Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh it is that time of year when i must plant my flowers on Washington Island. I have two porch planters, 3 half barrels in the yard and of course the large septic garden. The last one sounds less than fun by its name, but actually it is a garden we have made around our three septic covers for our new septic system that was installed when we remodeled the house.It is really is pretty and a labor of love ,as we found small stones to surround it and built it up with some wood borders behind the stone so is now a little spot of color in the yard when the flowers bloom.It looks like it has always been there - which is a sign that we did good! In the side yard are beautiful wildflower Trillium's in white and pink. They are a delicate endangered wildflower that is prevalent in Wisconsin and Michigan. They are flowering around our Michigan property as well...beautiful so beautiful!
The remodel is a whole other story- the remodeling we did a few years ago I mean .It was the typical we started with... we need a: second wheelchair accessible bathroom , laundry room , siding , porch and new roof and we ended up with... the unexpected add-ons of :getting a new septic system due to the additional bathrooms ,replacing all the windows and doors (when they did the siding),building up a second story on the 2nd bathroom+laundry room+new dining room( enlarged the room a bit to do all three) to build on a master bath and closet area upstairs. So we ended up with practically a new house but it was for our retirement so a good investment!! The house is over 100 years old so needed some updates. The builder we used for the remodel found a math school book from 1933 in one of the walls we repalced- i call that treasure! Somebody must have not wanted to complete their homework...what do you think?!
Anyway back to my flowers... I made a vow to plant as few annuals as possible as it is such a waste of money and has to redone every year. So i was on my hunt for Perennials this year. I did cheat a bit however as i did buy 2 flats of petunias as they do so well in the damp island climate and splash so much color to into the yard-- you can even see them from Main Road in front of our house so that is fun. And most importantly, they take on a lot of neglect from me( much better than my former geraniums and marigolds) as we are only up for weekends and so they go without watering during the week. They spread out and create their own ground cover and i think that is why they thrive here.We do have an amazing friend Mike however, who helps me out with watering them on weeks we cannot come up due to a wedding or bad weather etc... I always say they grow despite me!!! I do NOT enjoy gardening... just enjoy the color those flowers produce. My dad was a real "green thumb" planter but i call myself "the pirate of planting"- the "black thumb" of the family.I always say "i do kids and animals NOT plants"- you won't find an indoor live plant at my house! I once was given a small potted plant from a neighborhood friend Todd, for my office when i was working, and I did not realize it was real until it died( as it had a cute little stuffed bird on a wire in it)!! Get the picture now!
Well i planted all the areas and now they look so pretty with yellow,orange, red, white, and light and dark purple. I have Mums, Daisy Mums, Petunias, Tickle seed(love that name) and Salvia for the most part ,plus the perennials i planted last year that came up in the septic garden like some bright yellow Tiger Lilies that will bloom later, i hope. So just my porch planters have annuals in them. I did accomplish making the barrels and 3/4 of the septic garden perennials! Yeah for that- less waste and spending next year!!! I will learn enough about perennials next year to hopefully eliminate the petunias as annuals eventually and go with flowering perennials to replace them. But i was a good girl and my job is done.I started at about 3pm and ended at 8pm- yup 5 hours by the time i prepared the soil , planted and mulched them all!! (I will be stiff tomorrow i thought to myself!)It just statred to rain as i put away my garden tools in the garage. Wasn't that polite of God to put off the rain for little ol'me!! Now i just hope they continue to grow despite me!!he he
My brother Gary gave me a tomato planter this year. It is made to hang up outside and you plant the tomato plants into the holes he cut on the sides and then water it from the top which is covered with a removable wood cover with a spout in it. The tomatoes actually grow downwards from the planter so as to avoid any "animal tasters". This should be interesting. I no doubt will forget to water them but will try my hardest to keep up with them. I am planting little yellow plum tomatoes - my favorite!! I used to eat these from my Grandma Florence's garden ,so they bring lots of good childhood memories back of tasty summer treats! Grandma and Teddy( my step grandpa) were "master gardeners" so we will see if mine hold up to theirs?!
Happy Spring to you all.....even if the temps are still in the 60's!!
P.S. I am planting no annuals at home, however, my beautiful perennial bushes of Peonies are blooming at present so i have a pink and white polka dot side yard at present!!They smell just like roses! They grow without any help from me!!Thank goodness...
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