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June 25, 2012

Summer's push..plus a walk through a garden center...

We've been working to get our yard projects done and feeling the affect of Summer's push!
Summer came in with a bang, we hit 94 degrees on June 20th.   Fortunately it dropped back into the 70's so we started to push ourselves to get our biggest job done before another heat wave came (which looks to be this week)!

We live by a county road that gets a fair amount of traffic.  We had two spruce trees flanking the end of the driveway and I decided to incorporate one into an island.  I used to have 5 blue oat plants until a few weeks ago.  I took four of them away and put them in a new area by the turnaround of our driveway with some shrubs that we just planted.

Dan weed-whipped the edge of the island with the whip sideways to re-establish the border and to knock down the plant life to the roots.  We saw a lot of black mulch used when we were visiting our son in Pennsylvania so we decided to give it a try.
As you can see the Stella d'Oro lilies are blooming .  Mine are a more yellow/orange tone but there are some that are more lemon yellow in color that are available too.  These bloom for an extended period of time.  They say they will bloom again in the early fall.  Mine have bloomed in the past but with just a few flowers.

I cleaned this end up.  I had some rocks piled along the curve that I removed and there are two Spireas planted at the end that I had to trim up quite a bit.  They were flopped over on the lawn quite a bit and growing into the Limelight hydrangea a little too much.

To the other side of the driveway we created a whole new bed that I'm liking a lot. Up until this point it was grassed and difficult to keep looking nice.  I'm trying to not trim the bottom of the spruce trees because I like the boughs laying low.  It's made it difficult to mow so I hope this will make things easier.

I took all of the pictures with my iPhone.  It's handy to have in my pocket and doesn't do too bad of a job.  These Alliums are still blooming.  The tulips I showed a while back had all died back so I removed all of the old plant.  Now that I see the Alliums I realized it would have bee nicer if I had planted them with other plants that would have offered some filler around them, and to hide their leaves (which aren't too exciting to look at). They would also look good with a rock garden and sedum- don't you agree!
I have three lilacs planted at the corner which I did on purpose so they would create a wall as they mature. We've also added some maple trees so many years down the road there will be even more privacy and shade.
(There is a new fire station that was put up kiddie-corner to us that I'm still unhappy about- so I'm building a natural wall to help with privacy)
A scene I shot from my living room window.  It's a real nice building but they also house ambulances so we have departures throughout the day with sirens going. 
Let's just say my backyard is my sanctuary and I am grateful we have it to enjoy.

 I took a big chance and dug my lilies that are in full bloom and moved them over here by the driveway.
I took care to dig a generous area around them so when I lifted them they stayed together.  I wanted to make this move before the landscape mulch was put down.  So far they look just fine and it's been 3 days.  I'm keeping 
them well watered.  I also added a new plant for me called Crocosmia- Lucifer.  I've seen them blooming before and always thought they were so interesting... so when I ran across them I had to buy a couple.

Dan also dug a trench around this whole area that we hope will create enough of barrier to keep the grass from moving into the area.  We filled it with the mulch and are hoping for the best!

Time out for me!
Last Friday I visited a locally owned garden center
called Pine Hill Nursery. I'm very lucky in that I have 
at least 6 garden centers not too far from me that I
can visit.  What I like most about them is all the variety
they offer and the support from their staff.  They know 
the plants and can answer questions which admittedly 
the large box stores cannot do.  

At the entrance they have a roses along a stone wall they built to create a framework to their garden center.

Out back is where all their flowers and plants are and I tell you it's a field day for a gardener!  There were lots of varieties of Cone Flowers, Coreopsis, Daisies and so much more

I did buy some of these. It's called Spigelia, Indian Pink
 In the shade garden area
Lots of hostas! I've bought my 
fair share from here.

Lots of Hydrangeas
These are from the series called
Forever and Ever

I wish I had more room to add more
hydrangeas.

Isn't this a neat planter!

My favorite piece.  I hope to acquire this!
I left a big hint to hubby!


I'm joining Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for
Metamorphosis Monday
How's your summer going?


13 comments:

  1. Your yard is beautiful Liz. Love the mulch. it looks beautiful and keeps the plants moist. isn't it great to sit back and enjoy your work? There is so much beauty.

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  2. Your gardens are just beautiful ! It's obvious how much work went into them - definitely paying off!!!!

    thanks for sharing,
    gena

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  3. The beds are both beautiful. Don't you touch those Spruce. :) They are gorgeous. I'd give anything to be able to have big guys like that here, but don't have the space, you are very lucky and now you've made them look even more gorgeous.
    Cher Sunray Gardens

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  4. Oh my! I'm glad you stopped by my blog and I got to visit yours. What beautiful gardens you have.
    Yes your spruce trees are gorgeous. We have a few on our property and I'm in charge of cutting under them with the push mower. I'm in love with those pink hydrangeas. I have Annabelle. I good luck with them. Can't wait for them to get their large flowers. We are a little behind you.
    Thanks for the nursery visit.

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  5. Your garden is gorgeous! So many wonderful things to look at and enjoy. Have a wonderful week in your beautiful yard.


    Jody

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  6. What a lot of work. Your alliums have done better than ours over here which didn't last at all long this year. Nice to have such a good garden centre near too.

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  7. When you said you moved your lilies in full bloom, I was holding my breath until I read they fared well. I LOVE the dark mulch. It just makes everything pop. Your garden is looking gorgeous, as usual!

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  8. What a beautiful place you have created!! I love the island with the black mulch and sharp edge!! I have the same kind of lilies! I didn't know they were called Stella d'oro lilies!! That's something good to know! Thanks for such a nice tour!

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  9. You have worked so hard Liz and everything looks amazing! I really want to plant some Allium, but a chipmunk keeps digging up all my bulbs. I've now lost my pink tulips :-( You are so lucky to have 6 garden centers nearby. It does make for a wonderful variety.

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  10. You have been slaving away!!! It's going to get really hot down here for the next 5 days. I hope you have finished if the temps are getting warm up there too. Everything looks absolutely wonderful. I hope you edges stay nice and crisp!!!

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  11. Gorgeous, gorgeous, you don't a fabulous job! It all looks so lovely; I'll bet you get so much enjoyment just looking at all of that loveliness.

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  12. Oh, wow, Liz....beautiful! I am just so incredibly floored!!! You and Dan have created such beautiful outdoor spaces and made such wise choices! Now I see what you meant about the trench. That's akin to what our lawn guy does around the edges of our lawn, and it seems to work. It just looks really good, too. The black mulch is really cool looking! I'm glad you had some good weather in which to make all of this happen. Congratulations on a job REALLY well done!!!!!!

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  13. Your yard is just beautiful, Liz! I love your crisp edging and your black mulch.

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Thank you for your comments! I don’t always get a chance to reply but I do read them!




ABOUT ME



Welcome to Home and Gardening With Liz. I have combined my previous blogs “Infuse With Liz” and “Sit With Me In My Garden” into this new blog. I love interior decorating and gardening. I enjoy redefining interior spaces by moving things around and reusing decorative items already found in the home. I also enjoy creating tablescapes and an occasional crafting project. I'm so pleased you've stopped by. I invite you to follow me and I do hope you will keep coming back! Liz
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