Finally -- Ready for Planting!

My newly expanded front beds are ready for planting!  That was my number one goal for this weekend - and despite a rather reduced weekend time frame, Red and I got it done on Sunday.  Yay!!

Friday night we stayed up much much too late - and Saturday morning we set the alarm for 6 to be at Living Earth Technologies by the time they opened at 7:30 a.m.  Translation:  Great efforts were made to be there before a line formed (fail) and to get a jump start on supplies for the beds.  (Fail.)  I had called LIT on Friday about pricing for bagged compost and mulch.  The lady was very patient, giving me tons of prices, and very informative about what the types were.  Unfortunately, she failed to mention that they were sold out of all bagged product.  Yes - we got up early, drove, waited in line, only to be turned away.  I was unhappy.  Okay, I was really grumpy.  Should I have asked if they had it in stock?  Perhaps.  But in my defense, their website said it was available, and well -- if I were answering the phones, looking out the window at the supply yard -- I would have mentioned that the item the customer was inquiring about wasn't currently available.  But hey - that's just me.  I obviously do not work there.  : )

Anyway -- I did some competitor supplier research, and Sunday morning Red met me at Redenta's with his truck.  Redenta's carries the LIT products that I wanted to buy.  Now the prices are a little higher per bag, but I get a 10% neighborhood discount and if you buy more than 20 bags, the price drops $1 per bag.  And it's less than 2 miles from my house, not 12.  So in the spirit of really wanting to finish the project, and continuing my efforts to support local, independent businesses, I was happy enough to buy what I needed there.  And, they were able to sell me some soil amendments to fix my alkaline soil issue.  And so 32 bags later...

Soil Amendments

Almost immediately after unloading the truck we went to get lunch.  : )  (I have a bad habit of getting caught up in projects on Sundays and not eating.  Thank you to Red for reminding me that food really should be a priority - especially with the amount of labor we were facing...)

We tilled.  We sprinkled.  We raked.  We bagged. We tilled again.  We hoisted bags, emptied bags,trimmed trees and shrubs  We located elusive sprinkler heads (without damaging any!)  And, we did not encounter any snakes.  And finally, we mulched extensively.

I don't know how many hours that took... but it was several.  Then I edged and mowed... and...

Here's the left side:

It's difficult to see in this photo, and once again I neglected to take before and after photos, but I "raised the canopy" on that row of shrubs.  I also did sort of a poor pruning job on that big rosemary bush...

And then here is the right side:

I've since decided that I need to put the dark mulch around the tree base as well. I was going to leave it as is, but... no.

It's hard to describe how liberating it was to finally till and weed the back part of this bed.  I'd been wanting to spiff up this bed for many months, but I knew that there were lots of pieces and parts to the project and that it would require substantial time.  But it feels so. much. better.  And the trees and shrubs will be so. much. happier. with the soil around them aerated and fertilized!  There is still some hard work on this side remaining:  I have a couple of sprinkler heads that need to be unearthed (see those 2 red flags?) -- they are both almost a foot below dirt level!  And I still have the leak in the outdoor spigot pipe - that's under the window there.  And, some labor but a fun end result -- I need to dig a hole for the water resevoir for my fountain!  It will go somewhere in this bed.  Okay, so I bought the fountain in OCTOBER.  But I have changed my mind several times about where I want it -- backyard, frontyard, etc. -- so it's probably good that I didn't put it in place immediately!  (Queen of Rationalization Crown firmly affixed.)

I really wanted to get plants in the ground as well, but I just plain ran out of daylight.  And then I wanted to at least set them out in pots, staging them where I thought they might go, but honestly, I was worried someone would steal them.  I know... that's irrationally crazy... but it's true.  And really, I need to write down what plants I have, and their sun requirements, and how tall they will get so that I can give them their best placement.  I hope to do that list today, and plant tomorrow evening.  Theoretically the planting should go really fast because the soil is recently tilled and ready to go.  Just make a hole, and drop them in.  SO.  EXCITED.

I also bought some supplies to make some really cool plant markers that will LAST.  But that's another post.  : )

This morning dog and I set out for our morning walk, and I'll admit:  Stepping out into the front yard was akin to returning to the scene of the crime.  But it sure did look beautiful out there -- and smelled yummy like great soil.  : )   GEEK.  Happy.

DIY Soil Testing

This past weekend I was ready to amend and till the soil in my new beds in front.  I read about a DIY soil test to determine if my soil is alkaline or acidic.  (I'll give credit where credit is due:  http://www.thriftyfun.com/tf85637370.tip.html ) 

You can follow the link and read for yourself, but roughly the technique is this:

Scoop up some soil and put it in 2 cups.  (If you want to you can scoop from topsoil and from a few inches below the surface and mix them together.)

To the first cup add 1/2 cup vinegar.  To the second cup add 1/2 cup baking soda, and then a 1/2 cup water.

If the vinegar one fizzes, your soil is alkaline.  If the baking soda one fizzes, your soil is acidic.

I did the vinegar one first, and went to my pantry to get the baking soda.  Before I got back, the glass with vinegar had fizzed over the top like a souffle, and all over my counter!   (Note:  conduct this test outdoors... lol)   I guess I got my answer...

Nothing at all happened with the baking soda glass.

More Flower Bed Progress

I had an amazing day in the yard yesterday!  The weather was so comfortable for mid-May that I had to pinch myself and wonder if I was really in Dallas...

I finished digging up the sod on the left half of the front yard, and gave a sidewalk full of tidy squares of beautiful sod to a neighbor in need.  I had no expectations of finishing the left side, but I surprised myself.  I think it was due to easier digging because of our recent rains, and the moderate temperatures.  I even got my tiller out and tilled the bed when I was done!  I was pleased to realize that with some redistribution of the soils in the bed, that I really am not short that much volume.  I think I can just amend the soil a bit and have plenty of depth for planting.  I will need quite a bit of mulch, though.

Ta-da!  (Look, my little pecan tree is still alive under it's wire protection!)

I still need to give the existing shrubs some love - thin out the trunks down below the canopy (can shrubs have a canopy, or is that just trees?  Anyway, I need to prune them to show their legs.  Call that what you want....)

I'm starting the fun part now - thinking about what plants I can relocate to this bed!  This side of the front yard is the sunny side.  The right hand side is mostly shade.  I know I have a couple of things in the backyard that are not getting enough sun, and I'll move those.  And I have marigold seeds remaining from the marigold seed trials I am participating in - those will be planted.  I also have some onion sets from a neighbor that I may try - although it might be too late for those... I also have seeds that I've harvested from my cosmos and my calendula - certainly I will have room for more of those. 

I volunteered at The Butterfly Plant Sale at Texas Discovery Gardens this past weekend.  I forced myself to leave my debit card in my car to reduce temptation, and I managed to not buy a single thing - astonishing.  My beds weren't ready, so I used that to rationalize my good behavior.  However.... all of the inventory didn't sell, and we are having a follow up sale this Saturday!  And gee... now my front bed IS ready...  tee hee ha ha.  So I'll likely pick up a few things there.  I mean, prices will be reduced, and, well... look at that beautiful bed!  It will be good to let the soil rest for a week before planting, too...

I also plan to flip through some of my garden books and figure out some plants that will bloom or have pretty foliage throughout the year - not just in the summer - so that my entire bed doesn't die back in the Winter.  I've never made those considerations before, so that will be new territory (pun intended) for me.  I'd love any suggestions you may have.  I'm in Zone 8.  And I have pretty decent soil...

I will start digging up the right hand side this week.  It will be easier than the left side was for a variety of reasons:  (a)  It's a smaller area.  (b) I don't have to get on my hands and knees under existing shrubs to be able to reach all of the grass.  (c)  Boy, do I have the technique down to a science!

Mother's Day Garden Bouquet

I hope everyone had a relaxing Mother's Day yesterday - even if you aren't a mother!  My mother lives across the country, so I wasn't able to see her.  I did pick some flowers from my garden for a special person in my life, though, and put them into an arrangement:

It includes Blue Spires Sage (a salvia), Bachelor Buttons, Black Eyed Susans, Lavender, Bog Sage, and Brazilian Verbena.  I'm not sure which was more fun - choosing and harvesting the flowers, or delivering the finished bouquet! 

2012 Manifesto statement #21:  Grow flowers and give them away.

Flower Bed Expansion Project Progress

After having a posting on Craig's List for nearly 2 weeks offering "free St. Augustine sod - you dig it up, it's yours" without good results* I set out with my shovel on Sunday to tackle it myself.

Saturday I had a brain spark that I should make a sign reading, "FREE SOD" to put in my parkway as I dug it up, but frankly I was too lazy to actually do it.  I got up Sunday, had my coffee talk on the porch with friends, and started digging.  I lined up the squares of the (beautiful, healthy) sod on the sidewalk, with really no plan of what I would do with it but somehow assured that it would all work out.

When I had dug up two squares and laid them out on the sidewalk, the voice in my head became too loud to ignore. With a heavy sigh I put down the shovel, peeled off my gloves, took off my hat, shucked off my work boots and padded into my house in stocking feet to make a sign.

Came back out, reassembled my work attire and unceremoniously stuck the sign into the ground in my parkeway. Picked up the shovel and resumed the fun.

Literally less than 15 minutes later my neighbor from up on the corner was strolling my way, asking what in the heck I was doing.  I explained that I am steadily chipping away at my front lawn, abolishing it bit by bit.  She looked at the yard, looked at the sign, and said, "I want it."  Sweet!  I offered my wheelbarrow for transport and kept digging.  She stopped me, and pointed.  "Pull up that sign.  I want ALL of it."  Seriously?  It turns out between our rain, her many dogs, and hosting a neighborhood Easter event, her sod was shot, and she didn't have the cash to replace it.  I'm so glad I made the sign!  Win/win, I say.

Also, I will cite my 2012 Manifesto, statement #6:  Listen to the voice in your head; it may not be your own.

Digging up sod in tidy squares is not necessarily difficult, or hard work, but it is sort of slow.  I worked for a couple of hours - not exactly sure how long - and got enough squares cut out to fill two wheelbarrows heaping full.   But really, it wasn't as much coverage (uncoverage?) as I would have anticipated.  Behold, the new corner, with the new placement of border stones:

And I also dug up along the inside of the "squiggle" portion:

I knew pulling the grass out from the behind the border, allowing the contrast of the soil vs grass would give a big change visually, and I was looking forward to seeing it - i.e. validating all the hard work of rearranging the border stones 2 weeks ago! 

For this left side of the yard, here is the portion that remains to be dug up:

I MIGHT be a third of the way done with just the left side.  What you can't see in the photo is that the grass extends a few feet to the left, underneath the shrubbery...  Who needs a gym membership? 

The good news is, (or is it good news?  Perhaps not...) I am not under any deadline to finish it, other than the peer pressure of an unfinished project in my front yard.  Oh, and this Saturday is the Butterfly House semi-annual butterfly plant sale... hmmmmm.   : )

* Five different individuals wanted it, asked for and received photos.  Some even got as far as asking for my address.  One actually showed up, but didn't bring a shovel, promised to come back with help... None of them ever followed through...