Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Playing in the Dirt

Well, I'm late and I'm not done yet, but I've been working on this years garden plantings.

First, I'll give you a couple of sneak peeks at Hanna's college quilt.  Can't reveal it until after graduation later this month.

What do I hate more than pinning?  trimming!  But I love this self-retracting blade of the Fons & Porter rotary cutter :)


Here are my practice pieces for machine quilting.  I use scraps and then test the stitch every time I first start and after any needle or bobbin changes.


Seriously?  After measuring.....seriously???


Okay on to the gardens.  The white garden is getting some pink and blue this year.  It's year 3 so the roses (and all the perennial plants) look great!  This one has a sweet scent.


Peonies look and smell good too.  The white bleeding heart is fading fast, but it was good this year.


The knock out roses took a hard hit with the ice storms and coco this past winter.  She actually chewed on them  over the winter - duh, why?  I cut them all back except one, now I wish I had cut it back to - next year.


Just planted the area around this tree this morning - it's magenta coleus and mixed impatient.


I picked up this pre-planted hanging shade basket for $30.  A little pricey, but I got a second basket at 1/2 off and this one is chocked full of great plants.


Hooray - after about a three year shock rest, this gigantic lime green hosta is looking great.  Look at the pansy for a size comparison -


This is the garden I can see from the dining table in the family room.  I think I may have something like 60-80 hostas.  I haven't counted, but I did a rough estimate.


Leaving the yard on the side.


I didn't get a photo of the azaleas, which are hot pink, but the side yard looks good.  I planted this from total scratch about 4 years ago.  Me and home depot.  The ivy is totally grown in now.


This is the back of the garage, and I wish it was a koi pond - I really do.  It will get a shot of color in the next couple of days.
I like inserting pots of coleus and impatient in these shade beds.  In the front of the photo there is a bleeding heart that self seeded and grew between rocks in the wall - a nice surprise.


Herb garden, waiting for more herbs.


These are my new pots for the front of the house.  We destroyed 2 with the car this past winter in the garage.  They are the light weight ones but I think they look like the real deal.

They have tall yellow daisy like flowers which better start producing again or they're out.


Thanks for  coming on my garden tour!  Have a great week.

32 comments:

Sujata Shah said...

Your garden looks peaceful and beautiful. I love all the hostas. I have started buying them and planing them a few every year and need to make some room in the shaded area of the yard for them.
I love your new pots with perfect combination of plantings.

Suburban Stitcher said...

stunning yard! i'm very jealous of your hosta collection! they're gorgeous!

Donna~~ said...

Your yard is absolutely gorgeous! (I am embarrassed to even look at mine now!) Guess I better head to the greenhouse....

Janet said...

Wow Barb - what a garden! It's beautiful!! You must have a couple green thumbs in addition to being a fabulous quilter.
I can't wait to see the graduation quilt :0)

Sue said...

Thanks for the tour of the garden Barb. Love you planting. How come the slugs don't get your Hosta's Mine usually end up like lace dollies.

Pinkadot Quilts said...

Oh my gosh it is beautiful...the stone walls add such an earthy organic element. Your shade gardens are so lovely and peaceful looking!

Pinkadot Quilts said...

And I can't wait to see the quilt....love the colors!

Barb said...

I so loved the garden tour....awesome!

Sherrill said...

It's all so beautiful but I'm wondering HOW LONG it took you to do those rock walls?!! WOW! That's a LOTTA rocks!!

Jan said...

Wow - what aren't you good at?! Beautiful garden and yard. Love the planter - they really do make them look old, don't they? The stacked rocks look great. I have that in my yard, but not so tall as yours, which makes more of a statement. It all looks wonderful!

ann hermes said...

I love seeing the pictures of your garden. I have a lot of shade so lots of the same as you--hostas, bleeding heart, impatiens, coleus.

libbyquilter said...

omg~!!!~ you have a to-die-for garden~!!!!~
it's so nice to see plants that have a little growing season behind them. ours is so very short and my fruit trees have just barely started to open their blossoms. noticed this morning that i had a fern just coming up.
i think i'll just stay and enjoy your garden for a while.

:-)
libbyQ

Anonymous said...

Loved the garden tour Barb - very serene. Your dry stone walls look fantastic too.
I was thinking the same as Sue about your Hosta - I have to guard mine from snails or they are eaten down to the ground!
PS How did you fix the binding?

Laurie in Iowa said...

Your gardens look wonderful.

Lori said...

So, I not only see that you make lovely quilts, terrific food, wonderful decor, but you have a green thumb as well?! I'm so jealous! It so pretty!!

Thimbleanna said...

Ohmygosh -- your yard looks awesome! I'm so envious -- I have mostly shade but the rabbits eat all of my hostas plus other stuff. The cats were on high alert this morning while watching a new bunny munch in the grass...grrrr. Thanks for the beautiful tour!

Nifty Quilts said...

Wow!! You have a wonderful garden!! Very inspiring. You make quilts and garden too! I'll have to try that.

Crispy said...

OH NO been there done that on the binding so now I always start far from the ending corner so I can add fabric.

Your gardens are beautiful!! Mine gets the blazing hot sun all summer and nothing wants to grow but weeds....bummer.

Crispy

antique quilter said...

your gardens look beautiful
I LOVE those planters where did you find those?
Hostas for me are great, no real maintenance and them come back every year
we need to plant more this year!
hanna;s quilt looks great, sorry about the binding, geesh don't you hate when that happens!
will have to look into that rotary cutter would be great for when your doing a lot of trimming...
Kathie

Appalachian Mercantile said...

Your gardens look beautiful! I'm envious.

Shelina (formerly known as Shasta) said...

I like the variety of fabric you are using for the quilt. You have a beautiful garden. Love all the hosta.

Miriam said...

Wow, you have a beautiful garden! Everything is so green and healthy! I love the fuschia in the hanging basket.
I have never tried to grow hostas. I love the variety you have.

I can't wait to see Hanna's quilt!

Ann Champion said...

Your gardens are spectacular!!! I love the variety of Hostas with shots of color here and there.

I look forward to the reveal on Hanna's quilt. The trimmings give a clue to the cute fabrics. :)

sandra said...

Your gardens are beautiful just like your quilts. Wonderful job on both.

Dawn said...

Your yard looks like a magazine spread - well done! Best wishes on the milestone quilt - it's an important one.

QuiltSue said...

Your garden looks beautiful. It seems very large though, so do you find you have to spend so much time working in it that you don't have time to just sit and enjoy looking at it?

Em said...

I so enjoyed a stroll in your garden!!!! Makes me homesick for my garden that I had at my previous home and I thank you inspiring a moment of reverie. I remember making the quilt for my oldest son as he graduated from high school....Thank you for your post and memories! Love, EM

Vivian said...

Oh my! I could feel my blood pressure go lower, lower, lower as I went from photo to photo of your lovely yard. Don't you just love the blue-green hue of some hostas?
Thank you for the wonderful tour.

Chris said...

Thanks for the garden tour! I love your collection of hostas - especially the "big berthas" and those lovely blue hues. Lovely and so peaceful!

Maureen said...

Your garden is absolutely beautiful. I love all the hostas!
Look forward to the unveiling of Hanna's quilt.

Sandra Henderson said...

What a beautiful garden!~~ How DO you do it all!??!
I've been outside a great deal. There is NO dirt in my yard. Nope. All sand. HEavily compacted sand. Like, need a cement buster upper thingy to crack it open to plant hard sand...
sigh.
One would think I'd loose weight doing this, but I don't. That's why I am so excited about your undies!~~ Oh, I regress...
Great idea to use these scraps for practice. You are so disciplined. I usually just keep on going. lol
I'll try to do better.
Want a weiner card to put on your blog?!?!!
I'm so bad. Thanks for commenting on that. Funny, huh?!?! lol

Carrie P. said...

wow, you certainly have a green thumb.