Make Our Garden Grow

We have been in Richmond 1 year --- and we're not moving this summer!! I cannot describe to you how happy we both are to not be in the midst of packing and unpacking, address changes, setting up services, learning about new grocery stores and communities, adjusting the pets to their new surroundings, etc.

Instead, we spent the spring and early part of the summer doing one of our favorite "together" activities -- gardening! We are currently renting our house so we did not buy any bushes or trees or anything too expensive. However, the little annuals at Home Depot add instant color at a pretty cheap price. I do not mean to be biased but in the late spring, we had one of the prettiest yards in our neighborhood!

This is the front bed. We planted Pansies last November for some Autumn color and they survived the winter and had a glorious comeback in the spring. We also have a Clematis going up the lamp pole. Behind the bed (where you just see mulch) are 5 Hyacinth, 20 Crocus, and 10 Tulips bulbs. They came and went in the early spring.

This bed is in our front yard but off to the side. We planted 20 tulips here and had 100% success -- take THAT little bunnies and squirrels! We could see this bed every time we passed our front door and it made even the inside of our house seem cheery! Tulips are one of my favorite flowers and I have always wanted them in my yard. While I did not like digging the holes on a cold November day and in ground that was partially frozen, the results made me forget all of that!















These two beds are right next to the front of the house. The bed on the left has 3 Hosta plants, 6 orange Marigolds, and 2 Mums (we planted the mums last November as they are perennials). The bed on the right has 3 Daisy plants, 3 Snapdragons, 2 Rose Bushes (old world roses), and 2 Asters.

This bed is right below our bedroom windows in the front of the house. We planted these flowers the weekend of our anniversary and it has made a HUGE difference. Before the flowers, this area of the yard was just weeds and would not respond to either new grass seed or weed killer. So -- we planted 32 Petunias, 32 Vinca and 8 Lamb's Ear. And voila - Instant Makeover!

We also have the following: a Hybrid Tea Rose, Lantenna, Geraniums, Spearmint and Peppermint, a Gerber Daisy, and a Hydrangea. All of these plants (except for the Rose and the Hydrangea) are in containers up and down the side walk. Like I said -- we have on of the prettiest front yards in the neighborhood!