Gardening Journal, May 6, 2015

Gardens from April 28, 2015 to May 6, 2015

I have been so busy and not had the time to write this last Saturday and here is is Wednesday already!

We did lots to our gardens last weekend and I have to show you what we have done.

VEGETABLES

We got some lettuce and spinach plants and planted them on April 28.  This may be a new one for me as I didn't get the right lettuce plants.  I wanted Bib lettuce or loose leaf but instead I got Head Lettuce.  I do not know of any way to put it up or preserve it for later.  The spinach was slow in getting started in the garden here.  I added this cremline fabric so that it keeps the bugs from feasting on my food.  They have lots of food in the woods that they do not have to go munching on mine.  

I also got a couple of different Tomatoes this year.  I got some Yellow and Roma tomatoes and then I also planted some seeds of the Beefsteak tomatoes that should be sprouting any day now.  My neighbor was done using his tomato cages and he gave them to me to use and so I put them over the tomatoes here.  Since April 28 they have doubled in size and the cool nights have gone away now and the warmer days are making these grow like weeds (they were weeds when they were first found in peoples yards).

Peppers are in the bright pink raised garden and I got Green Peppers and some hotter ones.  I am planning on putting them in the sauces that I am going to be using the tomatoes for.  I also want to take some and freeze them for the winter foods that I will be making. These are a bit slower to start.  They have only grown about a inch since I planted them on April 28.

I also planted some cucumber seeds on my front deck to grow on the banisters.  No pictures just yet, but they have finally started to peek out and sprout up.

FLOWERS AND GARDEN BEDS

This was hard work but it looks so good after it is all done.  Oh I have more bulbs coming to plant here in the fall.

About halfway done.  We had to rake all the leaves out of the area that we were going to be planting the transplants here and the bulbs that are coming in the fall.

From about three sets of Daffodils I got about 10 new bulbs to plant. Deer do not like these so I had to plants them around the Hostas that you see in the next picture.

These Hostas were planted in the front garden with my Hyacinths, but did not do well there.  This is as high as they have gotten and they were planted there for about 4 years.  So we moved them and I also got 2 new plants of of each one.  They look really super there int he wooded area with the Bleeding Hearts.

End product, at least for the summer.  Gorgeous!

We may be putting up more of the red boards later, but we much get more paint first.

OTHER AREAS OF THE YARD

My Lilac bloomed this year and this is the first cutting off of it.  They smell so good!  For some reason my lilacs only get blooms every other year.  So when they bloom I have to take advantage of the flowers.

We moved the water pool under the front deck for Duke and the cats to be able to drink from and maybe Duke will get his paws wet when it is sweltering hot outside.  One can only hope!  That is Mikey drinking out of the water hole.

There was a extra Rose stick coming up from the Bigger Climbing Rose on the trellis that we made for it on the left side of the house.  I had an extra large container and we planted that extra Rose in it on the right side.  It is doing really well there right now.  I thought it was a shoot from the other Rose and thought that I would have a problem removing it.  When I dug down into the soil, it was on it's own and not connected to the other Rose at all.  Strange, but things are strange around here anyway.  I added some Rose food to that bigger Climbing Rose as well as added and mixed in with the new Climbing Rose container. 

First mowed lawn of the season!  It smelled so good and I loved the smell of newly cut grass.

Our sign had fallen apart and we were waiting to get more paint and a better board to replace the old one.  So I took one day and made this pink sign and this time I screwed it into the yellow board instead of hanging it.  Yeah hanging it was very pretty but the wind would always knock it off the hooks.  Finally the board just rotted and literally fell apart.  So here is the new and improved sign.  I just love all my bright colors in my yard and gardens.

Do you like bright colors too?

Types of Fencing for your Yard and Gardens

Zig Zag Fences With Plants To
Embellish 

Types and Examples Of Garden Fences

Fencing can be a beautiful piece of art.  Wrought Iron is made in many sizes and contours.  Wood Fences can be painted any color you wish and have various tops you can choose from.  They can be as simple as a picket fence to as private as a Stockade type of fence. Oh and we cannot forget the beautiful stone fences you see around the countryside.

       

 

Hedges are a type of fence that allows nature to peek in and out of and can house many kinds of small animals from birds to bunnies.  In this article I will discuss these types of fences and give you some ideas as to the beauty of some and some that have a purpose besides just being a boundary to your property.

Evergreen Border Fence

Spruce Privacy Fencing

Before planning your fence and fencing needs it is best if you first of all check your property boundaries, Zoning Laws and your Neighborhood’s Covenants.   You do not want to encroach on your neighbor’s property.  That could lead to court costs if they do not like the type of fence you choose and is encroaching onto their property.  Usually there is a right of way between boundaries and it would be advised to stay on your side of that right of way.

Man-Made Fencing

Stockade Fence

The Stockade fence was once popular for forts and such and was used for protection from outside forces. Today it has changed into providing privacy from the outside world. They can be left natural or painted and they come in other materials other than wood. The plastic fencing in these allows for a much longer life expectancy of the fence

Picket Fence and
backside of a Stockade Fence

Picket fences are cute and are used in many neighborhoods around the smaller yards of homes found there.  They can be painted to match the colors of the house it surrounds or left untreated.  Most of the ones that I have seen are painted white.  They can be straight across or in a swag type top.  With the invention of plastic they also come in that material as well.

Split Rail Fence

Split Rail fencing is a simple and economical fence.  It requires little maintenance.  It can have as little as one tier or up to 5 depending on what you are enclosing in that fenced area.  I have seen people attach Chicken Wire or other Wired Fence onto the back of this fence to provide extra protection for their animals.  It is pretty and functional.

Wooden with Wire Fence

Wood and Woven Wire are the most popular here in my area where there are many farms that need the protection from Deer eating their crops to keeping in their small pigmy goats to horses and cattle.  They look simple and easy to set up and maintain.  Most are not painted but I have seen some that are.  I guess it all depends on how much work you want to invest in maintaining them.

Video about Planting A Living Fence

Living Fences

These are the most decorative and yet functional fences that I have seen.  You can have them structured or supported on another type of fence or you can have them stand alone. Trees and hedges are used as stand-alone fences to divide your property up or enclose it for privacy.  They can be a creative as you can imagine.

Some plants that make great stand-alone living fences include:  Boxwoods, Forsythia, Poplar Trees, Spruce Trees, any dwarf trees such as Dwarf Burning Bush, Bush-type Roses, Butterfly Bushes, Privet hedges, Douglas Fir, Spireas, Siberian Elm and lots more.  These have no need for support.

There are so many plants that you can use for supported fences these days.  You can have fruits and vegetables to flowing vines and non-flowering vines.  You will have many birds and small animals live, grow and reproduces in these.  Nature will astound and abound in these fences. 

Some Plants That You Can Use  

Grapes.  Plant a crop of low
growing vegetables
under the gaps of the grapes

Blackberries or other climbing,
vine-like fruits for a thick
fence for all to enjoy.

Fruits such as Berries can be grown on supports such as Blackberries and Raspberries.  Honey Suckle is another great vine that can be grown on fences and look very beautiful in your garden or yard. They also have a very sweet scent that will waft in the air in the summer.

These Tomatoes grew way taller than
this could handle and would be a good crop
along a 4-6 tall fence.

Vegetables that you can also grow on fences are: Zucchini,  Cucumbers, Tomatoes, Beans and Peas, Cantaloupes and small varieties of melons, Gourdes too and the selections of these are almost endless. 

Beans have tiny stie flowers.
Plant seeds 3 weeks apart
for a longer season.

Mandevilla

Flowering Vines Any vine, climbing or trailing plant can be used such as; Mandevilla, Clematis, Climbing Roses, Morning Glories, Nasturtium,  Bittersweet and Bougainvillea, Passionflower, Trumpet Vine, Winter Creeper just to name a few.  Wisteria is a very pretty vine but requires lots of care and pruning.

Boston Ivy

Non-Flowering Vines: the most popular is the Boston Ivy.  You can also use Climbing Euonymus and it serves another purpose as a screen when you want to hide other parts of your yard.  Grape Vines also work here and are evergreen. Grape Vines, if they get enough sun. will produce grapes.

Your fence does not have to be plain or drab.  With the many ways that I have listed here you can have color, food and functionality all at the same time.  You can even mix them up.  Vegetables have beautiful flowers too and can be grown with other flowering or non flowering plants.

Bushes such as: burning bushes, plus lilac and rhododendron also are a nice natural fence

Block and Boards Fence
Blocks and Boards put int the holes
of the Cinder Blocks.  Blocks are painted a Brick Color.
No Need To Bury Posts!

For More Fences please visit my article for Fences for Animals

What creative ways are you going to incorporate into your borders?

© Debra K. Allen a.k.a Lady Guinevere

I researched and wrote this article. Please do not copy and paste any part of this article, picture included for your own use. I will find you and report you for stealing.  It is my right to change any information therein at any time and/or change the location of my article.