hellebore - midnight ruffles

I've started buying 'fancy' hellebores.  This is 'Midnight Ruffles' from Green Thumbs Nursery here in Chattanooga.  It didn't bloom its first year, but has settled in, and has some pretty snazzy blooms. 

Now I need to plant the yellow ones I got last spring...I'm sure they'll be much happier in the ground than in their 4" pots.

spring cleaning 2016 - part 1

Look at my shed.  It's so pretty.  It has a fresh coat of paint, and a pretty wreath up for Christmas 2014.

So cute from the outside right? Inside is another story.  I'm not even going to show you the inside, it's that bad.  Inside are the last unpacked boxes from my move (just a few years ago), an unplugged deep freezer (no outlets inside yet), a stained glass workbench (and corresponding tools etc), yard stuff (this is actually organized), assorted scrap wood, my recycling, and furniture & boxes I've been storing for my sister.

It's a mess, but a mess that's easily hidden from public view.  This weekend spring cleaning started with my shed.  I sorted my recycling, broke down all the cardboard boxes, stacked the lumber, and started the process of making it a usable space.

The goal is for my sister to move her stuff out, so I can put my boxes, and my Christmas decorations, upstairs.  (This will free up some much needed space in my spare bedroom.)  Then I'll be able to run power so that I can set up a stained glass workstation, have a functioning deep freezer, and be able to plug in a lawnmower.  The building has two light bulbs, so adding outlets shouldn't be a super huge project, but I want to put my stained glass workstation on a different breaker.  (That may be phase 2.)

I may even buy matching trash cans to sort my recycling in.  Crazy talk, I know.

first daffodils - feb 20th 2016

If you're seeing this, then thanks for not deleting me from your feed reader, blog list, etc.   Last year was just not a big garden year for me.  I don't think.  Or maybe I just don't remember.  Anywho, I stopped blogging.  It's really helpful to have these posts to look back on, so here I am again.  Whether it's reminding myself that I really have made progress in the garden, or just getting excited about spring, my blog really is a good resource...for me anyway.  I don't promise to be fully "back" by any means, but here I am.

Please feel free to say hi, and let me know what you've been up to in my absence!

{photo from last year, they haven't changed much}

plant swap!

** draft from 2015**

This was the *perfect* weekend to be outside in Chattanooga, and for me that meant working/playing in the yard.

Saturday was one of my favorite spring garden days - our 3rd annual plant swap + Belle's Garden sale at Green Thumbs Nursery! As always, I made out like a bandit.  From the plant swap I got black stemmed peppermint, white Japanese iris, early blooming daffodils, a jade plant, and ranunculus.  From the Belle, I got a 'winter wonder' hosta, a Japanese painted fern, 3 cantaloupe colored cone flowers, and some yellow hellebores. If you're a gardener in Chattanooga and want in on our plant swap, let me know, we have one in the fall too! It's a great way to get rid of your extra stuff, and acquire free plants that you know survive in our area.

Yesterday the weather was gorgeous, and I spent the day planting, mulching, burning brush, and even mowing the grass.  (I have so much shade, mowing the grass is something I do about twice a year.  It only takes 45 minutes, but it's a big deal.)  I worked all day, and I'm feeling it this morning! My calves and hamstrings are not happy. BUT my shade garden & fence gardens are coming along nicely, and my rock garden is getting the mulch it so desperately needed.  The soil is so bad, I feel like it eats mulch. I'm weeding as I go, so it's slow, but I'm about halfway done, and hope to finish up this week. 


For whatever reason, it feels like I haven't done too much in the yard this year.  I think I've worked in the yard two weekends, at most....with is not a lot for me.  Ever since I moved into my house, every spring has brought a huge garden project.  First there was clearing the ivy, then massive mulching of all the empty beds to improve the soil, and then working and planting in those beds (some of which were infested with tree roots btw).   This year there are no big projects, just maintenance and a few additions.  I've trimmed out the spent blackberry stems, and this weekend I filled in a few holes with new plants  All that is left is to finish the mulching, planting one or two more things, figuring out what is wrong with the boxwoods, and putting impatiens in my window boxes.  I'm not going to lie, it feels good to have things "under control".

new plants - (last year) spring 2015

I thought I wasn't doing much in the yard this year, but when you write it all down it sure looks like a lot.

From plant swap
ranunculus
japanese iris
jade
daffodils
black stemmed peppermint

Belle
Hosta -Winter Warrior
japanese painted fern
coneflowers
yellow hellebores Amber Gem

from grandmother
small fern
big fern
hellebore
flowering grass

From Maxine
black eyed susans
regular voilets
confederate voilets
wild geranium

From Modern Sauce
fern leaf bleeding heart Dicentra formosa "luxuriant"- LOVE IT

from Ace

hosta "Patriot
bleeding heart
spearmint

From lowes
bare root bleeding heart  - didn't show up last year, maybe in 2016??
bare root red astillbe - didn't show up last year, maybe in 2016??

From Ooltewah nursery
impatiens