Spring Planting

Beauty at its BEST!

I just love the spring and the time to plant new life in the ground. The feeling it gives me is envigorating and nothing pleases me more than to sit and look at my colorful loving yard.

New Azaleas on the side of my house to accent the once sickly rose bush that I spent last year nursing into a nice healthy bush. It's full of buds right now and will be absolutely gorgeous when they all bloom. Sadly, this bush among a few others will require extra special attention because they were originally planted in a less then desirable location.

A fill in across my shrub hedge in the front there was an empty spot where an azalea had died. It's taking well to it's new home.
I add my used coffee grounds to my azaleas they love the acidic soil and it helps their colors brighten and feeds their little rooted souls.

Another veiw of my new azaleas and my newly abundant now healthy rose bush. I just smile when I round the corner of my front porch and see that lucious green.

Shade gardening can be very frustrating learning where and what to plant when you have an area that gets little to no sun. It's very exciting to see things take off in such elements and it's a good idea to make sure you investigate your plants before planting them. The soil in shade gardening needs to be maintained and your plants need to be specific for the location. Partial shade is very different from full shade so you must learn where your sun is hitting if at all and you must watch to see how long and what kind of sun you get in a shadier garden. You can't go wrong with hostas and you can see my lavender azalea happily full of blooms. The bird bath was damaged during a storm and I have it ready to fill with soil and will plant ivy around the base and in the bowl as well as adding a pot with a nice lush fern. Of course I will add a photo when I have that completed.

Another close up view of my rose bush, I am so proud of this rose as it was nearly dead two years ago and last year looked as if it was miserable and had gathered a great deal of disease. When you don't put your roses in the right conditions and with at least 6 hours of good direct morning sunlight you lead your roses into dangerous territory with disease and unhappiness. I think this bush will be very happy this year now that I have doctored and cared for it with great tenderness.

This bed was full of weeds and untended when I started, I mulched and conditioned the soil for a full season before adding my new rose bushes. Last spring I put in two and they did well, I bought them off the clearance cart and they were quite sad looking. But, my heart is soft for a plant that needs love and will always drag it home like a child with a stray pet. I nursed them and they grew well and bloomed a good bit last year. This spring I've added two more hopeless souls from the clearance cart and they already look like they are smiling in their rooted hearts. The four triangled corners of the beds last year had annuals. My daughter planted some seeds in there this year and they are sprouting, but my intentions are to add a rose bush in each corner to make this a full rose bed. It's my sunniest spot in the yard and I just adore roses. They do require more time and tenderness and work but the joy of seeing the abundance of sweet smelling blooms is a great reward.

My new walk path. At the end of my porch next to the bed with my rose and new azaleas was a dead spot of dirt. There is no way to bring any grass up to it and my dogs and I use it every day to walk out into the yard, so I have started this little path to protect the earth a bit of our foot traffic. I am going to add some sand to fill it in within the cracks.

Another peek at my lavender azalea its just a beautiful site to behold when those big wide eyes blooms wake up and scream hello world. I can't wait to accent its beauty with my creation planned in the birdbath.

I added a flat of impatients to my shady driveway garden. The unearthed edge is also something I am going to work on but right now I haven't decided what I want to put there YET!

I am very excited to see this color in my front walk garden with it full of indigenous greenery and shade loving holly. The dogwood tree provides a great deal of shade but this little corner gets a sprinkling of filtered sunlight perfect for the colorful impatients.

Open my front door and I am greeted every day with such beauty as the azaleas begin to bloom. This hedge runs from one end to the other across the front of my porch and its a delight every time I see it. What better way to feast your morning eyes than to behold such delight when you greet the day.

Three more new azaleas I planted on the edge of my shaded yard facing my neighbors dogs. I am hoping they will grow big and strong and keep my little doxies from agitating the other dogs. They love to stand on that edge and bark teasing the two big dogs. It's a fun game for mine, but I don't think that the other dogs are having as much fun. Maybe they are and I just don't realize it!

There are many great sources on the web for shade gardening and plantings. Research a bit, find your zone and have fun with it. Just because your yard is shady doesn't mean it can't be beautiful and full of color!