Garden/Landscaping Update

So we have been slowly working on improving our lawn. It wasn't in bad shape when we got it, but last year saw a lot of crabgrass and other weeds move in, and the moles digging extensive underground cities haven't helped either. Then when we removed seven big maple trees, that left a mess and gaping holes to be filled. Isaac seeded a lot of grass last summer which has for one, yielded a great improvement on our west lawn.

The top shot was taking as they were removing the three maples along the west lawn (taken from an upstairs window).











The second shot shows how well the grass is growing in. The lawn is at least twice as wide as it was last year. (You can also note the tilled strip along the house which is where Troy put in some potatoes and tomatoes; and a tilled strip on the right edge of the pic where Troy put in some corn--including popcorn! Woo hoo for me.)



We had a little mishap in the garden over the weekend. I used part of my (precious) day off to pull all the tulip and daf leaves/stems, weed the area, and then spread some mulch to keep the weeds down. I thought this would be especially nice for Troy along the garage where he had put in a second variety of tomatoes. I carefully marked each tomato plant with a tag so I wouldn't crush or damage it. And when I spread the mulch I went so far as to put a plastic cup upside down over the plant so the mulch wouldn't smother or crush it. When removing the cup, I oh-so-carefully brushed the mulch away from the plant so it wouldn't crush it. Well, then it rained (like a motha') on Friday night. The plants were put in right under the garage's drip line. Troy went out on Saturday morning and couldn't find the plants for all the mulch that had flooded over them. He was very worried. (I, however, have more faith in the resilience of plants, especially if give the right care after a crisis.) So he cleared all the mulch from around the plants (again) and we found some cardboard collars that will work very well to protect them until they grow strong enough to take care of themselves.


And now for some gratuitous pics from the garden. I don't remember what this plant to the left is called. They looked very pretty in the catalogue. I remember I resisted them for a long time until I finally purchased some for my very own. They have two problems: 1. the stems like to follow the ground for a while before shooting upward which makes them very vulnerable to the mower (I have them planted at the front of the bed--maybe that's my fault); and 2. the blossoms only look good from underneath. The tops just look green, and a boring green at that. Perhaps I should have put them in hanging baskets, very high ones.


And finally a shot of the alliums I kept going on about. I was right when I said I hadn't planted any "fancy" varieties, but a couple did come out a pale lilac colour (that was a first); but most were the dark purple you see on modeled on the blooms further back in the pic.