A Natural Pause

August 12, 2015August 12, 2015 / Earth and Oils / Leave a comment

The blooms of the season. Sweet pea. Enjoy!

What’s Growing On In My Garden- Early Summer

June 28, 2015 / Earth and Oils / 2 Comments

Summer is just a week old, and you would think it was Fall the way the rain and cold has been pounding down. This weather is actually a blessing in disguise, because it forces me to get indoor work done that is usually neglected when it’s gardening season!

I have a late-blooming Allium that’s getting its share of rain!

So, I just thought I would give you a rundown of what’s “growing” on in my yard this year.

First, I have to say that everything is coming along just wonderfully this year. I think this endless rain has helped speed up the lush full-grown landscape that surrounds my home. I also believe that it’s the rain that has kept the deer at bay– I haven’t had to spray my hostas and other deer delicacies only twice so far. By this time last year, I was spraying my plants every week!

As always, there is never an end to gardening. I always tell myself EVERY year that what I have done is enough and I don’t need anymore. Well, of course, I keep adding and keeping making new beds. I comb through garden magazines, peruse garden centers and research online all the different perennials I could add to my garden for my hardiness zone of 6a.

Well, these are the plants I have added this year:

Beautyberry: I have wanted one of these plants for a long time. In the fall, they will have these beautiful (hence the name) purple berries on its branches. They require part sun/shade.

I can’t wait to see these berries in all their purpley-ness!

Indian Holly Fern: I love ferns, as everyone knows at this point. So, how could I not add yet another fern to my back yard shaded area? This fern has light stripes running down the middle of the fronds.

This fern has stunning contrasts!

Creeping Thyme: I purchased four of these plants for this little brick wall I made for the flower bed directly behind the garage. I hope they will start growing over the bricks and make for an excellent groundcover look!

Some other views of my gardens that are blooming beautifully:

Maidenhair Fern

Cinnamon Fern

Yellow Loosestrife

Torch Lily

Rudbeckia

Sea Holly

Two stone crop sedum

Stay tuned at a later date for some more pictures of other plants well on their way through the season. I hope that these pictures will give you some ideas of what you would like to add in your garden as well!

Have a wonderful summer week!

Quick Tips and Advice for Full-On Summer Gardening

June 14, 2015 / Earth and Oils / Leave a comment

Wild daisies are a sure sign of summer!

With summer just over a week away, everybody is a busy body, scampering to greenhouses and home stores trying to get what they need done. So this post is going to be just as swift as you! Here are a few tips for the full-fledged gardening season that you need to keep in mind for the rest of the summer:

Good things come to those who wait: By the end of July/ early August, spring nursery stock gets slashed to 50% off. Pick up some things there to add to your landscape. It may seem like forever, but it’s not.

Mulch: Mulch fascinates me, actually. I don’t know why, but it does. I actually have a blog post in the works that is totally devoted to it. It’s both a time and money saver on your part. It retains water to keep your plants hydrated. And it really doesn’t cost that much for a bag. You can get it for $3. And it makes your flower beds look so darn neat and nice!

Keep the weeds out: I always have weeds. It really doesn’t matter what I do. But when I am preparing my beds in early spring, I used to lay down landscaping paper to keep the weeds out. But then I was given even better advice from my mother: lay down newspapers instead! So, to keep the weeds at bay, I lay down newspapers and then put the mulch on top. That saves you money from buying the sometimes costly landscaping paper– just use your Sunday paper! It’s better for the environment because it slowly decomposes over the growing season.

Don’t forget to enjoy it. We get so wrapped up in the work we put into our landscape that we have a hard time enjoying it. I’ve talked to some people who feel that gardening and landscaping is something they have to do, and absolutely hate it. My advice? Don’t do it! Just do what you have to do– mow your lawn and maintain what you need to. Nobody needs to do any of it, but for those of us who do the grunt work every year because we love it, stop and enjoy it. Get a nice patio umbrella and lounger and plant it right out in your yard. Sit down and relax and take in all the work you have been doing. Because, truth be told, we all get far more accomplished in the garden than we do anywhere else. Trust me on this.

Clematis beauty!

For me, I am satisfied with the results of my gardening thus far. I feel that I have finally found the “zen”, or balance that I have been striving for over several years now. Just another example of how gardening is a process, and it takes years to perfect!