...4.19...New House Update...now and then...

...this week was all about the yardwork and getting all of those seedlings that we started a few weeks ago planted...

...the first thing I planted was the pretty pale pink rose bushes...one at each side of the back steps...we had two dahlias there last year...which you may or may not have seen (yet)...but one of them disappeared...I mean...no roots or bulbs or any trace...

...and then we tucked new pine needle mulch around everything in the front yard...

...not a super picture as the mulch is in the shade here...

...then we planted six little Coral Bells around the turn of the corner...they'll only be somewhat visible from the front as the bushes block the view of them from the road...

...but we'll see them...and they're a pretty pink that matches the Pink Chinese Fringe-Flower bushes...Jazz Hands...isn't that the cutest plant name ever...

...under the tea olive by the gate to the back yard...we planted a couple of begonias...they're supposed to be hardy here...so hopefully we won't have to dig them up every year...

...I planted the herb garden in a big cloth pot...you can see the grocery store basil and parsley...but there's also a different variety of basil...oregano...and cilantro in there that we started from seeds...

...last year's amarylis is about to bloom...I'm going to plant this year's one right beside him...

...this was a big...hard...multi-day job...over the twenty years that the house sat vacant...the grass had grown about a foot or so out over the road...

...so we just took it in sections and chiseled it away a few feet at a time...because when it rained the water would pool up at the end of our driveway...and now it can flow to the drain...

...the star jasmine that we planted last year is blooming...and smells delightful as you approach the back porch...

...the cherry trees are also blooming...we put some shiny slippery tape around the little trunks as that's supposed to keep the bugs from climbing up into the tree...

...a little row of marigolds that we grew from seed...

...we replaced the little blue grass tufts that didn't survive the winter...hopefully they'll get established and if it gets down into the teens this year...at least we'll be here to cover them up...

...we planted some more 'white' plants in the white gardens beside the back porch...I realize you've not seen those planted yet...

...and a morning glory on each side of the back gate...reminds me of Nanny and her morning glories that grew up on the corner of her kitchen...

...these are the little onions that I saved from a kitchen onion that had sprouted...I just tucked them into the ground and they seem to be doing ok...and that's a rescued lavender plant that I'm 'babying' in case I need to replace one of the ones we moved...

...and last year I had planted one of the little yellow tomato plants here...and it had babies...

...there are several...not sure how they'll do...I'll probably just leave them and see as they're volunteers...and will likely make tommy-toes...

...and finally a little bloom on my rose bush...

...and now...back to the past...I know I keep showing photos of the backyard...so here's a few from when we planned and planted all of that...

...I'm pretty sure I've shown you the first two lillies that we planted at the end of the sidewalk...

...but the plan was to have a row of lillies of different colours lining both sides of the walkway...so I started by digging up the sod...

...sod removal is not one of the easiest things I've ever done...and I remember reading about the sod-cutters in North Dakota...what a hard life that must have been...

...just working our way up one side of the sidewalk...

...and back down the other...

...you can probably tell that the 'dirt' is mostly sand here...

...so we mixed in some topsoil...

...and then planted the lillies...

...then it was time to dig up the area beside the stairs...

...sod removed...

...and mix in a bunch of topsoil there too...

...because it's mostly just sand...

...the left side...

...and the right side...smaller...

...because of the edge of the garage on the left...the stairs are actually centered on the porch...

...so we evened those up...

...that part is all done...

~Have a lovely day!