Figured I would play along as well! We built our own home from 2009-2011, so this is our first spring in the new house. Needless to say, I'm mostly starting from scratch. I've got a 35x10-ish flower bed in the backyard that I'm fencing the dogs out of today, a 16x2 flowerbed along the front porch, a raised flower/shrub bed that needs some serious fixing, and a 30x40ish veggie garden that we're working on.

About half of my perennials I've grown using wintersowing (wintersown.org) and they're looking really good this year (their 2nd year) so far. The rest of the perennials are either gifts from friends or relatives thinning their own beds, or from the clearance rack at Lowes.

Pics forthcoming, although the only thing blooming right now is a pink catchfly my 6 year old gave me for mother's day last year.

Finally getting pics uploaded!
This is one side of my covered porch. Everything except for the dianthus was started from seed last year. I've got snapdragons, jacobs ladder, and foxglove?? in there.


This is the other side. A mixture of burning bush and spirea (all from lowe's clearance)


My back flower bed. It's about 35x10, and in desperate need of weeding.


The veggie garden!!! 40x40ish


and my red-neck greenhouse:

Looking good, can't wait to follow the progress. Lol at the redneck greenhouse! Whatever works!

foxglove is toxic to dogs. i love it but will not plant it.
but man would i love to have a veggie garden that size! love the redneck green house.

that particular bed is not in the part of the yard that the dogs ever go in (front, non-fenced part) but I really don't remember what it actually is! I'm hoping it blooms this year so i can identify it. We're trying to figure out what grows well in our soil, and as we do that the veggie garden will probably get progressively bigger.

I also have 2 hanging baskets of sugar snap peas.

im still doing the trial and error on our yard, so far i have not been able to get lavender to come back tried 2 yrs now and after every winter (even a mild one this yr) and still no luck, going to try a garden center lavender this yr and not a home depot one and see if i have better luck.... i also cant get delphiniums to grow
cant wait to help you figure out what you have coming back this yr!

You probably need a different variety of lavendar. I think I have hidcote blue. It's zone 4 hardy. "True" Lavender is only zone 5 hardy I think. Mine are all started from seed, and on their 3rd year now. They weren't too hard to start, but they do take quite awhile to germinate.

SOOO much work left to do in my back flower bed. I've got almost half of it weeded, and the other half is still a jungle.

This side is done:


This side is not


However, despite the choking weeds, my irises are starting to bloom! (and there's a partially finished chicken coop in the background!)


Mothers Day presents!



The results from my redneck greenhouse


And the wintersown veggies


Sunflowers are around 4in tall in the milkjugs


I gave in and bought a flat of veggie plants since my tomatos didn't make it, but I also picked up more squash (don't know why with all I already have started!?), cukes, and eggplant!

i love irises but im sure you figured that out!

i love all your seed growing. i went and bought 2 cherry tomatoes and some parsley the other week that i did not start from seed, some times we just have to

so will you just cut open the milk jugs when they are big enough? i want to see a pic of that chicken coop!

That's one serious flower bed and veggie garden! I wish I could have a veggie garden that size but I probably would kill half of what I planted!

I don't think your greenhouse is/was redneck...I think that was smart of you to think it up and use what you already have! Maybe I'm going to do that with Ginger old crate that we got from the rescue that she absolutely hates that nobody wants!!!! it splits in half, so I can make TWO 'redneck' greenhouses for next season! (Jenn, wanna borrow it??)

jbealer wrote:

so will you just cut open the milk jugs when they are big enough? i want to see a pic of that chicken coop!

They're actually already cut around 1/3 of the way up, on 3 sides so they can kind of hinge open. They're zip-tied shut because of all the wind and sporadic frost we were/are getting. You can learn all about it at wintersown.org if you're interested. It works phenomenally for starting perrenials and hardy annuals too!.

Here's the coop so far. My husband is lamenting how "elaborate" it is....I just think that it's going to be mostly well thought out and functional.

Well, the coop is about to change! I talked my husband into 2 more chicks, so the lower right roof section has to come off, and we're going to extend the floor out the side and then re-roof it with a less agressive pitch so we have enough space. It's going to be worth it for these cute little stinkers though!

gladahmae wrote:

Finally getting pics uploaded!
This is one side of my covered porch. Everything except for the dianthus was started from seed last year. I've got snapdragons, jacobs ladder, and foxglove?? in there.


This is the other side. A mixture of burning bush and spirea (all from lowe's clearance)


My back flower bed. It's about 35x10, and in desperate need of weeding.


The veggie garden!!! 40x40ish


and my red-neck greenhouse:

I am loving the redneck green house and am stealing the idea.