Welcome to My Garden

With the arrival of spring 2009 along with my new camera, I've learned that I have way more I want to share about my garden and landscape than most of my readers at Inside The White House would care to know. So here is a spot where I can write about my gardening efforts, and hopefully I'll have some insights to share too. In my childhood, people thought it was funny to recite the nursery rhyme question to me, so I guess this is my answer to "How does your garden grow?" I am in no way a professional. I have simply discovered a love for making my yard beautiful. It's a work in progress; I have the end results in my head, but time and financial restraints are delaying that finale. (It turns out kids take a lot of time too!) I'm coming to learn that I don't want to reach a gardening finale. I love the work and I love trying new plants and new techniques every year. I hope you enjoy this site and I would love your comments about your own garden. This blog will also serve as a journal of the plants in my gardens and the care they require. Feel free to skip over all the boring species' names and plant care. If you have questions, leave them for me or a fellow reader to offer help. Thanks for visiting my garden!

Some tips for navigating this blog: You can find areas of interest by following the category labels listed at the right. If you simply scroll through everything, it will be pretty random, but it will allow you to see what I'm currently up to. You can also use the search bar at the top to look for specific plants or structures to see how I've used them.

Spring 2009 Flowers

Progressive Spring Bulbs

Last fall I planted a couple thousand bulbs in my front yard perennial flower beds. This past spring was the first season for them to show their stuff, and I recorded the show in a series of photos taken every few days. Toward the end of the movie clips, the spacing was every week or two, because the allium just hung around forever.

Allium are more impressive in person. They remind me of purple fireworks in the garden...and I wish I'd thought to take a close-up photo when they were still purple! I've even discovered a fun, permanent use for them in my home decor! (I'll send a link when I've finished redecorating my bedroom.)

I bought all the bulbs online from a company called Colorblends. I highly recommend them if you want an impressive bulb bed. Their prices are great and the flowers are stunning. See for yourself in these little films. (Each clip is less than two minutes long.)





Pretty nice, eh? And I didn't even plant the real stunners. All of these bulbs are perennial, meaning they will return each year, and some of the bulbs will even reproduce. Each year the bulbs and non-bulb perennials will fill in a little more. I'm already looking forward to an improved show in years to come!

Buggy Buddies

I introduced a groundcover called Moss Rose to a container in my yard two years ago. These flowers produce seeds like crazy, and they started popping up in one area last year, and this year they are all over the south and west sides of my yard. They are easy to pull out and I've discovered they don't require watering. So until I can plant all my beds, I'm letting moss rose fill in. They come in white, pinks, pastels, bright colors, yellows, oranges, etc. I am loving the splotches of color they randomly create.


On the yellow and orange flowers, I've found some cool bugs. Do you see the praying mantis on this picture? I love finding these guys everywhere. They blend in particularly well on the Moss Rose. (Click on the picture to see a bigger version. It's kind of hard to see details on these small photos.)









My favorite find was this green bee. I've only seen them in the morning hours before it gets really hot. That may be because these little flowers close up when it warms up.







These bees buzz like flies and fly like flies. They can't sit still for more than two seconds and then they dart around, not like the slower pattern of bees. But I unmistakably saw pollen on their back legs, and they have that long bee body.





I thought I had discovered a new insect. But alas, they are on the internet. The genus is Agapostemon--Metallic Green Bee. 13 species have been identified in the Americas, but none have been recorded in Provo, so maybe I'll pass that information along. I hope they stick around for a while. Green is my favorite color!

Container Garden 2

McCoard's Nursery near our home holds classes on Saturdays to teach various gardening topics. I attended one about container gardening two weekends ago. The basic principle to follow for a container is to include something thrilling, something filling, and something spilling. Typically these would be a tall spike or ornamental grass in the center surrounded by flowers that grow vertically, and then trailing petunias or greenery to drape over the side.

I took a different approach following those principles with this container. The thriller is a small fountain that plugs into the only outlet I have outside. The filler is violets that are planted in a section of the fountain bowl. The spiller is Bacopa Sopia Gulliver White Sutera cordata, which I think will also fill in around the fountain. Ht: 2-5: Care: Sun to part shade, prefers good soil; keep evenly moist; trim back as needed. I like how the small, simple flowers keep attention on the water.

My friend, Kelli, did a similar thing with one of her containers. In a large container she placed a small glazed pot on top and filled it all with contrasting colors of pansies. Very pretty.

Container Garden 1

Last fall I picked up four large pots at Wal-Mart when they put all their outdoor things on sale. I got most of them for $3, regulary $20+. In May, my friend Kelli showed me what elements go into a potted container and helped me pick out plants for my first attempt. I am very happy with the result. Here are the plants in this container:

The center "spike" is False Draceana 'Red Sensation' Cordyline australis. Ht: 18-48" Care: Moist, organic soil and sun; best with a monthly balanced fertilizer; will tolerate part shade.

The bright green leaves in the back are Sweet Potato Vine 'Terrace Lime' Ipomoea batatas. Love their color! Ht: 6" Care: Organic soil; allow soil to dry between waterings; fertilize regularly; full sun.

The small, deep pink flowers are Tukana Raspberry Verbena. It is a trailing plant. Ht: "4-8" Care: Normal amount of water, fertilize regularly, full sun; heat tolerant and requires no deadheading.

The pale pink flowers are Ruffle Light Lavender Imp. Trailing Double Petunia. The double petals make this flower very frilly and feminine, and they are quite large. No height is given on the tag, but I expect they will fill in rather high. Care: Partial sun, fertilize every two weeks, high water needs.

The white-edged trailing leaves in front are Mezoo Trailing Red Dorotheanthus. I loved this plant the moment I saw it. The leaves are thick and I love their coloring. I was pleasantly surprised when some small, raspberry-colored flowers peeked out--they kind of look like tiny daisies. (You can see them if you enlarge the picture.) Ht: 6-8" Care: Full sun to full shade; drought and heat tolerant; use slow-release fertilizer in the soil or feed regularly with a liquid fertilizer. This plant will make another appearance in my front shade bed next year!

These plants seem to like the spot by the brick chimney. They get part shade during the day, but the heat of the bricks keeps them warm into the evening. I can't wait to see how it all fills in. This picture shows the container two weeks after planting.


This picture taken at sunset in August shows the container at almost its fullest. It is beautiful! I love the pale pink double petunias and the Mezoo. It's dark pink flowers closed and opened sporadically all summer. I plan to repeat this container arrangement in the future.