It’s been more than a month since we last wrote about our gardening efforts, but that doesn’t mean nothing has been happening. We’ve just been a little slow to share updates (partly because we wanted things to fill in a bit so we could take photos). Time for a catch-up. Remember when we transplanted some bushes to brighten the area behind our patio?
That helped one side of the patio, but it left a large, empty spot that looked unfinished.
A few weeks ago we picked up two hydrangeas and a pot of petunias from Home Depot and planted them to revive that side of the patio.
That added instant color and fresh mulch, and we hoped the hydrangeas would fill in more over time. Fortunately, they did.
Fast-forward a few weeks and the area already looks much better thanks to blooms and a ceramic garden friend Sherry found at HomeGoods. We also finally cleared the garden stones that had been sitting on the brick steps for over a year — some neighbors bought them, and we made about $90.
The little turtle cost $16, and I didn’t argue. Our outdoor ceramic-animal collection was practically nonexistent, and this seemed like a nice replacement for a white stone turtle Sherry loved when we first toured the house (it was gone by move-in, so she wanted a new one). Clara adores him — almost as much as my 30-year-old wife.
The hydrangeas didn’t take long to show color. We assumed both would be blue, but one turned out more purple — likely due to differences in the soil.
I had to include this soft-focus flower shot because someone photobombed the background.
He was focused on a tiny lizard that suns on the brick steps but dives away as soon as Burger approaches. Poor Burger — you’ll get your chance to befriend it someday, buddy. Maybe.
Perhaps Burger should try hunting turtles; this one might be an easy target.
Sprucing up the patio nook wasn’t our only project. We also dealt with some black planters that have been migrating around the patio since we moved. It’s impressive that the boxwoods we planted in them at our previous house have survived.
Since those boxwoods weren’t doing much good tucked away, and after Katherine the Landscape Gal recommended boxwoods for the planters flanking our front door, we decided to move them there. The front planters had previously held seasonal mums, and a pair of boxwoods seemed like a better long-term fit.
We carefully removed each boxwood from the black planters…
…and replanted them on the front porch.
Here’s hoping the move wasn’t a death sentence — those wooden planters haven’t always been kind to plants. We’ll be sure to water them regularly this time.
For the now-empty black planters, we bought a couple of white petunias from Home Depot and planted them. They’re simple, but they add a bit of floral life to an otherwise sparse side of the patio.
How about you? Are you still in full outdoor-sprucing mode, or are you starting to lose momentum now that summer is near?