Mine grows on the side of a mountain.

Does this count as progress?

side garden bed progress

I extended the garden bed to connect to the patio (there was this weird awkward space). Then I transplanted a choked out azalea from the mailbox area and filled in with some annuals. The plan is to have marigolds all the way down (see them at the very bottom too?).

I couldn’t bring myself to take true before pictures, but trust me, it was ugly. This year I want to do something a little different involving rows of veggies as well as some flowers. If you want to see what I did last year, check out this post. I swear in a few weeks this area will resemble a garden instead of a landfill.

The herb garden off the patio is greening up (lavender, rosemary from last year) and new basil, parsley, and thyme. Creeping Jenny in the way back there starting to liven up a bit as well. I think I’ll add some creeping myrtle (free cuttings from neighbors!)

herb garden start

I finally started work on a legitimate retaining wall as well. Brick laying is no joke. Then I started in hauling rocks up the hill to line the driveway as a temporary solution to an annoying mulch overflow problem. But I may end up liking it, we’ll see. Stacking bricks had me getting flash backs to my patio construction.

After getting my masonry on, I managed to also re-plant the mailbox area. I tried a new mulch, and I think I might hate it. “Pine Bark Mini Nuggets” are usually me preference- both color and shape wise- but I have so much sloping land that they really don’t stay in place. So I decided to give the shredded variety a go…it looks blah. What do you think? What kind of mulch do you use?

mailbox plantings

I know it’s still really rough, it took me all day yesterday to do this. Sad, huh? Still holding off on planting most of my edibles because of the unpredictable weather. How goes it by you?

4 Responses

  1. Tyler J. McCall (@tylerjmccall)

    Yay gardening! But boo unpredictable weather – did you see we have snow in the forecast for Thursday?! As far as mulch goes, we don’t have any around our place…BUT, my parents us pine needle mulch for their flower beds and it looks great. The color is dark, which I like, and it helps your flowers and greenery stand out against it. And you get a lot for your money – one bail is really full of needles. It’s also really fluffy and pretty much goes wherever you want it.

    Reply
  2. Janet

    Actually, it is looking great! I may or may not have seen it at it’s worse though. I think the mulch looks great. I am trying to get Papa Evans to change to river rock. It takes a lot more to wash or blow away! The soaker hose is a GREAT idea for that mountain area too!

    But the best is that retaining wall. And with the rock edging I think it looks awesome!

    Reply
  3. mary fran

    I think it looks great too. I have to transplant some things soon, but since I am in Pittsburgh and we are still in WINTER MODE (Ugh) I haven’t been able to do any thing outside! I am ready to scream!!
    We use black mulch…our house is gray w/white trim so it really looks nice. We have this long mulch bed down the driveway that has very inhospitable soil. I planted some grasses there and they did really well. We used a product called Eco Boarder. It’s made from recycled tires and is very durable. It looks great. And we didn’t have to dig to put it in. It is L shaped and you drive the spikes through the holes and cover with mulch! TADA—New edging!!
    Can’t wait to see when the plants grow in.

    Reply
  4. _emily_rose

    I just use a hardwood mulch. It’s shredded like this is, but it’s a lot darker in color, a lot like the mini pine bark nuggets. The shredded and hardwood mulch also decomposes faster, so it’s better for amending your soil and making healthy plants, and is not as acidic as the pine bark. It’s a catch 22 since it does disappear, but at my new house the plan is to compost and mulch for a few years, then plant groundcovers ;)

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