Garden Friday

Welcome to Garden Friday,

where we share what's growing in our Zone 7b garden.

The strawberries have been juicy and sweet,

with more on the way!

It makes dealing with the heat all worth it!

 

 

A couple of weeks ago,

sister and I worked on creating some garden spaces at her townhome.

We planted up two tall boxes in her driveway.

I never tire of sedum,

and this chartreuse color really pops against the darker geranium leaves.

 

Hostas are one of her favorite plants,

so we found some shade-lovers for her backyard,

which doesn't get a lot of sun.

 

Coleus and this grassy plant

filled out two other containers

and share space on her back patio.

I adore the color of these containers.

This was phase one of a multi-phase project.

Can't wait to get back there to work on it again.

 

 Back at home,

it's trellis time!

Cattle panel arches were added to several beds,

in hopes that melons and squash will enjoy climbing the frame.

We do have melon, watermelon and pumpkin already germinated.

With rain predicted for later today,

I'm hoping that the seedlings will take off!

Straw bales have been added to several areas

and the conditioning process should be completed by Tuesday,

when we will begin to plant okra, squash and cucumbers.

I'm reusing the stake-a-cage supports I made a few years ago.

Here's how I did it.

 

The mailbox bed has a few gaps that I'm hoping to fill in.

The irises look lovely and the yarrow is starting to take off,

but I'd like to find something lower for the front of the bed.

Any suggestions for full sun?

 

The salvia in the front porch bed need to be divided.

The goal is to add more interest,

so putting these elsewhere in the garden will give me room

to find some other interesting specimens for the pollinators to enjoy.

 

The California poppy has been a prolific bloomer since early last month.

The bright pop of color really catches your eye.

 

In the same bed, this sunflower surprised me.

No doubt I have the squirrels to thank for this,

as I don't remember planting any sunflowers this close to the house.

It's far ahead of the other sunflowers that I have started,

so it'll be an extra early sign of summer.

 

The spider wort is so gorgeous first thing in the morning.  

By midday, it has closed up all of its blooms.

I look forward to seeing this each morning as the chooks are let out of the coop.

The front porch bed is going to be retooled.

I need to remove some of the salvia

and have already dug up some of the rudbeckia,

to make room for other sun-loving plants that I want to add.

Still, it's a welcoming sight to come home to.

 

The bird bath in the center of the picture

(really just a repurposed plant saucer),

is going to be replaced by a friend's custom ceramic vessel.

I can hardly wait to see it and put it in place.

She is a talented artist and I know I'll just love it.

I bet the birds will too!

What changes are you making in your garden?