Who’s ready for spring??
The weather has been downright frigid, with windchill factors of “shut that door and climb back under the covers”. On days like this I’m so thankful for a warm fireplace, cozy blankets, and daydreams of spring projects. It’s fun to leaf through magazines and get inspired by people like Laura on The Garden Answer. I think I’m almost ready to put away the snow boots and take up my gardening shovel!
Who’s with me? Are you thinking of ways you could spruce up your backyard? Are you planning on what to put in your vegetable garden? I know you can’t eat flowers, but I’ve always enjoyed my flowerbeds and shrub beds more than my vegetable gardens.
I love the dreaming part too. What can I dream up next? Art is always a little nervous at this part, but he has been pretty generous in giving me the benefit of the doubt! Like the time I asked him to pull the ancient smokehouse from the back by the barns up to the front yard. It is now a nice backdrop for my coneflowers and rudbeckia, with clematis climbing on its weathered wood. Some folks thought I had added an outhouse to my front yard… it’s ok, I saw the beauty of it.
I like the thought of a new flower bed, but not so much the thought of all the digging required. So a few years back, I decided to try a method of killing the sod instead of digging it all out. With all the newsprint I had collected, I set out to enlarge a bed around my small maple tree.
I placed a garden hose in the outline
I wanted my shrub bed to take,
and then with an edger, I cut the sod
I dug a trench around the outline, removing some of the sod around the tree and trench
Next, I laid out the newsprint in layers, covering all the areas I wanted to kill. (Don’t skimp on the paper! 3-4 layers thick)
Then came the process of adding topsoil, manure, or whatever mix you prefer for your beds.
When planting the shrubs you have to dig through the newsprint carefully to not mess up the layers underneath. Some weeds will make their way through, but those you can dig out. This method is much easier than digging out the whole area of sod.
It’s starting to take shape. I added a boulder; one we pulled out of our fields. Planted with lilies, hydrangeas, and delphiniums. I added a good layer of brown mulch
I hope I gave you some inspiration to pull you through the cold weather and get you thinking of things you can do in your yard this spring!
Happy dreaming!
This is wonderful. And easy to remember.
It looks great, and leaves me longing for that warm spring weather even more!
Beautiful.