BlueStar is Doing Well

So far, the Blue Star Creeper seems to be doing well! Well, if my dog would stop digging it up:)

I planted 34 little guys in a diagonal design between the bricks. BSC is allegedly a very aggressive ground cover, so I am hoping that it will really take off this spring and summer. If not, I can always buy a few more. Here is a look at the over all patio after it was weeded, the BSC was planted and some hostas, ice plant and solar lights were added:

It is not nearly as stunning as it was when it was first built, but now the bricks and dirt are even, and things have settle in to where they will be. I love the round solar lights, I actually got them at Wal-mart for $4 a piece. They have a very bright glow to them.

Weeding for your Soul

I have spent the past week weeding my patio. I know that sounds a little bizarre, but years ago, during college and before full time work, I had the brilliant idea of planting a patio of bricks and grass. I It worked out great when I was dating a landscaper... but I alone was unable to maintain the space. So, now I am trying to find a ground cover that will thrive, and keep out the weeds! Here is what it originally looked like:

So now, imagine how that looked after 4 years of letting it go after a drought. Yeah, it is really a sobering thought to look at how beautiful it once was. Oh well, life happens. When you can't water, what's a girl to do?

So now I am on a mission to re claim my yard. Starting with the upper half (my dad refers to the area below the retaining walls as the lower 40... so I guess we can call the top half the upper 20?)

My first task was getting the weeds pulled, adding some dirt to level out the space between the pavers, and planting a ground cover. I purchased 34 blue star creepers at the Grower's Outlet last week, and have them in the ground now. The last time I tried to do this, I split the creeper up, so every "intersection" of dirt had a plant. Unfortunately I planted in October, and we had a hard winter, and plenty of leaves that I neglected to blow. Now I am planting in the Spring... and have no leaves to fear for a few months.

Hope it works!

Dead Battery

Today was a bit of a bummer! I decided to pull out my new cordless drill and put together my other raised bed.... only to realize I had a dead battery! I got the boards together... but there are screws hanging out all over the place.

Hopefully after a night on the charger I will be back in business. On a side note, it is time for the annual spring cleaning of my yard. My truck is loaded down with 12 bags of Scott's Dark Brown Mulch... and some new pruning sheers.

Exciting stuff! Before and after pictures to follow!

In the Ground!

Hooray! After the Garden Pest found something else to play with, I was able to get all of my plants in the ground. Here is a picture:You can see to the left where the next raised bed will be going. The two plants in the cages in the middle are my tomatos, with herbs flanking them. The taller herbs are towards the middle and back of the bed, while the ground cover style herbs are closer to the front and outside edges.

Garden Pest

My #$%* dog now has a new nickname, the Garden Pest. Today I was trying to get my plants in the ground, get the other bed frame together, and take some pictures at the same time. I got everything I needed together and in a chair in the backyard. I had forgotten my screws, so I ran back inside for no more than 5 minutes, and came back to find a guilty looking dog... and a camera with teeth marks all over it! After I threw a fit, I realized my camera still worked... and it was my fault for leaving such a tempting treat within his reach.

So I got over it and started mixing up my dirt. All 6 bags went into my bed,with room to spare. I again had to run grab something from another location, and came back in the back to find the GP elbow deep in my bed! He was covered in black, stinky dirt. Since I had caught him in the act, I scolded him. He quickly darted to another side of the yard.

Here he is sulking:

Needless to say, in his mind it is his backyard... so anything I bring back there must be for him, right? I have a feeling my raised bed is going to have to fight to survive!

Selecting the Plants, and the Dirt!

Today my mother and I took a trip out to the Growers Outlet in Snellville. The GO is one of my favorite places to buy plants. They are always healthy, priced very low, and seem to be very well aclimated to GA's soil and weather conditions. I ended up getting some herbs (cilantro, basil, oregano, rosemary, lavender), two tomato plants (roma and beefsteak) and two bell peper plants. Everything cost about $15.

The soil is a little different story! I have been searching the internet for months trying to find the "perfect" soil mix for a raised bed. I haven't found anything! (and of course I bought the plants before I bothered getting dirt!) After speeking with a very helpful gentleman at Home Depot, I ended up buying a bag of Nature's Helper, a bag of Mushroom Compost, 3 bags of topsoil and a bag of Miracle Grow Moisture Control Garden Soil (what can I say- I am a sucker for advertising and they have had some good ads!).

I got everything home and was ready to plant until I realized we were under a tornado watch. So my husband, mother and I quickly unloaded the car, and called it a night.

So I Decided to Build a Garden

I decided last fall that this season I was going to create two raised beds in my yard. I have a mischevious dog who loves to get into anything I am planting, so hopefully this will be a good way for me to keep him out and the plants in! I bought two 2"x12"x12' foot boards from my local Lowes, and had them cut the boards into 4 pieces each. I then took 2" screws and fastened one bed together.

You can see the frame has been nicely weathered since last October when I put it outside. the other boards have not been put together yet, I figured I should start with one, and see how it goes. I used untreated wood because there seemed to be some debate online about if the chemicals in the treated wood would seep into your garden or not.