Perennials Taking Hold

When we tore out all the old bushes and sidewalk in the front of our house, we knew we'd be left with lots of options for how to fill the space. I don't consider myself a green thumb, but after this year's garden and flower beds, I think I may be changing my mind.
 
I posted early in the spring about the flowers I was contemplating for the front beds. With a few minor tweaks and some fun new finds at the local garden store, I think it's shaping up quite nicely!

 


So you can see the layout of the beds.

Here are the only three annuals I planted for some immediate color and spread. I was afraid my perennials wouldn't be very showy this year...

Petunias...planted a mixed flat this year. Next year I'm going to go with
all dark purple or maybe orange. No light purple, white, pink or red.

 

Hot pink geraniums in boxed planters by the front door. I really like
geraniums in planters. But like I said above, next year no pink.

 

This was a really fun find at the local nursery. The common name is something like
"bat face" since the the Cuphea flower almost look like ears and a little nose.

 
And here are a few of the beautiful things happening right now with my perennials. I can't wait to see what next year has in store since this was just the first year of growth!

Foxgloves. I LOVE these!

 

Delphinium in a beautiful royal blue/purple. Brent picked this and planted it too!


 

We can't live in Colorado and not have the state flower. I also planted a
"lime green" columbine but it doesn't have flowers yet.

 

Another favorite for spread and showy flowers: Coreopsis.
We planted two of these since they look great and eat up space.

 

Salvia. Another Colorado staple. This is one of two we planted. The
first one almost died, but I'm nursing it back to health.

 

Coneflower: I was worried about these babies. They didn't look
great for much of their initial month. Now they're flowering!

 


Hens and chicks. I planted lots of these (along with ice plant) along the borders.

 

This is my very first Brown-Eyed Susan to flower. I notice them all over
Denver right now, so I imagine next year's plants will be much fuller.

Next year my poppies will likely bloom too, but they just weren't developed enough this summer.

I hope you're enjoying some color and flowers this summer!
Karli

A Sneak Preview: Exterior Project (Almost) Complete

It's hard to believe it's been almost a month since my last post. Where did the time go? What have I been up to? (Eating bonbons and sun-bathing?--I WISH!) Let me tell you a story.

In my last post, I told you about our trim being rotted and needing replacement before paint could begin. I also told you that the work was going to begin the next day. Well, that "little" project turned into a not-so-little nightmare. The contractor we used was very late starting the work, very slow to get the "two day" project done and made a few mistakes along the way that delayed the project even more. It was all I could do not to rant on Facebook and complain on the blog, but my sweet husband kept me from it. (I still have to practice deep breathing when I think about it--and to be honest I did write a Facebook post about my frustrations and when I tried to post, my phone kept giving me an error message. I considered it a sign from God that I should remain positive.)

I don't want to bore you with all the nonsense, so I'll get to the happy stuff. Brent's sister and her husband paint houses on the side of their already full time jobs and lives. They painted our old house and I realized then that their attention to detail is just as strong as mine. Perfect. Needless to say, they did an amazing job on this house too. I almost cried when I pulled up the final evening and it was done.

A year's planning and saving resulted in something I'm proud to call my own!

Here's a sneak preview of a full blown post to come...



I don't think I'd even posted about this! We add a new sidewalk into the mix too. So happy with the results!

 

The first bit of paint going on the house! I was giddy like a little kid!

 

Lime Green front door?! I think YES!

 

Shutters going up (and that last bit of reddish brown trim)!

 

Here's just a little bit of the finished product. More coming in a couple days!

What do you think so far? Better than where we started? :)

Happy Summer,
Karli

Day Lily Transplant--Flowers From Home

This last weekend we brought Karli flowers from home. She has always loved the day lilies we have growing on the east side of our house. They mean a lot to mean because they were given to me by my dear friend Kathy. So, how perfect to be able to share them with Karli for her new house.

While Karli and I "did" the Tea, her sweet Daddy dug up the flower bed under her family room picture window to make a perfect new home for these transplants. This area had been filled with a cedar tree and several juniper bushes that got removed on Thursday.


The digging begins



I transported the day lilies in this bucket with plenty of water in the bottom. Here's Karli getting ready to plant in the new space.



I hope Porter doesn't dig these up!

Karli and I did get involved with hauling rocks and pulling up the numerous roots and runners from the evergreens.


Adding some potting soil to Karli's clay soil

They are expecting a big snow this week. I know the new day lilies will just love all that moisture and soon she will have fragrant yellow and orange blooms adorning the back of her house basking in the early morning sun. 

She can look at them and always think of home.


I think they grew in the few days we were visiting!

~Kandy