Berm Plants and Stone Steps

The berm is almost completed, just need a few more plants, and maybe put in some big rocks placed in between plants.  Will probably add some smaller grasses/perennials to the berm next summer depending on the growth rate of the grasses in there now.  Just two more rock steps to go before the path is complete, then I'll add some more plants along the path and put in more mulch.
The one thing missing is height in the pond garden space so I'm still contemplating a small tree, evergreen, or maybe some tall grasses.  I like the look of the tall grasses on the berm with the coppery color tops.  Another idea is to add a small arbor to the space.  Any ideas?
Until the cooler weather,

Two steps left to finish!

Almost completed.

 Berm plant placement

Grasses to plant on berm.

Greenie

Recycled Rocks and Humming Birds

AUGUST 24, 2010

So, I think I've narrowed down the plant possibilities for the berm- unless someone else comes up with a brilliant idea!  I'm thinking 2-3 different grasses, some golden rod, and maybe black eyed susan.  I also think a very large rock might be a nice focal point, but I want to leave space options open for vegetable plantings for next spring- maybe squash?  I'm thinking of planting a couple of smaller blueberry bushes on the east side of the berm garden, and serviceberry bushes along the west side of the yard.  We still have to decide if we want a fence there or not.

berm garden view-fence or no fence?

trumpet vine growing like crazy! Orange hummer feeder now filled!

another view of pond garden

recycled stone steps

tomato porn

I'm very excited about our latest visitors to the yard, humming birds!  I had put out a pretty orange glass feeder this spring and filled it once with sugar water- all that came to eat were ants and bees.  So, I emptied it.  Then one evening last week we were in the porch and I saw a little hummer flitting around- he paused close to the screen and looked in at us, and flew off.  He was attracted to our red sunflower feeders so we figured we needed a red hummer feeder.  We put it up and that evening and here comes the hummer, now happily slurping away at the feeder.  Feeding time seems to be early morning and evening, and he frequently sits in the redbud tree.
We went to the compost site Saturday morning to drop of decaying bags of compost, and that morning I was pondering where I could pick up for free some large empty tree pots to continue with my stepping stones project.  The garden gods were smiling down on me because there next to the giant compost pile someone had dropped off 4 very large plastic tree pots!!  My brilliant idea is to use all the rocks from the front hosta garden to make stepping stones with just stones, no cement.  Larry helped me cut each pot into 3- 5"deep step forms.  I already made a couple from the rocks we dug up from the garden, but it takes a lot of rock to fill a form.  We have to remove the hostas next spring when they first come up and find new homes for them, because they just get fried by the sun where they are now.  It will be much easier to dig them out with the rock gone.  So, now I must go recycle rock.  Hope to have pics of the humming birds for the next post.
Til then,
Greenie

Phase 3- The Berm

With the cool weather today I decided to tackle the berm, and surrounding planned garden area.  I had an approximate idea of where I wanted this garden space to be with a path running around the berm so I would have alot of access to the berm, the evergreens, the cherry tree, other plants, and the lilac bushes.  The edging I purchased is a lighter weight recycled plastic that is very flexible.  It made it difficult to use it as a guide for digging the trench.  So, I found a piece of white pastel chalk and that worked really well to mark the lawn.  It still took alot of maneuvering to get the edging to have a nice linear quality.
When I was in the space looking at everything coming together, I felt the need for at least two more trees.  Possibly an evergreen on the east side of the Berm garden, and an Aspen on the west side of the Berm garden, or right outside of the Berm garden.
Now I need to mow the grass very short within the garden space, and lay black plastic over the grass to kill it.  I don't know how long it will take to eliminate the grass.  I'm hoping it will work quickly so I can get plants in early enough for them to survive the winter, or I will have to wait until Spring to plant.
'til the next dirt fest,
Greenie

A Time to Dig

With alot of help from my brother John digging a BIG hole for one of the ponds, My husband Larry, and I have put in two ponds, added a couple of water plants, and placed Larry's boardwalk over the two ponds to give an illusion of one larger body of water. Looks and sounds great, has already attracted alot more birds, and I've seen some more butterflies going through the yard. I guess if I were to do anything over again I'd change the placement of the smaller pond so we could see it better from the porch, but I don't want to dig any holes that big for awhile, so I'll live with it. Who knows, down the road may add another pond.

I've gotten alot of plants in around the ponds; spiderwort, st. john's wort, short, and medium size daylilies, cinquefoil(which is great to hide the edge of the pone, and I love the leaf), tickweed, and a couple of festuca small mounding grasses. I moved some of the taller daylilies that were already growing behind the pond area, but are way too crowded. I'll need to thin them out again next spring. I also planted the tiny mugho pine, but still have the two narrow arborvitae to plant and two tiger eye sumac to plant. I'm having a difficult time deciding where they should be planted. Hope to get that decided in the next day or two. I'm definitely slowing down a bit because of continued arthritic pain, and weakness in my hands. Hope to find out today/ tomorrow what is going on with that and see if I can stop any progression of the arthritis.

Greenie

Rocks, Rocks, Everywhere

( This is from June 12-July 5th)
We rented the sod cutter and Larry cut up all the sod, which didn't take long. I ran the machine for one pass and it was a bone rattler, I wouldn't want to run it for long.   What did take a long time, and alot of sweat was rolling all that sod up and moving it.  We created a lovely berm, which I hope to get planted with... something.  It adds a nice dimension to the yard.

Rocks, and roots have become the bane of my existence.  With every hole that is dug I encounter both.  I have buckets full of rocks, and a pile of roots (eventually burn those in the firepit )  Some rocks are large enough to use around the trees we planted as a decorative mulch holder, and as accents around the pound.

We finally decided where the sumac, grasses, two arborvitae and one vanderwulf pine were to go, and got them all planted, Yeah!! Then we decided we wanted another vanderwulf pine, and found one twice as big! We knew exactly where it was going so we got it in the ground the next day, July 5th. I also picked up 4 more perennials-2 salvia and 2 liatris, and got them planted. Now I need quite a few monarda, tall orange day lilies, phlox, milkweed, and other prairie flowers, any butterfly attractants!

Tomorrow I'm digging up some echinacea from behind the house and transplanting it to the garden space.
I wish I could come up with a brilliant idea of what to do with the many buckets of rocks, especially the smaller ones- maybe make stepping stones?

The vegetable garden is looking great. Realized a few days ago I have beans ready to eat, so we've been having large servings of green beans for dinner every night. I think I'll freeze a bag tomorrow, since more will be ready in a couple of days. I want to check the potatoes in the bags but I'm afraid to look. The leaves are definitely not as big and green as the in the ground potatoes. I think I will look tomorrow- see if there are any spuds in the bags.

Did manage to snag about 2lbs. of Yukon potatoes from one potato bag.  I was hoping for about 5lbs. of potatoes, but I still have 4 potato bags to go, and the in ground potatoes that will hopefully produce more potatoes.

I'm wishing I had planted more red/orange pepper plants, and more basil, oh well, next year.

Til' the next dig,
Greenie

A Time to Sow

(The writing below is actually from May, 2010 when I started this blog on another site that didn't quite suit me, but I wanted to start on a new site with the beginning blog.)

I should have started this a couple of months ago but just thought of doing a blog a couple of weeks ago when I was digging, digging, digging.... lots of grass, dirt, and rocks for my "big dream". I thought having a blog would be a good place to vent a little, share a little, get some advice, and maybe provide a little humor.


My husband, Larry, and I with our three cats moved into our new house in the burbs. We moved from a cute little house in Saint Paul with a tiny little yard that did provide me with some gardening experience. I left it with a nice perennial garden and a tiny little pond, and a big messy River Birch tree. We had a compost container and rain barrels, and I knew those were must haves for the new place. My dream for the new place? A butterfly/ prairie flower garden, a vegetable garden and fruit garden! My goal is to eliminate all grass in the back yard! I want to provide an oasis for butterflies, birds, and us!

We've installed the rain barrels- three 50 gallon barrels, and three compost bins for now, one is temporary.

We have a South facing back yard and have installed a new cedar fence on the East side of the yard, and I've already expanded a big chunk of the flower garden and put in the vegetable garden.

We decided to remove two ash trees, the emerald ash borer has arrived in Minnesota. It was a tough decision, they were nice trees, but we consulted with a few arborists and decided to remove them before they leafed out. We've planted an Evans/Bali cherry tree, and still have a pretty Maple tree, and a Redbud tree that looks like a Bonsai tree.

Today Larry and I were out digging up sod and he again suggested that I hire someone to help with this sod removal( he is not a gardener) but he has been a huge help with everything. I like digging in the dirt, but I have to agree that this could become tedious and tiring if we did it all ourselves, and we are at the place where I want to place a pond, and digging that hole could be torturous. Our old city lot had this great dark, rich soil, and the soil out here is the total opposite. It is full of roots, rocks, and sand. So, this week my goal is to find someone with a sod cutter and have them cut away. Maybe I can get them to cut back my Lilac bushes too....

Before I wrap it up here, I had my first Monarch butterfly in the yard today, and last week an adorable tiny butterfly/moth? landed on a newly planted coreopsis, very exciting!

Signing off for now,
Greenie