# A Time to Plant



## Bobw235 (Apr 25, 2016)

I invested in a bunch of new perennials over the past two weeks and today's the day to start getting them in the ground.  Yesterday I purchased two huge bags of organic soil for the new plants.  These are all going on a back hill that I've been transforming over the years.  If they take, it will attract more bugs, which will lead to more birds.  Many of the plants are attractive to hummingbirds in particular.  I'll post some shots in this thread to show the progress once I'm done.  What are others doing in their yards this year?


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## fureverywhere (Apr 25, 2016)

Isn't it fun shopping for plants??? I had a broken pot from last year that I got credit for. Me and my daughter buzzed all over the garden department. By the time we were done the backseat looked like a garden department. With the store credit it came up to seventy five cents...can't go wrong with that. I've always loved yard work, you work up a sweat but then feel so zen seeing the results.


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## Bobw235 (Apr 25, 2016)

fureverywhere said:


> Isn't it fun shopping for plants??? I had a broken pot from last year that I got credit for. Me and my daughter buzzed all over the garden department. By the time we were done the backseat looked like a garden department. With the store credit it came up to seventy five cents...can't go wrong with that. I've always loved yard work, you work up a sweat but then feel so zen seeing the results.



I told my wife that I had purchased more flowers today and her good natured comment was "You just can't stop, can you?"  She knows I have a passion for this stuff.  I wasn't even planning to get more plants, but they had a bunch that do well in lower light, so before I knew it, I had ten in the cart (and saved 20% as a volume discount).  Time to quit for the day.  I'm beat.  Still about ten more to get in the ground, but I'm off to a good start.


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## fureverywhere (Apr 25, 2016)

Good for you!!! Even when my hubby was well he never had any interest in the yard except the grill was there. He mowed the grass  but that was that. I love a garden though. When you bring home all your plants it's like Christmas ya know?


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## Bobw235 (Apr 25, 2016)

My canvas.  Good progress today, but will definitely feel it tomorrow.  Lots of digging.  I planted three or four varieties of sea grass along with several kinds of flowers.


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## jnos (Apr 25, 2016)

Way to go, Bobw. What fun shopping. I know how hard it is to stick to a list when plant shopping. I usually have to grab and extra cart or wagon. :eagerness:

I have a 28' x 10' perennial bed--also on a hill--I've been "transforming" for about five years.  The west side our house has a built up dirt berm. Since it was back-filled after the basement/crawlspace was built, it has a lot of rocks from tiny stones to potato and even melon sized rocks.  No wonder my back hurts--years of gardening abuse. :hurt: But love every minute of it! 

It's been a long slow process but most of the clay and rocks have been replaced with good potting soil. Most of last year's plants have come back and are growing. The Pasque Flower (Wood Spurge) is blooming. Some of the smaller poppy plants are loaded with buds. Looking forward to those since poppies are one of my favorites. There are a lot of varieties out there--Alpine,Icelandic, Turkish, Spanish, Oriental and one labeled "15" Poppy." Guess I forgot what is was when I saved the seeds. 

Gardening is very rewarding to me. :eagerness:


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## jnos (Apr 25, 2016)

Just saw your photos. Beautiful! You are talking about a massive job there.  No wonder you keep buying plants. You have so much room to expand. I post pictures next month. We are in cold zone 4.


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## jnos (Apr 25, 2016)

PS Is the gray/black ground cover some kind of mulch?


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## Bobw235 (Apr 25, 2016)

jnos said:


> PS Is the gray/black ground cover some kind of mulch?



Yes, that's last year's mulch.  Haven't put down new stuff this year yet.  Probably will in a few weeks.  It looks nice when fresh, but this time of year it's pretty dull.


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## fureverywhere (Apr 25, 2016)

Yow, you've got a lot of space there. All our planted greenery is in the front. There's forsythia and bushes in the back, but the dogs either pee on or pull up small stuff.


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## Bobw235 (Apr 28, 2016)

Finished up the planting on the back hill late yesterday.  Just in from giving everything a good soak to help them get started.  I'm eager to see how it turns out since it's a good mix of sea grass and flowers.  Will now turn my attention to the front beds, though that will have to wait until the annuals come out in a few weeks.


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## chic (Apr 29, 2016)

Looks lovely Bob, but aren't you afraid it's still a bit too cold around here? All of the flowering trees in my neighborhood have blossoms that just died right on the branches are are now in leaf. The daffodils died twice and this last time I think it's for good. The Azalea and forsythia went the same way. Only the tulips are doing well. I'd like some irises myself, but they are delicate and I'm concerned. April has just been too cold in MA.


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## Bobw235 (Apr 29, 2016)

chic said:


> Looks lovely Bob, but aren't you afraid it's still a bit too cold around here? All of the flowering trees in my neighborhood have blossoms that just died right on the branches are are now in leaf. The daffodils died twice and this last time I think it's for good. The Azalea and forsythia went the same way. Only the tulips are doing well. I'd like some irises myself, but they are delicate and I'm concerned. April has just been too cold in MA.



The perennials should be fine according to the nursery where I purchased them.  All the stuff I bought from them had been outside for weeks, but they advised holding off on the annuals until mid-May.  They don't have them on display yet.  My biggest concern right now is the groundhog I see around here.  I've chased it off a few times and the other day found the den. Covered up both holes with rocks and logs, so maybe that will persuade him to move on.  Those things do a lot of damage to my flowers.


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## ladyp (Apr 29, 2016)

that looks great














That looks so nice Bob, job well done.


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## chic (Apr 30, 2016)

Bobw235 said:


> The perennials should be fine according to the nursery where I purchased them. All the stuff I bought from them had been outside for weeks, but they advised holding off on the annuals until mid-May. They don't have them on display yet. My biggest concern right now is the groundhog I see around here. I've chased it off a few times and the other day found the den. Covered up both holes with rocks and logs, so maybe that will persuade him to move on. Those things do a lot of damage to my flowers.



Thanks for the advice. Will do, and good luck with your plantings. That's going to be just beautiful when it grows and blooms.


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## Bobw235 (May 14, 2016)

Spent about 3 hours this morning putting in new annuals in the front bed and doing some cleanup on the back hill.  Good workout and added a bunch of color to the front of the yard.  The back hill is starting to come in nicely.  Here's a shot from this morning.


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## fureverywhere (May 14, 2016)

You did a great job there, plus I love the rock garden


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## Ruth n Jersey (May 14, 2016)

That is absolutely beautiful,Bob. The satisfaction you get from a project like this is well worth the effort and sore muscles.


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## Bobw235 (May 14, 2016)

fureverywhere said:


> You did a great job there, plus I love the rock garden



Fur, that's actually a waterfall.  It pumps from the bottom up to the top, where it falls over to the lower area.  Nice sound and the birds love it.


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## Bobw235 (May 14, 2016)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> That is absolutely beautiful,Bob. The satisfaction you get from a project like this is well worth the effort and sore muscles.


Thanks Ruth.  It's very satisfying watching it all come together.  In another week or two we'll have lots of flowers.


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## Bobw235 (May 20, 2016)

Today's task:  Get 18 Celosia plants into the bed on the front of the house where they'll get lots of sun all summer and should provide brilliant color.  Planting yellow, orange and red.  Great day to do it.  Sunny and warm, which is what these plants seem to like.  For those unfamiliar with the plant, it should look like this when it blooms in a few weeks and provide color all summer.


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## Bobw235 (Jun 3, 2016)

New mulch put down today so I decided to add two pictures from the back hill, which is coming in nicely.  




One shot from the front of the house.  Planting areas at the top and bottom of the wall.  Keeps me busy.


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## Bobw235 (Jun 3, 2016)

This is what the back hill looked like before we started to transform it back in Sept. 2008.


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## fureverywhere (Jun 3, 2016)

Terrific pictures! I know a yard that big must be a daily job but you done great Like you say mulch can make such a big difference. I have a forsythia in the front yard. I pretty much let it go a few years and it got huge. Then one day recently I got out there n' trimmed and cleaned and pulled the bricks that buried themselves every which way. The base got filled in with mulch and it looks like a new plant. Can you tell me the secret to growing Celosia? Ours always dies in weeks.


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## Bobw235 (Jun 3, 2016)

fureverywhere said:


> Terrific pictures! I know a yard that big must be a daily job but you done great Like you say mulch can make such a big difference. I have a forsythia in the front yard. I pretty much let it go a few years and it got huge. Then one day recently I got out there n' trimmed and cleaned and pulled the bricks that buried themselves every which way. The base got filled in with mulch and it looks like a new plant. Can you tell me the secret to growing Celosia? Ours always dies in weeks.



Thanks for the compliment.  I'm fortunate that for now I can afford landscapers to do the heavy lifting.  I do the planting and weeding.  As for Celosia, I'm wondering how they'll come in.  Some that I planted a few weeks ago are fading already.  I know they like a ground temperature that's consistently at least 60 degrees.


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## Bobw235 (Jun 17, 2016)

We all need a bit of color in our lives.  Four shots I took this morning in my yard, on a glorious day here in New England.


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## Ruthanne (Jun 17, 2016)

Your yard is beautiful Bob!  My Dad always had a beautiful yard too.


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## Bobw235 (Jun 17, 2016)

Ruthanne said:


> Your yard is beautiful Bob!  My Dad always had a beautiful yard too.



Thanks Ruthanne.  I enjoy the challenge.  I was saying to my wife that the birds have a virtual restaurant on the back hill from all the bugs that the plants attract.  I love having color in my yard.


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## Bobw235 (Jun 19, 2016)

Three shots from the planter on my deck.  Growing bright redish/pink pflox in the hopes of attracting hummingbirds.  The flowers just came out on one.  I forget what the tiny purple flowers are.


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## Bobw235 (Jun 26, 2016)

A few shots from this morning.  These are from a planting box on my back deck.


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## Bobw235 (Jul 7, 2016)

Some shots from yesterday, the front wall planting area.


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## Ruth n Jersey (Jul 7, 2016)

I was looking back at all the photos on this post. You have done wonders with your property. I love the photo of the blue flowers,very delicate and has a softness to it. I was wondering,do you ever have a problem with washouts? It looks like a very steep bank.


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## Bobw235 (Jul 7, 2016)

Ruth n Jersey said:


> I was looking back at all the photos on this post. You have done wonders with your property. I love the photo of the blue flowers,very delicate and has a softness to it. I was wondering,do you ever have a problem with washouts? It looks like a very steep bank.



Thanks Ruth.  I've spent quite a bit of time on the property over the years.  The back hill is steep, but with the amount of mulch we have up there, plus the trees that overhang, we've not had a problem with washouts up there.  Where we do have a problem during the worst of thunderstorms is with water running off my neighbor's property, where they have nothing to slow it down as it heads towards my yard.  I have a section where we've had washouts, usually once or twice each summer.  It's part of the property they don't use, so they won't spend any time making it better.

Appreciate the compliments on the pictures.  We've got some beauties this year.


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