Monday, April 29, 2013

Anatomy of a garden shed

We already had a two-car garage and a basement. Still, yard and garden storage was inadequate for our needs. So...a few years ago we had a garden shed built.

 The garden shed sits down toward the fencerow. We put shutters on the window and will put a window box of flowers below the window as soon as it's warm enough for our annuals to go out. The old green wheelbarrow is full of soil, and it also will be planted with annuals soon.


 Here's a front view of the shed. The entry ramp is made of wood.


I opened the door to give you a peek. Next, a more detailed look at how we use our garden shed.


 A ladder, watering cans, and birdhouses -  making the most use of the space available


 Our tiller, and a snowblower - put away for a long time, I hope!


 A workbench, mainly used to hold items


 A wall of tools


 Hoses, rose cones, and a spreader


 A bag of extra pine needles, which I have now removed from the shed and spread in the garden


 A stack of buckets, tomato cages, and a dolly with two plastic bins on it
One of the plastic bins is full of leaves. Why? Well, as a composter I have few carbon sources over the summer, so I've saved some.


 Speaking of compost, I've been turning it and am pleased to see it's decomposing well.


The creeping phlox are just beginning to bloom. One thing I like about spring is that every day holds possible surprises in the garden. Another good surprise for me: the epimedium I thought perished over the hot and dry summer of 2012 is coming up.

I hope you enjoyed peeking inside my garden shed. It's an invaluable asset to this gardener!


Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Arctic blasts, a thing of the past

Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring! The garden is awakening, with lots of green foliage appearing, and quite a few spring blooms showing themselves.

We have about 600 daffodils; some are blooming and some will bloom in the next week or two.

These are among my favorites of the daffodils. I cut this large clump of flowers to enjoy inside after photographing it.

 The Chinodoxa (Glory of the snow) positively glow purple.


 Hyacinths will be in their full glory soon.


 Loving these little blue Siberian Squill.


 A late April look at the cottage garden. I really like the contour of the path. Toward the back of the photo, what looks like a large raised bed is actually our berry patch. Farther back is the horse pasture, and behind that, homes that we can only see when the trees' leaves are gone.


 Our border gardens and the triangle garden; also a close-up of the berry patch and our two-bin composter


A view of the bluebird house, our garden shed (and our neighbor's as well), and the pasture and barn


 Sleepy puppy!


Josey's beard color is a little brown, but not as brown as it looks in this photo. It's the sun shining in that makes it look that way.

Spring has come and with that LOTS of good things. Hope the Arctic blasts are a thing of the past in your area as well!

Linking to Fertilizer Friday at Tootsie Time


Tuesday, April 16, 2013

New in the garden

I think spring has arrived. Seems like I've been waiting forever! As a (primarily) garden blogger, I have been really short on material to photograph over the past few months. But now, there is something new in the garden. I'm excited!

Do your hellebores hang their heads, or is it just the cultivars I grow here at Sunsplash Gardens?


 They are so pretty, but I did have to lift the flower up to photograph (and see) it!


Love this delicate bloom. It reminds me of an apple blossom.


 The daffodils are just beginning to bloom. Last year I dug and gave away many daffodils, as I had about 800 and felt I could spare a few!


 Siberian Squill - a true blue flower


 Striped Squill, also known as Puschkinia scilloides




 There are lots of these (dandelions) in the gardens already. I need to have a dig-fest before they bloom and go to seed. There is a pasture with many dandelions behind our home, so keeping on top of the dandelions is an ongoing task.


Also new to the garden: my rain barrels. I am so happy to have these, and it sounds as if they may take on some rainwater tomorrow. For more information on rain barrels, click here.

I hope you are enjoying spring in your area too.





LinkWithin

Related Posts with Thumbnails