The weather on Sunday turned out to be nicer than I expected and as a result, I spent most of the day outside moving rocks. I know, pretty exciting stuff, right? I was originally going to install a brick border, but decided it against it after I tallied up how much the project would cost {about $300}.
I think sometimes we forget how much of a difference we can make in our yards {and our homes} if we just put our wallet away and get down on our hands and knees and clean the place up a bit. Moving rocks and widening a path is free, so is rearranging and dividing up perennials.
I’m on a strict $100 a month landscaping budget this year and I really want to make every penny count. SO if digging up rock and moving them to higher ground and into a new design saves me some money, that’s what I am going to do.
This morning I received an email from Raintree Nursery informing me my blueberry and raspberry bushes along with my strawberry plants have shipped. If all goes well, they should arrive tomorrow. Which means, I’ll need to go back outside today and finish up my mini herb/vegetable garden area today so my plants don’t end up sitting in a box all week and drying out. Luckily, I know where I want to plant everything.
Oh, and on Sunday, I planted 2 more leland cypress tress. Don’t tell anyone. 😉
What do you think these are? Mini irises?
And last but not least, check out the flat of lettuce I started from seed under grow lights a few weeks ago. It’s almost ready!
How is YOUR garden coming along these days? Got the itch to get out there and dig yet?
~Mavis
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Crystal says
I think that looks like a Japanese Iris my mom has in her yard, at least thats what she calls them. Hers are only white though. The purple is beautiful!
Lisa says
They may be dwarf iris, Iris recticulata, I don’t think they are Japanese iris, although I am not an iris expert! The way they are growing isn’t the usual iris clumping, but if they were just planted last fall they might look like this the first spring.
My garden? Nothing yet, I keep putting off my pea planting. Our weather is too warm for Feb. so things are all thrown off.
Diana says
Looks like it might be Siberian Iris? Did you check with the HOA about moving your rocks? LOL…
Kevin Wilson says
Iris reticulata is the usual species for the those very early mini ones. There’es also a yellow kind, Iris danfordiae. I love them both.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iris_reticulata
Both Siberian and Japanese iris are much later – our Siberians are in full force in June.
Teri says
You are blessed to live where you can garden in February! Beautiful purple Iris — possibly a “dutch iris” if it is mini in height.
Connie Wheeler says
I’m a wildflower nut !!! I have property with fields, timber, creek, bogs so I’ve gone over about every inch to collect what I have here in a collection book as well as moving some to areas around the house.
Here are the three types of Iris identified in the PNW. They can all hybridize with each other to produce different colors, etc. I have moved them into my shade gardens where they will do very well. They kinda form a bigger and bigger clump every year with the middle dying out. Need to dig up and replant every now and then I suppose.
Iris douglasiana | Douglas’s iris | Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest
IridaceaeIris douglasiana Douglas’s Iris Large, upright, aggressive clumps. Stems sometimes branched. Leaves evergreen, dull dark green with red base, to 1 in. wide…
View on http://www.pnwflowers.com
Iris missouriensis | Rocky Mountain iris | Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest
IridaceaeIris missouriensis Rocky Mountain Iris Stem erect, with few, short, grass-like leaves. Rhizomes stout, covered with old leaf bases.
View on http://www.pnwflowers.com
Iris tenax | toughleaf iris | Wildflowers of the Pacific Northwest
IridaceaeIris tenax Toughleaf Iris Erect flower stems shorter than grass-like leaves. Leaves bright green with red to pink base, deciduous, to 14 inches tall in tig…
View on http://www.pnwflowers.com
Ali says
Still waaaay too cold to garden here, temp barely above freezing atm.
Lots of planning though for my garden and my allotment 🙂
Cecily says
I’ll be planting peas in the next couple of days and starting peppers this weekend. Yay, so glad it’s February!
Vy says
One of the joys of moving is watching the property unfold over the course of a year. Here’s to lots of surprise spring bulbs!
Lisa says
The most exciting thing I found in my yard when I moved in was a bed of asparagus! Then so many of the shrubs turned out to be ones I wanted anyway, like lilac, flowering quince, and forsythia. And a twiggy tree is a small plum!
Melissa says
Will you eat the lettuce like that, or will you plant it outside? I’m wondering if I could grow some lettuce inside under lights and eat it without ever planting it outdoors. Thoughts?
Cecily says
I grow flats of mixed lettuce/greens in my greenhouse and I just clip off the top of the plants leaving an inch or two left. They will regrow in a couple weeks and you can harvest again, just keep them watered and make sure you have a nutritious growing medium. I’ve been harvesting baby lettuce since December and I expect to continue until it gets too hot, about June.
sarah says
just finalizing my plan to order seeds. with the way the snow keeps coming I have a long time before i’ll see anything but white in the gardens.
Lisa Millar says
Love your rock path!! Good choice to reuse what you have… altho it is hard work! We are forever moving rocks around our property! Luckily the previous owners left lots for us to play with!!
That iris is gorgeous!