Phaedra's 2023 Adventure

[Phaedra]

Several years ago, I bought two such wooden planters for the window sills, before I started DIY projects. Because they were really in bad shapes, I wanted to 'fix' them for a while. However, I stopped at the stage of 'whining.'

After reading the post from @baymule, I finally took action.

To be honest, it's really a very low quality mass production box....

They used nails to connect, but the nails weren't in the right place at all.

I tried to take out the nails with some brutal force, and then repair most corners with screws. Then, a new coating and a simple internal isolation layer were done.

It's renovated and better than ever. I got some dwarf Lisianthus plants in Lidl this morning. Their stems are extremly short and impossible to be used in flower arrangement; however, they would look lovely in the window box.

That's how it looks like from inside - now there are both long and close views for this window.

Thanks Bay, you did inspire me (and kind of kick my ass) to do something wonderful.

 

[AMKuska]

So pretty! You did a great job turning it into something sturdy and useful.

 

[baymule]

Look at you! That is a job well done! Beauty brought out of something that was ready to give up. You brought that window box back to life!

 

[Phaedra]

Another hard-working day - routine grocery in the morning, and cleaning after lunch.
DH and I used this machine to clean up the pavement area in the front yard, and did some weeding, too.

It really did a good job, and the area looked great.

Still lots to do with this corner, but we have to wait for the next step - re-painting the wall first. Only after that, I will start replanting.

Anyway, we dug out three David Austin roses. The roses will be transplanted to the other side of the front yard, where they can enjoy much more sunlight. After roses checked out, a fountain checked in - the effect met my expectation.

When I looked back what the room once was in the beginning of renovation, oh my gosh...

It's totally different universe, I will say.

 

[baymule]

I love before and after pictures! That room was a disaster!

 

[Phaedra]

I love before and after pictures! That room was a disaster!

Yes, it was. After kitchen is installed next Friday, I will make a comparison, so much different.

 

[Phaedra]

In Germany, Sunday is the so-called 'quiet day' - most of the shops are closed, and people are supposed to stay at home without creating too much noise (for example, mowing isn't allowed on Sundays or public holidays).

Usually we did have a slow and quiet morning, but the afternoon, we need to do some weekly cleaning (the coops) and like now, season of pruning.

I picked some flowers in the early morning, and we had a brunch in the garden shed.

While the toast was in the oven, I went out to pinch some fresh basil - I tried to convince DH why this is much better than a frozen pizza in many aspects.

Fruity yogurt with homemade jam

Warm milk tea

DH and I started earlier, and then DD and two dogs joined us.

After that, it was a hard-working afternoon again. We started cleaning and removing the unwanted plants and weeds from the front yard. Many house owners (like our previous one) have a 'faith' in using landscape fabric as weed barriers.

When you covered pieces of land with those fabrics, dug a hole, planted 'low maintenance' species like Ivy and Mahonia, and then piled some woodchips on the fabrics - the Overture of a nightmare started. We cleaned out several such areas - they simply needed 'extra high maintenance' after two to three years, when all kinds of weed grew through them. At the end, we also dug out some old lavenders and other plants. 'Low-maintenance' has a prerequisite - you like the plant(s). When you don't like them, planting tons of them means nothing to me.

The area was also covered with over-grown bearberry cotoneaster (a fast-growing evergreen low shrub with creeping branches) and wild roses (another nightmare). Cleaning took a lot of time.

Anyway, besides the roses we relocated from the flower bed in front of the shop, I plug in some tiny MUMs we bought from Lidl at a very price first.

And then, I brought a lot of plants propagated in the backyard to support here.

That was what we have done yesterday, and I will keep working on this area this week.

 

[flowerbug]

most perennial gardens will need some kind of refresh every few years. we just put more wood chips down and i harvest some of the humus from underneath for use in the worm buckets or in the gardens.

we don't plant ivys or other invasive plants in those gardens but yes, they can get overgrown and you can then find the weed barrier fabric under a rooted mass of other plants.

since we have large areas of crushed rinsed limestone that is now full of sand, pine tree and cedar tree residue, etc. it is being overgrown by thymes of a few kinds. some weeds may attempt to grow in there too but i normally will pull them out if i see them. to get it all back to gravel with no weeds or cover would require me to lift it all and clean out the dirt and detritus and other stuff and then put the gravel back down. that's a lot of work. i'll probably continue letting the thyme take over because the pine tree and cedar trees are not being removed so why make more work for myself?

 

[Phaedra]

After a cold and rainy week, the temperature this week would be back to normal summer again, up to 30°C/86°F. Besides, the next rain will arrive another two weeks later. I harvested some tomatoes - these three varieties were sow in April/May, and their tops were all pinched in mid-Aug.

Some orange ones are still 'baking' in the hoop tunnel.

After them, I could 'rely' on volunteer tomatoes, as there are a lot of them. Six weeks until the normal first frost, should be ok!

Dahlia 'Islander' - a late variety, usually starts to bloom in September here.

I didn't expect such an explosive blooming of dame's rocket (Hesperis matronalis), but they look gorgeous. Their capability to produce seed is monster-level prolific. I will collect the seed pods before they self-seed in late autumn.

Honeysuckle did a good climbing this year. I will say it's a worthwhile plant and not less attractive than a climbing rose. The flowering period is long, and the fruits (not edible) also have good ornamental value.

I sow some sunflower seeds in July, a Small-flower variety. I like them! The size of flowers and the long stems make them very suitable for cut flower arrangement. I will grow more of them next year.

The second flush of Delphinium also started.

Dahlia 'Café au Lait' - After removing the main stem, the flower size is much reasonable.

 

[Phaedra]

Harvest day, I love my garden, kind of do some grocery in the backyard

I cut back most of the cosmos, because they became too large. The plants in their surroundings suffered from insufficient sunlight and poor airflow. The cosmos stems became the 'extra fun' and bedding for our hens now.

So was this gigantic sunflower - I removed all flowers and leaves but kept the super robust stems - my luffa is climbing on it. As the sunlight hours are decreasing, the resource has to be prioritized.

So, they also offered me a lovely bouquet.

These belong to the hens, too.

Honeysuckles - the photo was taken under the rose arch.