Watching Our Garden Grow

How was your weekend? No major updates on the bathroom yet. I bought a curtain panel from Target and the to-be-hacked roller blind from Home Depot, but stopped there. Most of our efforts were concentrated on the outside instead of primping the bathroom. If you're really curious, here's how the bathroom looks with the new shower curtain:

So back to the yard. It looks a million times better thanks to the help of my parents! My Dad loves working in the yard, so I like to think we gave him an early Father's Day present for "letting" him help. Here he is transplanting a hosta from the back of the house to the front. He also moved the salvia plants over to make room for the hosta.

Before Pictures

Before I show you the rest of the fruits of our labor, how about some "before" shots? These were taken in April during the final walkthrough.

Not too much going on in the front, except for John. The small evergreen on the left is still close to that size. The tree in the middle has filled out a little and the burning bush on the right has completely exploded with greenery! There are also some salvia, black-eyed susan, and other plants that have since sprouted.

Beginnings of the hosta that eventually found its way to the front. 

We are also proud owners of the world's largest hedge. Well, maybe not, but it's definitely too big for the house. We're considering different options for this area and they all include cutting down the hedge. We might add some different bushes, like hydrangea. Or maybe we'll lay some brick for a patio area. Regardless, it will probably be a next summer project.

The backyard also has a berm, which is a raised flower bed. (Not a burial ground.) Don't worry, the weeds were evicted Memorial Day weekend. The purple flowers are Walker's Low Catmint. Just wait for the "after" pictures of the berm!

After Pictures - Front

Let's start with the front of the house again. To the right of the front door is this area. I can't remember the name of the plant in the back. They have some small pink flowers. In the middle are black-eyed susans. See how there are two larger plants on the outside of the picture and two smaller ones in the middle? The black-eyes susans were spreading towards the grass so my Dad split them in the front and transplanted them in the middle. The small pink flowers in the front are impatiens.

The area to the left is still a work in process. The bright green plant is the hosta and the purple plants on each side are salvia, which already grew in the bed. We My Dad planted some begonias down in front. Here's a little close-up:

After Pictures - Back



The biggest difference is obviously in the berm! The weeds are (mostly) gone and the catmint has been moved to the back of the mound. On the top are all sorts of herbs and veggies. Since this is our first real garden, we went all out: basil, Greek oregano, sage, tomatoes, red and green peppers, zucchini, and watermelon. Most of the plants were less than $2 each (sometimes for a little 4-pack), so we won't go broke if a few croak.

We also added some pops of color in the back with these hanging flower baskets.

One of the main purposes of the trip was to bring some rose plants from my parents' yard. My Dad planted them shortly after they arrived on Saturday and I think they're still in transplant shock. The weather has been slightly cooler and we've made a point to water them daily. We even watered with rose food on Saturday. Hopefully we'll have a successful "after" picture soon!

This pink rose bush replaced the hosta plant that was moved to the front.

Here is the climbing rose with some extra begonias.

Since we're pretty new at gardening, it's exciting to watch everything grow. Hopefully in a few months we'll have some fresh-picked veggies from our garden! How about them savings?!

Are you growing a vegetable or herb garden? Have any gardening tips to share? If your thumb isn't so green, what are your favorite fruits or vegetables to enjoy in the summer?

And a big "thank you" again to my parents for their help!

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