I had four large azalea bushes in the front of the house, but they were much too big for my tastes, at least where they were located. I wasn't a fan of them being right in front of the windows close to the house, where someone with nefarious intentions could hide. A neighbor pulled out two of them for me, and we trimmed the other two way back, and I'll watch them to see what they'll do before deciding whether to pull them out too.
The whole area needs to be cleaned up - roots pulled, weed cloth tidied up, new soil added, etc, and I have the two blanks spots where the pulled bushes were that need something .. but what?
I pulled the guts out of the fire pit in the back yard to plant flowers there, and figured since the innards already have holes rusted through the bottom, it could have a new life as a planter of some sort. Hmm ... put that in one in the front of the house?
I think either of the areas would be big enough for a small bench, so I think I'll put the fire pit with plants and flowers on one side, and a bench on the other. I stuck the fire pit to the right of the stairs under my bedroom window, but I think I'll move it to the left under the dining area window, where I can enjoy the view when I have the blinds pulled up in that window.
I had to pick up seed starter mix at Lowe's yesterday, so shopped for plants while there. That area of the yard doesn't get good sun until late afternoon, and most flowers require full sun, so it took some time to find something that might work. Even those I found that say they like moderate sun said morning sun was best, so I don't know what'll happen, but I'm going to give it a go.
I found some pretty coleus flats and picked up enough to fill the container, then happened on the 'scratch and dent' racks in the back of the garden area, and found coleus there too. I've always had decent luck with the misfits, and since I like the idea of $3.00 instead of $15, you know what happened next. 😊
I ended up with two large flats of a variety of coleus, then searched for something with more color to put with them and settled on some impatiens. The stuff I planted in the washtub when I moved in two years ago didn't make it, so I bought enough that I think will fill that container too. (Still need to figure out something to keep the squirrels out of the tub, though).
The coleus on sale still had some life left in them, but they definitely needed a little TLC. I left all if it out overnight with the intention of getting my hands dirty this morning, and when I checked on them this morning, saw that the gentle rain overnight had them perked up and in great shape. They look every bit as good as the ones I was originally going to pay $15 for. I'll take that any day of the week!
So today's project will be trying to clean up the front area a bit and plant the coleus and impatiens in the fire pit guts and washtub. Stay tuned for a follow-up post with the results.
~ Marie Anne
The whole area needs to be cleaned up - roots pulled, weed cloth tidied up, new soil added, etc, and I have the two blanks spots where the pulled bushes were that need something .. but what?
 |
| Yucky area that needs work |
I pulled the guts out of the fire pit in the back yard to plant flowers there, and figured since the innards already have holes rusted through the bottom, it could have a new life as a planter of some sort. Hmm ... put that in one in the front of the house?
 |
| Now empty fire pit needs a new life |
I think either of the areas would be big enough for a small bench, so I think I'll put the fire pit with plants and flowers on one side, and a bench on the other. I stuck the fire pit to the right of the stairs under my bedroom window, but I think I'll move it to the left under the dining area window, where I can enjoy the view when I have the blinds pulled up in that window.
I had to pick up seed starter mix at Lowe's yesterday, so shopped for plants while there. That area of the yard doesn't get good sun until late afternoon, and most flowers require full sun, so it took some time to find something that might work. Even those I found that say they like moderate sun said morning sun was best, so I don't know what'll happen, but I'm going to give it a go.
I found some pretty coleus flats and picked up enough to fill the container, then happened on the 'scratch and dent' racks in the back of the garden area, and found coleus there too. I've always had decent luck with the misfits, and since I like the idea of $3.00 instead of $15, you know what happened next. 😊
I ended up with two large flats of a variety of coleus, then searched for something with more color to put with them and settled on some impatiens. The stuff I planted in the washtub when I moved in two years ago didn't make it, so I bought enough that I think will fill that container too. (Still need to figure out something to keep the squirrels out of the tub, though).
The coleus on sale still had some life left in them, but they definitely needed a little TLC. I left all if it out overnight with the intention of getting my hands dirty this morning, and when I checked on them this morning, saw that the gentle rain overnight had them perked up and in great shape. They look every bit as good as the ones I was originally going to pay $15 for. I'll take that any day of the week!
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| Scratch n dent coleus perked up beautifully |
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| Antique wash tub to get a splash of color too |
So today's project will be trying to clean up the front area a bit and plant the coleus and impatiens in the fire pit guts and washtub. Stay tuned for a follow-up post with the results.
~ Marie Anne
2 comments:
Nefarious intentions - hah! We went to Home Depot just before Easter for plants, but they had a long line, so we didn't go in.
I don't know why I like the word 'nefarious'. :)
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