Garden Update, May 8th 2017

Can you believe two weeks have flown by since the first garden update?!  How does time fly faster each week?  Thanks to Iowa weather, we had almost a week straight of rain and cold temps, so I was wondering if I was ever going to get to dig in the dirt!  Praise the good Lord, the sun came out last week and the rain stopped, so dirt has dried up and I went shopping for my flowers with my mom!

I’m so excited to give you a tour of my gardens this week because I finally got my annual flowers planted and even snagged a couple new perennials as well! So, let’s just get to showing you all the goodness!

If you followed along last year, you’ll know that I have flower boxes and a plantar by my front door, a raised bed around our flag pole and a couple pots that all get annuals.  I also have a spot that I call the North bed which is all perennials and thanks to my friends at Natural Plus Nursery, it seems to get something new each year!

North Perennial Bed

So, we’ll start with the North bed!  This year I added a Firewitch that will bloom pink!  I’m so excited about this as the leaves are a completely different shade green as the other items in this bed and the pink will be a fun color!  It will also be a shorter plant so, it’ll offset all the phlox I have in this bed!  I’m looking forward to seeing how it grows and spreads throughout the year!

Flower Boxes & Planter

When we moved into our house, it had 2 flower boxes under my kitchen windows and a plantar right by our front door and I absolutely love them!  The last several years, I’ve put Dragon Winged Begonia’s in them because they have done so well!  When we went flower shopping this year, I told my mom that I wanted something different, if possible!  These flower boxes are in a tough spot because they don’t get a lot of sun, so it makes it a little more difficult!  However, when we stopped at Menards garden center, I snagged Fuchsia’s!  I absolutely love the dark leaf color and the bright salmon blooms!  Alternating them with Dichondra gives me a difference of texture and colors!

Pots

I have 2 pots!  One is a concrete boot that I won from a North Iowa Bloggers event at Natural Plus Nursery a couple years ago!  I just love it so it’s become a staple in front of our house!  The other is an old concrete bear hugging a stump that has been in my family since I was a toddler (or before) and I just can’t part with it!  Both pots drain and dry out fast, so I’ve found that succulents do exceptionally well in them!  I love the two different ones that I picked out this year!

Flag Pole Beds

Last, but certainly not least are the raised flower beds around our flag pole!  These get a lot of sun and T prefers the “wild” look of flowers instead of a trim and groomed look, so it always takes  a little more thought about what I’m putting there!  Here is what I ended up with this year!

In the upper bed, I picked out Beard Tongue in Prairie Twilight and Bugleweed in Black Scallop!  I’m excited about the different in colors and anxious to see how they fill in!  Shh, don’t tell T, but these are actually perennials.  He prefers perennials so I don’t have to buy new each year, but I like changing them out!  If I don’t end up loving them here, I’ll transplant them to our “wild” bed on the south side of the house!

In the lower section of these beds, I planted Calibrachoa!  I picked out dark red and white ones for contrast…plus they are two of our school colors, so they match the flag on our flag pole!  I think they’ll be absolutely gorgeous when they fill in!

Well, that’s it!  That’s all for this garden update!  What are you planting in your gardens this year?!