Our New Southern Garden

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One of the fun things about buying a house in the winter is you have no idea what is in the garden.  Soon after we moved in on Thanksgiving weekend (remember?) we started hearing from some of the neighbors about all the wonderful things we would be finding in the Spring.  They all fell short.  So far here are but a few of the things we have been enjoying this month.

 

The cherry trees in front of the house gave quite a show a couple of weeks ago.  They are over now.  The garden underneath is full of perennials and ground covers just beginning to come on.  I have no idea what they are

They were so lush you couldn't see the house from the street.

The new front door.  The hardware was a gift from my mother and me for Christmas.  The urns are the real thing...they weigh a ton.  Can't wait for the ferns to get bigger! Some of the little pots need to be moved to another part of the yard and replaced with white impatients. And yes, I know, the coach lights need to be larger but they have to wait for the next lottery

This photo doesn't do justice to that white azalea.  White has never been at the top of my list in the azalea category but boy, was I wrong.  The Southern azaleas are just coming on. That's a rhododendron in green next to the fence.  You can't see it from here but there's a brook back there.  There were lots of daffodils in the woods earlier on.

There are over 20 azalea bushes in the back.  Believe it or not, some were lost when the heavy rains came a couple of years ago.

I have no idea what this is called.  Anyone?  It's a ground cover under the bushes in the front.  Again the photo doesn't do justice to the vibrant color of the flowers.

See? It's on both sides.  Beautiful color green.  Don't look at the grass.  It needs work, lots of it!

The shutters are to be painted this week in black.  I wanted a very dark green but my daughter wants black.  So black it is.

Again, the back garden, with a closeup of the southern azaleas.

Was that a white tail I just saw??

The other side of the garden with more southern azaleas

I am like a dog with a bone with these southern azaleas.  I learned about them from my dear friend Sandra Jonas.  If you haven't seen her blog it's a must!

And there's Lily, our champion dock jumper turned warden of the back yard.  She's waiting to catch the deer who visit the woods at least twice a day.  They couldn't care less about her...they just stare and go about their business.  The next door neighbors keep a salt thing in the back and feed them.  You can imagine the crowds this Spring.

This is how she spends her day.  The sous chef, on the other hand, has to be pushed out to do her thing.  Oh, and we have a bunny family too.  Saw the daddy yesterday. He already ate some of the new plantings for the vegetable garden.  My daughter thought it was cute.  Wait 'til they eat all her hard work.

Even though this yard is already beautiful and has great bones,  there's a lot to do to bring it back to it's full potential.  The house was empty for a long time so nothing has been fertilized in awhile.  I am waiting for the blooms to fall off so I can feed the azaleas.  There are about five or six bushes that have no blooms in them.

The grass is another matter.  Lots of weeds.  Has been treated once but we will need to keep on top of it to get it just right.  Needs seeding too.  The backyard was full of dead leaves and we just had them cleared.  Will need truckloads of bark chips.  (That's why the lights in the front have to wait) There's lots to do.  This is a long project but I'm up to the task.. Better than going to the gym.  Later...

Photos Lindaraxa