Sunday, March 22, 2015

Journal Notes..colors of spring and landscaping company progress

I am afraid this will be a short post, I have to go to work but the colors of spring seem to take you by surprise don't they.  The landscape company has been out several times...it's about 80% done.  Will show more next week.
Can't wait for the rose garden to start blooming it will be beautiful





Saturday, March 14, 2015

March Bloom Day & hiring a Landscaping Company

It's bloom day once again.  Lately I have been just posting for bloom day but the activity in the garden is picking up.  So forgive the day early and the two part post.

March Bloom Day

If you are not familiar with bloom day, it's where people across the world post what is blooming in their garden and post it on May Dream's Gardens.  I invite you to stop by and see what is blooming in their gardens!
 I had two roses in the greenhouse...actually four but one does not look like it made it and one is a miniature rose.  These two are blooming.  Above is double delight and below blue girl.




Tulip trees are blooming


I think these are blackberry vines?  They are everywhere on the property

Azaleas are starting to bloom.


More Tulip Trees



Encore Azaleas

Camellias are definitely blooming

Ground littered with petals

Azaleas, I can't remember if these are pride of mobile or george tabor

I would say there are about 20 or 30 that line the back of rose garden,

Berry bushes are ripening

Roses themselves haven't started but they will shortly.

In the greenhouse, I believe the sedum? is blooming.



I don't care for pink with red but after a long winter any color beside brown is pretty.

Journal notes...hiring a landscaping company

I broke down and hired a landscaping company, Mirascapes.  They came out before the work started and sprayed.  Last Thursday, there were three men and they did not waste time clearing out weeds.  Above of the some the pictures before the work started,


Weeds have taken over the mulch.  The weeds were using the mulch as a medium.


We are going to put in long leaf mulch.  The price is more reasonable than you think and the speed at which they work you.

The bales of pine straw come from Elberta.


I had about five hydrangea here but I don't know if they died from the weeds.  We did find one.  

They used machetes hand pulling, rakes, etc and got it cleared fairly quickly.


Camllias olive tree, azaleas, crepe myrtles surround the area.  I feel that don't kill the over look to try to find one plant.  

Back rose garden.

In a prior year I laid about 3000 sq feet of screen on most of the garden with irrigation.

West side of the rose garden.

Irrigation lines run most of the rose garden.


As an added distraction, I have a new puppy.
 Back to landscaping, after they finish the back rose garden they are also fixing the peacock.  Last year the peacock was beautiful...but I think it will be magnificient.

I think this year it will be twice as lovely.




They cleared out most of the weeds so far.

As soon as they are complete....and by the way the peacock is six feet tall...so this tail is pretty big.

They sprayed the weeds..I want to put more screen down.  Fear of frost is about over and time to plant the seeds.  Haven't decided which yet.

The remnants of the morning glory from last year.  Some confederate jasmine underlie it.

In the front field, I have an are with tulips and daffodils.  We had reports of a black pig on the property.  I saw it, but not a good look.  It was no bigger than my fat dachshund pearl.  As a matter of fact it looked like her.  It was not aggressive and ran away when I got too close.









Some weeds are pretty.

This bed is not on their agendas but I bet you can't tell what you are looking at...that is how bad weeds have gotten.

This back rose garden is over halfway done.  The are going to put in a preemergent and I believe he (Phil) said a post emergent.  This is some of the after shots..much better.

 
A lot of this including the path was hand pulled.

You can actually see the sundial...pointing the wrong direction.

I agreed that the old mulch needed to come up.  The root systems, the seeds...in the mulch...I didn't want escalation of commitment undo what had been done...


This back section still needs weeding....believe it or not it was much worse than this before.

You can see the expanse of the garden when all you see is the screen.

Back of the rose garden on north corner.




As it faces the house.

Looks much cleaner


Some are fuzzy but I use them for reference...

This section was only partially screened.


East side of the rose garden in the back that is lined with camellias and azaleas.


Just did not look this way before...nice.


Stack of pine straw

Greenhouse..not part of landscaping but forgot to post earlier.  With the weather heating up...it's over 110 in here....will prob vacate the greenhouse soon.









Rogue picture.  Tulips and daffodils

View from back porch


This is what the garden has looked like in the past (below) I suspect it will be even better this year!

And in full bloom