Three friends came to visit on Sunday who hadn't seen the new house yet. Look at the beautiful hyacinths they brought for a housewarming gift:
It was a funny coincidence that just the night before I was telling Gregg that I plan to plant hyacinth and daffodil bulbs around the bottoms of five crepe myrtle trees on the side of the house. Now I have a head start with the hyacinths! As soon as these finish blooming I'll plant them outside for next year.
I've been having a lot of fun planning what I'm going to plant on our tiny little property. So far these are the things I've decided to have for sure:
- Four 8x4 raised beds as a permanent place to grow veggies and some annual herbs. These will be on the sunniest side of the back yard, and will probably be made of brick or concrete blocks instead of the standard wooden frames.
- A large raised bed in front of the back porch that will be planted with perennial herbs and flowers for attracting bees and butterflies.
- A fig tree in the back left corner of the back yard. Probably the variety "Celeste".
- Two pomegranate shrubs, also in the back yard. I already have one that's been living in a large pot for years, and now it's time to give it a permanent home. I've read that you can increase flowering and fruiting if you have two or more, which is why I plan to buy another. Some of my neighbors had them when I was growing up and we kids enjoyed eating them in the summer.
- Two or three camellias in the back, too, to cover up the spots where we can see through to our jerk neighbor's back yard. Camellias have that wonderful evergreen foliage that will make a nice screen year round. In the winter, nothing is any prettier than camellias in flower, cheering up the otherwise dull landscape. I have no idea what colors/varieties to pick, though. If Ms. Moon has any thoughts on this I'd love to hear them! She's the Queen of beautiful camellia flowers!
- In the front yard, I want to eventually plant a small bed of roses with some nice companion flowers to go along with them. One rose I know I want is the famous "Peace" rose, but I've not decided which others to include. Any rose lovers reading that would like to offer suggestions? Somewhere on this property (maybe up the Southeast corner of the house) I'd like to plant a climbing "Don Juan" rose, but that's the only other variety I've decided on for now.
Of course, this is all going to take some time to accomplish (and to afford!). I plan to start with planting the fig tree (this spring) since a tree needs the most time to get established. Hopefully this summer while I'm off I can work on building the raised beds, at least. I have enough plans already to keep me busy for years!
A fig tree, o my! I had a fig tree in our house in Georgia for, lets’ see, about 33 years and then a very cold winter about 2 years ago it died. A couple of suckers came up but I don’t know if I can move them to Nashville, where I am in the process of moving. I think it might be too cold here. I used to make loads of jam, still have some, and Celeste are indeed some of the sweetest figs. Good luck with all your gardening – you will have a beautiful garden.
ReplyDeleteIt might be worth trying to move some suckers to Nashville if you have a warm south facing wall to plant the fig beside. Or you could grow some in large containers so they could be protected in the winter. Just a thought! I love the idea of making fig jam! It will probably take a few years for a fig to grow big enough to provide enough fruit for jam, though.
DeleteGood luck with your move!
I'm probably not the best person to give advice about plants, but I have an Abutilon (Strawberry Vine) against the front wall of our house, which is permanently in flower. It's the only plant that is. Lovely.
ReplyDeleteI had to google Abutilon--I've never seen it in this area, or if I have I don't remember it. I know that you prefer to grow veggies to flowers! I want both. :)
DeleteIt sounds all well thought-out, and I am sure will come along nicely. But isn't it a gardener's rule that bulbs need to be put in during the late autumn/early winter months? I know next to nothing about gardening, but keep reading this on other people's blogs.
ReplyDeleteRaised beds made of brick will look very nice, I think! From all that you have planned, it does not sound like a "tiny little property" - you should see the "garden" behind my house, THAT is tiny! ;-D
The hyacinths your friends brought are beautiful. Now I want some, too!
Generally bulbs need to be planted in autumn if you expect to see spring flowers. I plan to buy plenty of daffodil and hyacinth bulbs next October to plant. The only bulbs I mean to plant right now are the hyacinths you see in this photo, and two amaryllis bulbs my mom gave me at Christmas (they, too, were forced blooming). They won't flower again this year, but they should survive just fine outdoors.
DeleteAnd what will you do on the second day? GREAT plans!
ReplyDeleteHa! It's going to take years to do all this. I left out the fire pit we're hoping to build in the back yard, too, since it doesn't involve gardening!
DeleteWe've just bought some raspberry and myrtle (blueberry) bushes to plant out in big pots on our patio. Just have to source some nice pots now!
ReplyDeleteWe had blueberry bushes at our last house, and until they got overrun with a truly vicious barbed weed vine they produced loads of berries! In addition to the berries, the plants give you pretty flowers in the spring and nicely colored foliage in the fall. Sourcing nice pots is difficult here unless you want to spend a small fortune. I need some, too.
Deletebricks for the raised beds would be nice; they would not rot like wood. sounds like a great landscaping plan!
ReplyDeleteBricks instead of wood was my husband's suggestion since wood will eventually rot and need to be replaced! Great minds think alike, huh? :)
DeletePlanning for a garden is always so much fun. I like the Knock Out Roses because they are hardy and need little work. I used to have more roses but since they attract Japanese Beetles here, I have taken them down. To me, perennials are always the most important part of a garden as they set the groundwork for all the other plantings you might use for years to come. Annuals give you great color and many of them reseed which is always a nice surprise. Enjoy it all, Jennifer.
ReplyDeleteKnock Out roses are very common around here, and for good reason! They're hardy and they bloom all summer long. Unfortunately, they have no scent (as you know) and I'm hoping to find some tough old roses that will make it here but also have a nice scent. I agree with you about the perennials being the most important part of a garden--they're like the bones of it all. Annuals like zinnias and marigolds will always be welcome, though. They're so cheerful! And if they don't work out, you can do something else the next year with less investment.
DeleteWonderful plans, Jennifer! The only problem with camellias is that they do take a long time to grow. They require patience. But you KNOW how much I love them. There are so many varieties.
ReplyDeleteI suppose I should try to get the camellias planted within the first year or two, since they grow slowly. I hadn't considered that. At least they should be easy to prune and keep on the smaller side, considering the size of my yard.
DeleteI love pomegranates also but the trees grow very huge here, up, 14 to thirty feet. They are used as windbreaks and shade tree in Arizona. I have never heard them called scrubs before but I looked them up and they were called scrubs sometimes. To keep mine smaller every late winter I trim them back and thin them out from inside. I can't wait to hear what you do with yours.
ReplyDeletecheers, parsnip
I've never considered a pomegranate growing so large! I've certainly never seen them that size. I imagine Arizona has a better climate for them than South Carolina, and there are smaller varieties that may be more commonly grown here. Actually, they're really NOT commonly grown here....I haven't seen one since I was a kid.
DeleteAnd we can tic it all off for you. Thanks for the plan.
ReplyDeleteThe planning is a big part of the fun. After that comes the backache part...much less fun! :)
DeleteYour garden plans sound lovely. We love our garden and look forward to it's rebirth every spring. I am not experienced in Southern gardens. In Ct. I plant all my bulbs in the Fall. As for roses the climbing rose New Dawn is very strong with a wonderful fragrance. Also a David Austin rose, Heritage, smells wonderful and will re-bloom throughout the summer if you cut off the spent flowers.
ReplyDeleteI've been getting the David Austin rose catalog for years now, so I'm familiar with Heritage! I'll have to google New Dawn. I want at least one climbing rose that has a nice fragrance!
DeleteVery exciting plans! I think you are making great choices.
ReplyDeleteThank you Colette! I'm having fun with the planning stage of it all!
DeleteWhat fun to plan your plantings and then enjoy the beauty. I am thinking of planting a fig tree and a camellia too. My favorite type of rose is the Floribunda, they bloom a long time, maybe for six months and each shrub looks like a full bouquet. My Bonica Floribunda is pink and I planted it 19 years ago.
ReplyDeleteBeing in California you can plant varieties of fig that wouldn't work on the east coast! You should go for it! I'll look into planting Floribunda type roses...thanks for the suggestion my friend!
DeletePal Joey is my favourite rose.
ReplyDeleteAlphie
I'm off to look that one up right now. I love the name!
DeleteOne of the best things about home ownership has got to be gardening! (I know, I know -- we're renting. But I can IMAGINE how great it would be to have a permanent garden!)
ReplyDeleteI'm impressed that you've considered all this in such detail, right down to the variety of fig tree you're going to plant. I'd be hard-pressed to NAME a variety of fig, much less choose one! We have a fig in a pot that I rescued from a trash bin, but I have no idea what kind it is.
Likewise with our roses -- we have some beauties but I don't know for sure what any of them are.
We have a white camellia, and camellia blossoms as they age turn brown. So my only cautionary word of advice is that the white flowers show that brownness pretty readily. I think red or pink ones are nicer because the browning isn't as obvious. (Plus they're just prettier IMHO.)
I'm still in the process of planning. Some of these plans may end up changing, but I've wanted a garden for so very long...!
DeleteI agree with you about white flowers looking messy when they die. I learned about that when I worked at a plant nursery for a year a long time ago. I seem to be drawn to white flowers (go figure, huh?) and they look rough when they're fading.
good for you !
ReplyDeleteThanks Spo!
DeleteHaving rented for so long, it must be thrilling to look outside your house and think - this is our patch of the planet - we can develop it how we want and no landlord is going to scupper our plans. I suggest that you sit on a deckchair sipping a cocktail while you bark out your instructions to Gregg.
ReplyDeleteHahaha! "Bark out instructions to Gregg".....THAT will be the day! He doesn't care one bit about a garden and hates doing yard work like mowing grass, operating a weedeater, trimming hedges. If it were up to him, he'd cover the whole property with gravel and be done with it! :) Ok, maybe I exaggerate a bit, but he's definitely not "into" gardening and anything I do on that front will be my project alone.
DeleteIt really is wonderful to know there's no landlord after renting for so long! At least once a day one of us will turn to the other and say, "This is our house! This is our garage (or laundry room, or fireplace, etc)!" It still feels kind of like Christmas. :)