garden ho: blooms

June blooms are my favorite - well, a close second to my lilacs and daffodils. I have roses and two very large trees that looks hideous most of the year but have amazing small white flowers every June. I just took a few whiffs of them and I think they might be some form of Honeysuckle. Who knows?

garden ho: window well

J and I have been slowly but surely installing window wells around all of our basement windows. This requires digging them all out of the years of weeds that have been allowed to flourish around them as well as digging the hole to place them in. The one we were working on all yesterday evening is in a hidden spot behind our patio so it was well forgotten. (So forgotten that I didn't take before pictures when we moved in three years ago and I took pictures of EVERYTHING).

So this picture was taken after I finished weeding. I quickly realized how wet this little corner garden is which makes sense because we have serious problems with moisture in our basement. This particular corner of our basement had a finished bar with tons of paneling. The whole thing was sort of cool and retro but after realizing that the 50 year old dry lock was probably failing us now we decided we have to gut the basement and start from scratch (more on that later). This window was actually boarded up on the other side with insulation and paneling.

Anyway, window well. When I was digging the spot for the new window well I realized how low this bed is from the patio which may be increasing the water flow TO the house instead of FROM the house. J agreed. Problem solved.

When he got home from work (and the eye doctor) I explained the situation and he just went into "Go" mode. He dug up these edgers that were half covered with grass and moss and not really noticeable in the ground unless you were looking for them and built them up level with the window well. Yay, free labor! Now we just have to find some dirt to fill in the giant hole that was dug in the bed to lift the edgers but I'm pretty sure our town offers free soil, stone and mulch to residents...now to figure out where to get it and how to get it home in my little car...

garden ho: replanting

It's 80 degrees, muggy, overcast and just plain nasty outside. So what else would I do with my afternoon besides garden? I have to admit I am VERY new at this whole gardening thing. I continually call my gardener, aka mom, for tips and tricks so take it easy on me or give me some of your own tips on my new hobby.

Today I decided I just needed to replant my Bath's Pink. I started out with four (above) in a little spot near our shed in the backyard. Two were massacred by the ice we get all winter long in Rochester and the other two must have shot up on steroids because they are just massive. I'm not sure if I transplanted these bad boys correctly (as I did not consult my gardener this time) so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that within the next few days they'll perk up and add some life to the bottom of my dogwood tree!

Now I get to decide what to do with my newly emptied corner!

garden ho: japanese knotweed

So there has to be an "inbetween" stage for finishing and beginning and beginning and finishing and I have decided to call it the process. I think this may start my first recurring blog post.

This one is dedicated to the fact that I may never actually finish getting rid of the Japanese Knotweed that has been creeping into our yard since the first day we bought the house.

This is what our side yard looked like when we moved in July of 2006. That's my amazingly ambitious gardner/mother and my ever helpful step-dad pulling out the knotweed. What's in his right hand is actually a stalk from the other side of the fence (which is approx. 6' as is my step-dad) and everything in the foreground is knotweed as well. (I couldn't find a better pic right now but I know I have some somewhere).

So today the fight continued, almost three years later. If you also have a problem with Japanese Knotweed, I'd suggest checking out this site. Very informative. And if you're house-hunting and the garden has Japanese Knotweed in it...RUN!

P.S. For those not in the know, first of all, you are SO lucky. Secondly, "The Weed," as it will now be known, is an extremely invasive bamboo-like plant that can grow over six feet tall and devastate your yard if not properly attended to. Basically, if you don't pull the stuff every Spring, it will end up in your kitchen.