Blooming Tuesday- Entry Garden - March 31, 2009

We had a huge blizzard here over the weekend with snow and winds 35mph and gusts of 50 mph. Anyone in snow country knows that means it gets crazy!

I was going to show how much my iris and tulips were growing, but you can't see them!

Today I am sharing before and after from our entry garden.

This area is on the north side of our house. It is a little courtyard of sorts. I have struggled with this over the years. Finally about 3 years ago I figured it out! The first picture is 3 years ago when I started.

This second picture is last year and the plants finally starting to fill in. I still have one spot right in the front that I haven't been able to grow much in. I think it was the ice melt we were using and it was all getting scooted in that spot - so this year we changed that, I will see if it works! I added the gravel square because under this tree, the plants really struggled. It added the right ambience to the garden. The pots were a perfect add for a splash of color here.
This is the other side. This first picture was before.

This second picture is after I added a small raised bed last June - wow! That made a huge difference. I need to add some tall plants to the back and get the height up. I think also some hanging baskets would help it with the dimension.

The hosta's love it here! I am anxous to see how they do here now they have been in a season - thes hosta's were starts from other hosta's in the hosta bed. I will show that another time. (The rocks are where water comes of f the house when it rains. They work perfectly.

Thanks to Jean at for hosting Blooming Tuesday. I love this day to look at everyone's gardens and how they are growing and share in this carnival. Check out this link to see other participants http://msgreenthumbjean.blogspot.com/

March 24 - Blooming Tuesday

Thanks to Jean at for hosting Blooming Tuesday. I love this day to look at everyone's gardens and how they are growing and share in this carnival. Check out this link to see other participants http://msgreenthumbjean.blogspot.com/

We went to a garden show at BYU-Idaho on Saturday. I would lke to share some fun pix from that show with some cute yard decorating ideas.

Look at these darling chairs! So bright and fun - I have seen trellises that match these colors at the nurseries this spring. I think I am going to spray paint my old plastic chairs in these bright colors.I loved these brushes painted and hanging from tree's to match the chairs. You could paint any object and use it for decor and follow a color scheme.



Here is the blue and purple corner with blue flowers

This was an amazing pipe fountain - the water circulated and was colored blue

Here is the orange section - look at thes fun twigs bundled and spray painted orange. You could just throw them away at the end of the season.

An orange wind sock

This was a really neat gate that you could make.

Close up of the corner part

This is a picture looking through the foilage at our daugher and her husband. As a senior she was one of the people in charge this year of this show. (They are going to have a baby in August.) My husband is in the tan shirt - he has lost 40 lbs since January -doesn't he look great! (He has 40 lbs. to go.)

I Raked - 6 Feet At A Time

Thanks to Jean at for hosting Blooming Tuesday. I love this day to look at everyone's gardens and how they are growing and share in this carnival. Check out this link to see other participants http://msgreenthumbjean.blogspot.com/

Though I stil have snow in piles in the shade, I have a few spots that have been in the sun and things are coming up! I raked one side of our side yard area and raked all the leaves backa nd there are hundreds of green things coming up! It is cold again today but supposed to warm up the end of the week so I will rake some more.

Here is my picture of Saturday. Along the fence area we are going to get some rock up in the mountins about 30 mins from here and make a raised bed. It needs some height and more texture. We also want to add some lattice to the dividing fence where there are just frames right now you can see.

This picture is last summer of the same area.

This is looking at it from the other direction.

This garden area is a favorite of ours. It is right out the sliding door of our living room. You can see the pond in the corner and in thesummer, it is amazing out there. It is a shade garden and there are hundreds of shade plants.

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6 Feet at A Time
I have a friend who has a beautiful yard and works full time, is a duitiful grandmother, contributes to the community and her church. I asked her how did she keep up? She told me she works 6 feet at a time. She has a measuring stick that is 6 feet long and lays it down. She does that 6 feet. If she has time she does another 6 feet, if not she starts on it the next day.

Project Friday - Bird Houses

Thanks to Rose at Sugarplum Cottage for hosting this. Check out http://sugarplumcottage.blogspot.com/ to see the other participants.

Today I am making bird houses - this will be a project I will do for a few days. We still have piles of snow where there were drifts and my gardenshed is snowbound. My sweet friend Betty and I have been talking about making bird houses for our gardens. She lives around the corner from me and she made this one yesterday, I just have to show it off to everyone.
I will post mine as soon as it is made.

Vegetable Garden - March 9

Thanks to Jean at for hosting Blooming Tuesday. I love this day to look at everyone's gardens and what they are doing that sign up and share in this carnival. Check out this link to see other participants http://msgreenthumbjean.blogspot.com/

This week I am still working on my garden plans. I bought veggie seeds and some flower seeds on Friday.

Our local nursery has said that for the first time in 27 years gardening is making a huge comeback and they can't keep in their garden seeds. I decided I better go and get mine. I usually do it in March anyway because I have spring fever by then and it is fun to be in a nursery. I tried to find some herilom seeds because I plan to harvest seeds this fall.

We are in zone 4 so we have warm weather crops and cold weather crops.

The things that will be planted first (sometime in April are:Peas, lettuce, beets, radish, carrots, onions, etc.

The warm weather crops here are things like corn, beans, squash, pumpkins, zucchini, and things I buy that are started like peppers and tomatoes.

I like to dry some of these things so I get extra to do that. I also get an extra bag for next year and tuck it in my basement. I also have a can of heirloom seeds that are canned in case of survival situations.

Last summers garden

What to plant in my Herb Garden?

I typed this up a few days ago but wanted to share it for blooming Tuesday this week. When I can start making lists and plans like this it means that SPRING IS IMMINENT!!!!!

Thanks to Jean at Mrs. Green Thumb for hosting Blooming Tuesday - see her blog at http://msgreenthumbjean.blogspot.com/ to see other participants!

I have been planning our garden and yard this past week. I love this time of year to look at seed magazines and decide what is happening in our little garden.
I have been studying what type of herbs I want to plant and that can live in a zone 4. These are herbs that can be used for cullinary but have medicinal benefits as well.

Here is my list so far:
Basil - bite pain, cramps, nausea, indigestion, headache, fever, calmative
Dill - sedative, insomnia, gas, cramps,stress
Marjoram - nausea, toothache, sprains, joints
Mullein - skin irrations, burns, antiseptic
Parsley - blood sugar, bites, swelling, nerves
Peppermint - headaches, antiseptic, sinus/bronchial congestion. digestion, gas
Sage - depression, yeast or blood infection, congestion, diarhea, fever
Plants
Alfalfa - minerals, detox, builds blood, joints, diuretic (May plant along outside fence area)
Cayenne Peppers - antiseptic, sore throat, bleeding, ulcers, pain
Onion - sprins, respirtory congetsion, diabetes
Garlic - antibiotic, anti viral,adust blood pressure,
Dandelion - digestion, liver, blood sugar
There are other plants as well, but they can't be grown here, so I will need to either have ahouse plant or stock up on the herb.
Aloe Vera - speeds healing, antispetic, digestion, burns, skin ailments
Cinnamon - antibiotic, antiviral, antifungal, diabetes, ulcer, nausea, ulcers, cramps
Cloves - toothache, nausea, gas, mild depression, insect repellent
Ginger - great to take baths in when sick
Nutmeg - diarhea
Oats - nervous exhaustion, depression, shingles, eczema
Olive Leaf - antibiotic,anti viral, enerby, lower blood pressure

The Snow IS Melting!!!

I can not help myself - the snow is melting and I am so excited! I had to take a picture of my pond. The ice is gone for the first time in months and my fish are HUGE!

This is how it looked last fall, so excited to dig in the dirt again!

Thanks for Outdoor Wednesday to share this! Check out http://asoutherndaydreamer.blogspot.com/ to see the other participants.

Waterless Pond and Rock Wall Idea

Thanks to Mrs. Green Thumb for hosting Blooming Tuesday - see her blog at http://msgreenthumbjean.blogspot.com/ to see other participants!

We spent last week in St. George , Utah where it is warm and very dessert. I loved this waterless pond and would love to put one like it in our entry area. (We are still under snow here.)

This rock wall was also at the house we stayed at. Here is apicture of a tall version, I took it to see more detail and a smaller height in the second picture.

I want to put a planter like this in our side yard.

Heading for ST. George, Utah

This weekend our #2 daughter is blessing our #3 grandson. We are leaving snowy Idaho to find the sun! It is 14* right now here and 43* there. I post again on February 23. See you next week!

The Side Yard - Before and After

Sorry scanner not working - I had to use my digital camera to get duplicate pictures.

This is our side yard. When we first moved in the tree's were small and we had grass. As the tree's got bigger the grass died and we had a mess. This is what we came up with and we all love it!

This is Before - Looking out to south into our back yard

Picture in about 2002

This is after we leveled it and added dirt

Picture in 2003 - Looking South

Picture in 2004 - Looking South

The picture at the top of the blog is from 2007 and is looking north into the same area from the other direction. More pictures at bottom of blog.

The Bistro - Before and After

Sorry scanner not working - I had to use my digistal camera to et duplicate pictures.

The area against the house on the south side had some plants growing. It was so hot against this side of the house they were the only thing that would grow. I don't know what they were as the people who lived here previously planted them.

I was looking out the window one day and realized we needed a place to eat our breakfast outside and a place I could read my scriptures in the sun in the mornings in the spring, summer and fall. One thoought led to another and the Bistro was born.

This is the best before picture I have of the area.

This is our after picture. I plant everything in here in pots and in the colors of red and yellow. I would like to put up a permanent covering this summer.

Play Yard / Back Fence Area Before and After

Sorry my scanner isn't working so I had to use my digital to duplicate pictures.

The back fence area started out as a few swigs in the ground against the split rail fence. Over the years the lilacs have grown and other shrubs and bushes.
One year we decided to make some theme gardens back there. Now we have the pergebo in the corner, the thinking spot, the miniature garden, the play yard and the fire pit.

Pictures of the Play Yard Area

This is just a few years after we moved in. I wish I would have taken better yard pictures, but all of our children were little and the pictures were more of the children. This pictures shows a bit what it was like.


This is a picture of the play house being painted and the play yard beginning to take shape.

2002

Pickett Fence added 2004

See below for current pictures

Cuttiing Garden Before and After

Cutting Garden Area - Before and After

This area against the house had huge juniper bushes. I don't have a great picture of what they were like before. Our daughter painted the house the spring of 2003 and the picture is taken then. We had a hard time keeping out the grass and spiders, which also meant we had spiders in the basement.

We took out the junipers in the summer of 2003 and put in the cutting garden. Most of the plants came from people who were thinning out their flower beds, so they mean alot to me.

I love this garden, I can see it through our daylight basement windows and it is beautiful. Every plant is a perennial for our area. It changes week to week from bulbs in the spring to asters and mums in the fall. I think I will try and take a picture every couple of weeks this summer.

I couldn't get my scanner to work so I had to use my digital camera to take the pictures of before. So they aren't really clear. My apologies.

Summer 2003

Cleaned Out - We planted things in the fall of 2003
This is the summer of 2004 This is the spring of 2007

I am Dreaming of Spring!

I have started looking through my books and magazines for ideas for our yard.......