Quick Catch Up

Haven't posted anything for quite awhile, so here's a quick catch up of what's been happening around here.

John and I have been working diligently to get our yard back into shape after the long winter hiatus from trimming, weeding, mowing, etc. It's been a lot of work, and very time consuming . . . but very worth it because it's starting to look pretty again. The first planter is going on it's third year now, and a lot of the original bushes and shrubs have grown and filled out, so I didn't need to add quite as many new things as in the past. And some of the annuals have replanted themselves, which is fun. I added some new pansies and snapdragons, and this year I also added some zinnias, and a few new bushes and geraniums - I have fallen in love with geraniums for some reason, I had never planted any until a couple years ago, and I don't know why. They add so much color!

The first planter

My topiary train and elephant are finally filling out

Out front I decided to bite the bullet one more time and planted some new azaleas and hydrangeas. I am really good at killing these plants, but I love them and keep hoping that I'll have better luck each time. Maybe this will be the year they survive . . .

And I think we finally figured out how to keep the waterfall looking clean and clear. I know it's just nature causing the algae and fungus looking stuff to grow on the rocks, but it's gross! We've tried a lot of different things, none of which have worked, until finally John mixed up some sort of "brew" and poured it into the water, and ta-da, after a couple weeks it's looking new again. As long as no one wants to drink the water, we are in good shape!


But what I'm most excited about . . . The second planter in the back is almost ready for planting! The sprinklers are in, John built a really nice, sturdy "trellis" for the grape vines so the branches don't just lay on the ground (maybe we'll actually get some grapes this year) and yesterday we got a scoop of planter mix in John's truck - which is the last thing we need before we run the rototiller over the whole area and start planting! It probably won't be finished before Easter as I had hoped, maybe not even before we leave on our trip, but it will be ready and waiting when we get home.

Our new planter

No, we didn't get a dog - this is Chase, one of my grand-puppies who was spending a few days with us and wanted to get in the picture.

Well, I better get back out there and start shoveling that planter mix!