Coming Along

I finally feel like I am starting to get the feeling I wanted to create out by the pool! All of the plants and hardscape are now it and it's just wait and see how it fills in.

We have had another addition that I had not anticipated this year! Not that I am encouraging it, but it is cool to look out the window and see this.

Since DisneyWorld is not on the agenda this year, I thought I would bring a little of the magic to the garden this year. I really LOVE this!

 Oh, and finally, I got my veggie plot in. You might notice the bricks are different from the last post. I just didn't like the rustic look for that area, so I swapped them out with the bricks I used for mama's memorial garden at the last house. I do love recycling materials. I think this looks much better. However, looking at this I am realized the shrubs need a serious haircut!

Making Progress

So, I had originally planned to put in a 6 x 45 perimeter bed this spring, but quickly realized that it would be more than I could manage this season, so I decided on two smaller projects that are going to add to the to the pool area and behind it ( what you see out the backdoor!).

Here is where we started

 Excited that I was able to contract out digging the grass on this job. I also had a cubic yard of good compost brought in to mix with the soil. I am so fortunate that I had sandy soil. Most gardeners in my neck of the woods deal with clay. The down side of the sandy soil is little nutrients, but I am working on changing that!

 Hardscape now in place!

 Another angle of the hardscape

 Ta Da!! I know there is not much to look at right now ( plant wise), but let's just see what happens this season. We have some crinums,mini cannas, purple mexican petunias, rock rose, lemon yellow lantana (very excited to see this one get bigger), "romatic gestures" daylillies (hot pink), varigated ornamental grass, some pink muhly grass, stella de oro's and a snow white hawthorne, Oh, and you can't really see it, but also a mexican birds of paradise.

 I just love this combo of knockouts and catmint!

Some of mama's Iris blooming.

Glee!! My first Mrs. Dudley Cross bloom! Haha, my Iris photobombed the rose!

Love shrimp plant!

New cushions for the poolside chairs this season. I decided on some stonecrop sedum for the white pot on the table this summer.

 There is a bouganvillea that belongs in the pot to the right but since it's MAY and we had a FROST, I had to bring her back in AGAIN because Spring cannot decide what she is doing.  Understand, we just don't get frost this late!

I was very sad to see that our Ladybanks snapped at the base in the wind storm a few days ago. I have to take the hacksaw to her tomorrow. I am so grateful she has 3 decent size shoots already coming from the base, so I think she will recover ok.

I just liked this shot. The paw is a memorial plaque for two of our sweet furbabies that graced us with their joy. The bed I plan to put in in the fall will also have the puppy garden, which will become the plaque's permanent home along with a new stone for another beloved  lost  dog. I look very forward to finally creating the puppy bed. It's been in my mind for almost nine years now.

Lastly, here are a few visitors we have been getting in the evenings.

Just hanging out in our front yard.

                             

Having a sit, watching the world go by.