You guys… I did something totally spontaneous this past weekend, that I cannot wait to blog about! I even bought another point and shoot camera for the trip (after having lost my last one on our Hawaiian vacay). I needed some mountain time before fall hit hard, so I head for the hills for a 2 night cabin stay I’ll share with you soon! And will share my new toy too!
In other super (well, maybe not very) exciting news, I’ve been attempting to maintain the flowerbeds. Again. It’s a never ending journey for me for some reason.
And because my mess appears to inspire others, always happy to help. Mess comes easy here.
There is this fairly long flowerbed strip along the driveway that was so choked full of weeds, that once the weeds were removed, nothing was left. As in… just soil. 🙂 I was sooooo over the overgrown whatever had been planted there, so it was ripped right out.
So I rummaged through my junk stash, and came up with an old bench, Farmers’ Market sign, and a few other rusty trinkets as fill ins. Until I plant something next spring.
I never did show you this, because before I had a chance, it was full of weeds again!
Boy, I do weeds well, I’ll give me that.
Here you can see I had a head start on the garden game of shame before I thought to haul out the camera.
We had a really hot, dry spurt for awhile, so I was forced to drag out the water hose, and saturate the soil before I could pull anything out. Which worked like a charm.
But something rather magical transpired after the 2nd weeding. Some of the plants spread out, so it wasn’t completely bare any longer!
So, let’s make that rust shine…
Freshly weeded, with a few free starter plants as a bonus!
Maybe it pays not to weed so much after all…
The pallet wood walkway also got pulled up then straightened out again.
It’s finally starting to deteriorate after a few years, so next spring I’ll try something new here.
Even the fuzzy flowerbed edges got hit.
A full tutorial on how I edge my flowerbeds is HERE.
The lamb’s ear got a clipping too. Nice and compact again, ready for next spring.
The rusty orb tutorial is here, if you’d like to make one too.
And for those of you that desired to get a better peek at what the blue front door looked like, you can now see it, after I cut all the hosta leaves down, before they turned to absolute slime.
Me? Ahead of the garden game? Pretty hard to believe that one.
Here’s the post when I painted the door blue.
I’m glad I remembered to take a picture at this point.
Because… right on target?
It needs weeding.
AGAIN!
Hmmm… where can I travel to next? 🙂
The sign was made with the Farmers’ Market stencil you can find HERE.
Are your flowerbeds ready for fall, or are you scrambling as well before the rain and frost hits?
WEEDS…..they come in and take over and it seems like they do it over night! I have to admit, mine got a bit out of hand this summer also. Lots of rain, LOTS of blood suckers and health issues. Got to the point that every time I walked out into the grass I got bit. Love what you did with the yard. Adorable. Thanks for sharing.
Love this display and those birdhouses are perfect. Gardening is a never ending journey. It’s what makes it so wonderful but those weeds I know such a pain. If you add a thick layer of mulch to your beds you’ll have to weed a lot less. Looking forward to your weekend at the cabin. Sounds nice!! We finally closed on our land and I keep dreaming of what life will be like there.
Yeah, I’m finally debating on the mulch way, Carole. I’ve resisted this long because the weeds generally make their way through that too, then you have mulch to contend with when you wish to plant more. And then you have to keep topping it up…
There really is no easy answer, is there? 🙂
Can’t wait to follow your new adventure!
Well I posted the land last week – it’s on the front page of the blog.. and you nailed it -there is no easy answer and the truth is gardening is a process. Take an hour a week and you should be able to keep up with it and use that time to reflect while you work. I do this sometimes I take more time but it helps me work through things and make sense of this life and the things that happen. It’s kind of like my time with God… It’s super awesome!
Oh I feel your pain. My flower beds are insane with weeds and my back doesn’t like it one bit. It looks so pretty when it’s done . . .and then we start all over again. The heat was ridiculous and the mosquitos were feasting on me so I walked away and didn’t look anymore. Now I’m paying the price!
Didn’t look anymore… haha it really works, doesn’t it? For awhile… 🙂
I have been dealing with some pretty messy flowerbeds too! It looks so nice when it’s done! If only it would stay that way a little longer! Like you, I just reached the point where I was “over” some of these plants! I have been digging up and giving away 3 large wheelbarrows full of daisies and iris! I am trying to make room for some new things that are a bit less work! An added bonus was making other gardeners happy with free plants! Now if someone would just take the weeds! Lol!
I hate weeds too, but by some weird trick of nature, I find weeding (when they come out easy) kind of therapeutic. I know, I’m weird, but it’s my quiet time with nature. I also plant lots of perennials and ground covers to keep weeds out. When it’s time to trim those down for the winter, I use the lawnmower. Yep, I just put the bagger on the mower and they all get a haircut and my back thanks me!
You have a beautiful garden!!
No yard gets more weeds than mine. For the past 2 years I put down a thick layer of wood chips. It does cut down on the weeds. Best thing I ever did.
You did good! Love the rustic vignette. The other commenters are correct that mulch helps, but maybe you already had mulch and it turned to soil? Also, I thought I saw a sprig of Bermuda grass in one photo, and it becomes a TOUGH weed to get rid of when it invades flowerbeds. Thanks for your post!
Have you tried Preen landscaping fabric? Almost eliminates weeding. I love it!
I’m debating on going landscape fabric and mulch again. I just don’t enjoy the upkeep of that either… haha
You have some great weathered wood and rusty pieces!
While I was doing this, I was thinking, “Carlene would be proud of me… for at least making a small attempt!” 😀