garden upate #11

So, I've decided I'm a little disappointed with all these flowers I started from seed.  They aren't gonna bloom until September at this rate!  I think I got a little ahead of myself because the only other flowers I've grown from seed are morning glories, and those are easy, and they grow FAST...
I've already planned to start next year's seeds on Christmas, in my sister's closed-in porch, which is pretty much like a hot house. :)

Most of the seedlings failed miserably.  At least the remaining ones are perennials, so the time hasn't been totally wasted.  We just won't see them until next year most likely... And speaking of perennials, I've decided from now on, that's the way to go.  So much cheaper that way!

The Chinese Lanterns (perennials, yay!) had a big growth spurt this week.  I also planted some of them in pots, just to spread them out, but those aren't as big as the ones I left here in the tray.  Hmmm...

There's a few Columbines still doing okay.  I'm afraid to do anything with these yet.  I don't want to freak them out.  I really was looking forward to these.  But I doubt they'll bloom this year.  I don't know.  Maybe they will.  But, they're perennials, so next year!!!

The other ones still doing okay are the Cypress vines... These aren't perennials, but that's okay.  Maybe I'll slip them some fertilizer, give them a kick in the butt.

The morning glories are crazy! And they started climbing!  Woo hoo!  This is definitely the earliest I've seen them this big already... Usually this would be the time that I'd be planting the seeds.  And since most of them sprouted up on their own, they've been growing for weeks already. I'm gonna make a prediction right now that they're gonna bring down the shed! haha

These pink flowers are my new favorites.  They're called Nemesia.  They are so cute!  They're kinda like vines, but not really.  And I THINK they're in the snapdragon family.  They remind me of the dragons at Chinese New Year... I've got them in some terra cotta pots with some morning glories on either side of the shed.  They're not perennials, but I LOVE them anyway...  I took a bunch of TTV photos of them the other day and I really like how they came out.  I'll probably post them ALL in a separate post...

I really like these little blue flowers I planted a few weeks ago too:

The roses by the garage have gone a little nuts.  But that's okay.  I like them that way... The morning glories over here aren't quite as big as the others yet, but that's because these are the ones that I planted from seed.

There are actually 2 different roses here.  The red/magenta one, and then there's a pink one.  The buds on the pink one finally showed up:

I finally have the netting up over the strawberries.  What a pain in the ASS this netting was!  It sticks to EVERYTHING.  It's got like little grabbers on it or something.  I don't know, but it was a PAIN.  

I'm pretty confident that the bunnies and birds aren't getting in... I've got it tied down, and then bricks layed on top to hold it down too.  After I finished, I wondered if I'D be able to actually get in!  (But I did and had some with dinner last night.  They were yummy!  And OH MAN do they smell amazing!!!)

Also- after I picked them and they were sitting there in a pile looking so pretty- I OF COURSE did a photo shoot with them!  You'll see those in a later post too! 

Now for the front yard.  I'm pretty sure the last thing I posted about the front yard was that I had one side of the steps dug out... Now it's all planted!  Both sides have Liatris which are perennials.  They'll be tall, 2-3 feet, so they're planted along the back.  

Right now they're still little and a few just sprouting.  Maybe I'm a dork, but it's kinda cool to see them breaking through the dirt... :)

Also, my sister and I used to call them "microphones" because we used to stand behind them and sing into them... dorks.   :)  Since it will be a while until there'll be any flowers I can photograph: here's a photo.

 

Since the front yard isn't symmetrical anyway, I didn't plant the same things on both sides.  Both sides have the "microphones", our side has blue and purple pansies, and my uncle's side has pink dianthus.  Both sides also have Gaura plants.  They're pretty cool looking... there's a Passionate Blush Gaura on each side right by the steps.  

 

That monstrosity on the right (above my name) is a Yucca plant.  It's in pretty rough shape.  When I dug up this side of the steps, I ripped out all the dead brown leaves from underneath this thing.  I swear, it's half the size.  I planted some morning glories in front of it.  Hoping they'll climb up it and make it pretty.  You can barely see it in this photo, but there's two tall stalks(?) sticking out of it, and there are little white bell-like flowers that bloom on them.   When we were little, my grandmother had one of these, and we would take the flowers and float them in puddles in her driveway... :)

And to balance out the Yucca plant, I put the one larger Gaura plant, a Pink Fountain Gaura, on our side.  I don't think it will get as large though... I really like these- the branches are long and delicate and flowy.  Here's a close-up of the little pale pink flowers:

That's all for now.  Please click here for all the garden updates!