Garden Hoes March Work Day

Recently we had our March work day and I was the fortunate one to receive the fruit of our labors. After a short breakfast and going over the "action plan", we set to work breaking ground for a new flower bed. The site selection was actually easier than I thought. We have three crepe myrtles that are a bear to mow around, plus there was the big rock that was a bit tricky to get over. Now we have a lovely new bed that incorporates the rock as an "architectural feature" (ha ha) and will make mowing that corner of the property a little easier and, IMHO, just looks "pretty".

Unfortunately, my "from seed" plants weren't ready to go in yet so we were only able to put in a few plants on this day. Included in the bed at this time is a Nierembergia (Cupflower), Malvaviscus arboreus (Turk's Cap), Salvia Mystic Spires Blue (supposedly a dwarf version of Salvia Indigo Spires), and a couple Amaryllis bulbs (thanks Naomi!). Also going into this bed, hopefully soon, will be Zinnia "Envy", Cerinthe (Purple Bells) and Monarda (Bee Balm). Probably a few other things will find their way there but that is the idea thus far.

In addition to the primary flower bed, we tilled up another area for turning into a bed. The area between the veggie garden and the drive-way was a full-sun area but pretty neglected looking. We laid edging for this area and got the primary till done. This past weekend, I tilled in some organic compost to raise the acidity level of this extremely basic patch of soil. All the iris bulbs I'd dug up from scraggly areas/beds that I was reinventing went into the new bed. A nice layer of mulch on top and she's done...well, almost. I still need to put down a few steps and then finish mulching the other end, but I'm quite pleased with it. Even if the poor plants don't do anything this year, I believe they will be quite happy in their new home and I'm hoping that next year... kaPOW! In the meantime, I've got a few potted plants in the bed as well. My Bulbine frutescens (Orange African Bulbine) has begun to flower in one of the pots. I still need to thin out the second pot. My Hilo Beauty Elephant Ear bulbs I was given have yet to start sprouting...

The last little bit of tilling I did for that day was over near the pond garden. Going to put a few things in the little crook of the fence and needed to soften up the ground. Have yet to decide what will go here, but...