DJ and I decided we're too mentally burned out to further evolve the landscape plan I drew up over the winter. The sod was in, the bulbs popping up... and a lot left to do. So far, here's about all that was up:
Inviting, yes?
This weekend we took advantage of a local nursery's 15% off bare-root stock sale. Bare root bushes and shrubs are essentially sticks, with bare roots attached instead of root balls. They're cheaper, easier to plant, and generally do better in the long run.
Did I mention they are cheaper?
We put in three bushes in front of the house, all of them dwarf varieties so that they don't overpower the house someday.
A dwarf dogwood, which has red stems for nice color in the winter, on the far west corner. It'll look like this when it branches out:
In the middle, near the stairs, we planted a dwarf spirea, which looks like this in the summer, and whose leaves turn yellow in the fall:
On the right, near the driveway, we planted a burning bush, which turns a bright red in the fall. I'm all about fall color!
Harlow, of course, watched intently between chewing grass and ripping up pieces of sod. Seriously, we're going to need to overseed and fertilize our lawn. No aeration needed, thank you puppy.
I also bought a hydrangea stick. I say stick because, well, right now it really is only a stick. It's planted near the dining room window in the driveway. I'm a little worried that it won't get enough sun, but I can always transplant it later. I think hydrangeas struggle in intense heat? Anyway, you probably know by now that I love Hydrangeas.
The raspberry bush looks similarly like sticks. Four sticks, without any foliage or color, just sticking out of the ground between our driveway and the neighbors. Hopefully something comes up, because I want to be able to run outside for fresh raspberries all summer!
We're also waiting for the City to come out and plant our Branden Elm tree in the boulevard (free!). DJ planted two aspens on Sunday, which we got a screaming deal on. Two for one cupon, and the store scanned the wrong plants... we got $120 worth of aspens for $17!
So here's what we have in the ground now:
And how are some of those plants in the ground doing, you ask? Well... Some are pushing up, like these Irises from the lake:
While other lake-irises have had to survive being pulled out by an inquisitive puppy:
Some of the hyacinths are up, and blooming, to the point of being a nice snack for an interested puppy:
The crocus near the front steps shared the hyacinth's fate.
That damn dog better not eat my tulips! I think they're poisionous to dogs?
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