Frontyard Flowerbed in November

As if to prove that I can’t just wear flip flops forever, Mother Nature has delivered a cold rain for most of the past week.  Today is no exception.  

The last few nights have been cold and the front yard flowerbed has been worn down by it all.  

We’ve had one night of frost; more is surely on the way to join the shorter daylight that last night's time change brought us  As we slip into Winter’s cold and quiet, I have plans to clean out this flowerbed and plant some bulbs for next Spring.  The chore will likely wait until the week of Thanksgiving, when I look forward to my first week off from work since last Christmas.  Though it’s hard to say goodbye to warm days, I feel hope that this nation will turn a corner after Tuesday's election and that hope will keep me warm in the coming days.

Frontyard Flowerbed in October

The front yard garden is a tad overgrown and a bit ragged, as much from the last of the Summer heat as from cold overnight weather.

The hostas have been munched on by deers and rabbits.  Even so, the elephant ear hostas are still pretty and I admire them each day when I leave for work.  

In the coming week, Fall will truly take hold and leaves will begin to fall and collect all over the yard.  It's been a lovely growing season and I am sorry to see it go.  

Frontyard Flowerbed in September

This flowerbed is once again a riotous mess.  The jewelweed has taken center stage.  I like this wildflower, so that is fine by me.  Not fine by me are the volunteer rose of Sharon blooms, the remnants of an old Rose of Sharon that used to grow here and is rather a mess to contain (which is why I took it out….or tried anyway).

The hostas, now baked by the August heat, are ready for some cooler Fall weather.

The elephant ear hostas are staking a stab all Fall colors.

All Summer long I’ve had the thought that ample time for gardening would suddenly appear for me.  In truth, most of what appeared was ample work to be completed in order to start the school year.  So the garden was short-changed as July slipped into August and now September.  I have hopes that the weekends in the Fall will offer time for me to trim back this flowerbed and I hope that it will.  October 1st will tell that story……

Front Yard Flowerbed in June

This flowerbed has been splendid for all of May and as the azaleas moved past peak bloom, some slender, tall iris flowers began to emerge.  

I watched with care as I didn’t want to miss the chance to admire the flowers that emerged. 

The hostas are freshly verdant.  

There is jewel weed growing wild in the last of the open spots in the soil and I like it.  It will stay until I fill this space in the flowerbed, likely with some vinca later this summer.  The arrival of consistent warm weather has been a nice.  It’s starting to feel that despite the fact that we are still working from home and social distancing, things are beginning to shift toward whatever we will call this still-living-with-a-pandemic kind of normal.

In the midst of the uncertainty and anxiety, I peak over the side of my front porch and the view is lovely, a gardener’s reminder to be patient and on the lookout for unexpected joy.  

The Little Hosta That Could

The hostas in my front yard flowerbed are an assortment I've gathered over the years.  Some are transplants from a friend’s garden, some were split and moved from my backyard, some were purchased from a gardening neighbor who splits his hostas each Spring and then sells the splits for an absurdly low price.  This patch came from the friend and have grown quite nicely.  So determined in fact, that one has even split through the steps.

Any normal person would cut this plant out so that the steps remain secure.  I am not normal and think of this little plant as the little hosta that could.  So it stays (and the steps are just fine, so there is no cause for worry).  This is yet another example of my insane affection for hosta plants.  With this much beauty to behold, who could be sorry?

Spring Garden Joy

All my efforts in the front yard flowerbed over the last few years are paying dividends this month, as the hostas fill the spaces in the soil, just as I intended.

The elephant ear hostas do some heavy lifting in this regard and though they grew a bit slowly, they have been worth the wait.

Alongside the azaleas, they are a daily source of garden joy for me.  

That’s happy!

Front Yard Flowerbed in May

Cleaning out this flowerbed was an April chore that has really paid off.  Seen from overhead on the front porch, things are looking lovely.

As the hostas fill in, I will make plans for more hostas (because there is always room for more hostas) and then some mulch to keep the unwanted weeds at bay.

The elephant-ear hostas are always the last to make their appearance but they too are well on their way.

As much as I love the ivy,  it will need to be kept trimmed lest it take over the house.  

In the meantime, things are looking lovely and I am taking particular joy in the blooming azalea.

This time of year is the sweet spot for the flowerbed and this year is no exception.  Even on a rainy day, the flowerbed is lovely to behold.

Hello, May.  It’s nice to see you.  

Front Yard Flowerbed Clean Up

I spent most of Spring Break avoiding a clean out of this flowerbed.  In normal times, I see it every day and the mess would have guilted me into it.

But pandemics and being housebound are not normal and so this flowerbed was easy to avoid.  The mess grew more burdensome as the days passed.

Today, I declared that enough was enough.  In the sunlight and warmth, I decided to get after the chore.  For starters, I knew I would be glad that I had done so.  And though I no longer pull out o this driveway each day, there is no reason I can’t step outside  and admire the flowerbed.  After all, it is at its most beautiful as April yields to the month of May.

A cleanup, which involved pulling off the remains of last year’s hosta blooms and trimming back the multiple shoots of volunteer rose-of-Sharon shoots, was over due.  The work now done, I’ve given the azaleas a shot at pretty flowers.

When the job was finished I took the time to peek over the porch railing and admire my work.

Moving forward, I still have need to clear out the dying evergreen bush on the edge of the bed.  But a daily peek at this flowerbed will bring me a reminder that Mother Nature is at her most lovely in Spring.  A beautiful Spring is a reward unto itself.  And, at a time like this, when worry and anxiety can easily carry the day, Mother Nature’s beauty is the best sort of remedy.

Front Yard Flowerbed in April

I was reluctant to start this post because I spent most of Spring Break thinking I should get after the task of cleaning up this flowerbed.  For starters, a clean up was long overdue.

I had the two weeks of Spring Break to get after it but didn’t largely because I was feeling overwhelmed.  Though I know the best remedy for these feelings is t simply get after the task, still I delayed.

The good news is that the cleanup will pay off.  April is a month of glorious change in this patch of soil and the clean up will pay off.

Front Yard Flowerbed in March

The daffodils peaking through the soil on the first of February are feeling less tentative at the start of March.  It may still be Winter officially, but Spring is certainly in the air.  

Tulips have joined the party.

The coming week promises temperatures in the 50s and 60s, just the sort of warmth to jumpstart some Spring blooms.  Home projects, evening school events, and car shopping rather consumed my February so I’ve reserved a Spring Break day for cleanup of this bed.  It needs it and I am ready to get my hands in the dirt.

I am excited to have Spring on the horizon and even some cold days in March cannot dim my pleasure in the coming season!

Front Yard Flowerbed in February

Normally, the February garden report is filled with words about Winter’s stillness.  From this view, Winter is in full control in this picture — the sky is low and grey, other than the ivy and moss, nothing else seems to be growing.  It looks cold outside. 

But when I scouted up close, there is promise to be seen.

Daffodils!  The tips of the slender stems are just peaking through this mess of a flowerbed.  I am best pleased by this happy development and now I will obsessively check the flowerbed to monitor the progress.

Though its been a mostly mild Winter, I am still excited for the coming Spring.  Monday’s forecast calls for a sunny day with temps above 55 degrees and I hope there will be enough after-school sunlight for me to do some cleaning out of this flowerbed.  That will make space for the other flowers and plants to come and sustain my already busy Spring daydreaming.  This short month is all that stands between me and full-flown Spring madness.  

Front Yard Flowerbed in January

This year’s first-of-the month garden feature is my front yard flowerbed.  I see it every day from the front window and over the porch railing.  In the late Spring it is splendid.  

This time of year is not the finest view, though please note that the ivy, badly in need of a trim, continues to thrive in the cold.

This flowerbed is inside the retaining wall by the side of the driveway.  In season, there are hostas, an assortment of daffodil and tulip bulbs, and pink azaleas.  In the front yard are some evergreen bushes that T has disliked for years.  Now that they are dying, they are slated to be removed in 2020.  This will please T and result in a better looking front yard as well as friendlier neighbors in this flowerbed.  I’m excited for the changes that are coming and will be sharing them all year long in 2020.

Garden Season

Summer has officially begun and right on schedule, tomatoes are blooming in my garden.  

The zinnia seedlings are coming along nicely.

The front yard hosta bed is lush and green, with blooms sustained by all the rain we’ve had this month.  

I can spy this garden from the front porch where I sit and sip my morning coffee and it always makes me smile.

The peach tree has served as a a handy squirrel snack bar but plenty of peaches remain on its limbs, ripening for later this summer.

At twilight, the lightening bugs in the backyard twinkle on and off against the green.  No matter how long I look at them, their glow always seems magical.  There is beauty in abundance as June prepares to slip into July and I am happy to soak it all up.