Thursday, May 22, 2008

Down the garden path



I have to show you my very fun new vintage garden book I found while thrifting. Don't be jealous but...I only paid 25 cents!!

I love the bright cheery graphics on the cover. Inside the cover is plenty of info to pour through as I begin to redo my gardens in the front and back yards. I have big plans to relocate the back yard garden...so wish me luck...or just call me crazy-- cuz I have plenty to keep me busy in the front yard garden. Just look at this mess...I mean natural beauty!!




You know how you look at your yard with a blind eye until someone opens them for you? Well, yesterday my neighbor was showing me his garden and said very casually, "Do you like the ferns so thick in your garden or would you like some starts of my red Bee Balm flowers?" I turned to look at my garden and was aghast!! The ferns seem to sprout one day and the next they have invaded!! Yes. I do like my ferns, yet they seem to have flourished more this spring than any other -with all the unending rain. As beautiful as they are-- I have to point out that somewhere in that jungle is my perennial garden. Can you see it? I can't! My poor perennials are screaming out that they are suffocating.

So... one plan is to transplant lots of ferns!!! Oh and see that out of place baby Maple tree that is not so babyish anymore? It needs to go somewhere else too!



The grass is quite long too as we just spread lime on the lawn to sweeten the acidic results of all the tall tall pines that shed. We have to wait to mow until it is well watered in. I think it is well watered with all this rain we have had!! 



And if that were not enough work in the front yard garden; I am planing to somehow reset the grade of the dirt on each side of the sidewalk. In this photo it looks rather earthy and natural; yet with all the rain, the dirt just keeps washing out over the cement as the garden bed has raised so much higher over time.

Maybe it would be easier to raise the sidewalk!!

4 comments:

a portland granny said...

Loved your book find!! I also love your ferns! I have lots of them, but they are sort of interspersed through the beds. Mine are almost through uncurling from a winter's sleep.I love it when they become full and lush green again.

I also love your Etsy store. What does that word mean? I have seen it published else where.

In looking through your "old paper" blog my mind began to come alive. I have letters from the fifties, letters from the 20's, and the 30's. How could they be valuable when we aren't famous people? I think I have several letters from my grandpa to my mom from 1918-or 19! I'm also going to look through my drawers of trims. If I find anything worthwhile, I'm going to box them up and send them to you. (as a gift) I'm cleaning out stuff. What about old patterns, etc? I'll take pictures and send them when I get things sorted. (I want to make sure you could use them)

Maybe I'm sitting on a gold mine! I have some Indian things from the early 1900's in my cedar chest that were Mom's. She received them from Indian neighbors in eastern Washington where they lived.

I love your blog. I look through all of your for sale items and see so many things that were around when I was growing up.


With all of your creative things you do, do you make cards? That is my hobby, which I love.

This is too long.

Bye for now.

Joan

Betty said...

Hmmm...I happen to like your fern bed. I'd be lucky if I could keep one of those alive for a week with out heat!

Mary Isabella and Kiley too! said...

I have that book and I too love it....Mary

Blondie ~ Vintage Primitives said...

Good grief! I know plenty of folks who would die for just a few of those lush ferns!
Bee balm is one of my favs and I have it everywhere - like your ferns it will pop up everywhere.
I like a really mix match look with my garden. LOL. It is a profusion of weeds and flowers. I have friends who have immaculate gardens. They come over to my house and say things like, How quaint, those weeds seem to work for you. Hahaha
I envy you the book for a quarter. I think every area but MINE has bargains to be found!
Love to you sweet Amy!