Talk Thursday: How Does Your Garden Grow?

Not as well as I hoped.

Glorious flowering dreams filled my head based on this from last year...

That is not what I got this year. Oh, no my garden became something totally different. The lilies are from Ducky's Lily garden, in it's second year.

This year began with snow. Lots of snow.... for the Oregon Coast that is.

In late fall last year I put in my tulip beds, with the help Burp and all the little kids in the neighborhood.

I made the grievous error of leaving in the bulbs from the prior season in the old bed. Mistake, my tulips sucked this year.

I've always wanted a cutting garden and after making a tongue in cheek statement about having a water fountain in the front yard (I was thinking California mission, Father Serra, huge fountain - total joke) Ducky ran with it and started talking about taking out the dead sod for another lily garden AND A FOUNTAIN.

Hmmm, I'd always wanted a cutting garden, and a solar water fountain might rock. He had the sod cut out in one weekend. I took another three weekends to take out the grass roots and dirt clods. A garden bench had been waiting in the yard all winter long.

The bench and an Easter Lily Harley (one of my DJ's) gave me were the first two things in the garden.

Then I began building the blue stone path, by now I am into June and the lily garden is

greening, the Chain trees are in full bloom, and the fountain is waiting to be installed.

Dispite the dismal performance of its namesakes, there were moments in the Lily Garden that were pretty. Just not splendily spectacular. The Lupin were especially marvelous.

July is when the Lilies should be in full bloom and amazing. This year's season was short lived and thin. But there was a beauty or two...

Building the entire cutting garden has been slow going, hit or miss, as a few choices have died immediately.

Ixnay, the phlox. Canterbury Bells are questionable, and the Purple Cone Flower, hmmm, not looking too healthy.


Now it is the end of the season. My solar fountain works great as long as it gets full sun on the panel (silly me didn't ask for a night pack for my birthday along with the fountain.)

This year the petunias will get pulled up in October. All new tulips will be planted.

And I know now to plant new lilies when they come on the market.

But if you have lily tips let me know, I need all the help I can get.

Oh, and the dead thing to the left of the new garden bench is an oriental poppy that completely rocks, and then dies deader than a door nail until it's next season.

Sunflowers courtesy of the chipmunks.

Sith,

Cele