End of Month View - March 2015

So much has happened in the garden in the last month.  With the last freezes behind us, decent rains throughout the month, and warm and sunny days now, it seems there is something new popping up in the garden every day.

Veggie Beds

The vegetable beds got a big springtime planing overhaul over the last week or so.  I tore up most of the beds, pulled out all but a few wintertime greens (chard, spinach and lettuce remain), turned in compost and manure into the soil, weeded out as many Bermuda grass rhizomes as possible, and planted spring and summer veggies.  The first bed (from the left) still has Swiss chard and also has watermelon, cantaloupe, cucumbers, green beans, and edamame added.  The second bed is full of tomatoes, the third has a few tomatoes, lots of eggplants and peppers and one tomatillo.  The fourth bed remains a "greens" bed.  It gets the least amount of sun, so it is best that I plant veggies that prefer a bit of shade in the summertime heat (I have kale, collards, spinach, lettuce, green onions and leeks planted here).


Shade Tree

The shade tree bed is littered with tree debris (fallen fuzzy blossoms) right now and doesn't look nearly as tidy as last month when I placed new mulch down.  There are a handful of narcissus still blooming, which were newly planted last fall.  I'm hoping they naturalize quickly and fill up the space in years to come.  I still have a mission to add more evergreens to this space so that it is not nearly as bare next winter.

Deck

The deck border is lush and green - full of leafy parsley, poppies, and springtime bulbs like hyacinths and irises.  Today, the border is in between blooms.  I had a couple weeks of beautiful pink and purple hyacinths earlier this month, and I see the irises and some of the herbs starting to bud out, but no big bloomers at the moment.


Pomegranate

The pomegranate has not yet started blooming.  I hope it is still sleeping and not dead.  I guess I should find out in the next month or so.  But all the spring bulbs are doing well.  I'm especially looking forward to the irises blooming.  They were a pass-along from a neighbor who couldn't remember what color they were, so I have a surprise waiting for me in the next week or so.

Neighbor Fenceline

The bed that has changed the most in the last month (besides the veggie beds) was definitely the neighbor fenceline, or the rose shrub border.  I got six new antique roses planted here in the last month.  Mrs. B. R. Cant rose (second from the left) is already putting out a few blooms, and I see buds appearing on the others.  Between each rose plant, I planted a lavender plant.  I'm also planning to plant sections of sunflowers at the back of the border every few weeks so that I have sunflowers all summer long.  This is the bed I'm most looking forward to seeing transform over the next year or so.


Bulb Bed

The bulb bed is full of the beauty of the dusty pink-peachy bearded irises that I got as pass along plants from my neighbor.  These are arguably the most striking flowers in the garden at the moment.


Front Fenceline

While this bed is still lacking any blossoms at the moment, I see a lot of new growth emerging.  The blackfoot daisies are spreading out, the sages show new foliage and the butterfly bush is multiplying its size.  I look forward to the color and wildlife this bed will attract this year.


Front of House

The front beds aren't showing anything spectacular at the moment.  However, I do notice the general size increase of the plants since they were planted last spring.  More mature plants are sure to give a more fantastic showing later this year.

The very front bed is definitely in need of a few more succulents this year.  I look forward to adding some variety here.

Still too much lawn, but I guess I need to be patient.  I'll work on chipping away at this little by little and try to add at least one more garden bed each year.

Please stop by The Patient Gardener, where Helen hosts this meme each month and where other gardeners showcase the monthly transformations in their gardens.