Garden bed renewal

Fri. Jun. 25, 2021

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Garden bed renewal

Sometimes you just have to start over.  I know, it can be painful but pulling out plants that have become overgrown and loaded with weeds is sometimes easier than trying to pick through it.

Looks like it could be pretty… the anemones were but the thistle on either side were not. And they were hiding all kinds of other weeds and some other surprises

When I first bought my home in 2012 it was a mess.  I ripped out the overgrown mess and,the spent, spirea, siberian iris and hosta.  When a garden hasn’t been tended for a while, which is what happened when I bought my home, it can very quickly become a weed-infused mess. 

Early June 2021

I started in the back yard and moved to the front. And then I did it again, and again! I pulled rock for what felt like forever. I hate rock around the house, it’s a pain. And plastic, oh don’t get me started, BUT, it was all worth it! After a few years you forget how tired you were!! 

There were rocks all around the edge of the front and side in a 2 ft. square
2020 front

There was one plant I worked hard to save, thought I’d lost it a couple of times but, the  Resurrection Lily came back again and again and I have picks on my website. The foliage looks pretty lousy before the blooms shoot up out of nowhere, but it’s worth it!

Resurrection lily 2020 photo by Teri Knight
resurrection lily 2020 with hail damage
Within days of the stalks coming up, the flowers are blooming!
Resurrection lily foliage in July 2019

You know, I continue to plant and replant and change my mind and give away plants and buy more!  I have moved the borders of my gardens multiple times and continue to contemplate more options.

Aralia cordata with various sedum

Oh, once you get started, you just can’t stop!!  This is my favorite part, wandering and pondering my plant selection at the local nurseries. 

Back steps 2012
2021… and I’m not done

I’m generally pretty flexible but I do keep in mind color, texture, pollinator friendly and/or natives and hard elements like stone and sculpture. 

limestone, sculpture and plants!

I work to do everything on a budget.