patch of lawn. Then we would move the pen again.

      Delete