2026 - Starting the planning

 With the start of spring we are looking at what to plant for this year.  Last year seemed to be hotter and drier and part of our flowers either died or didn't grow and flower very much.

We are definitely looking at plants that can tolerate (or thrive) in hot and dry conditions.  I kept part of the hanging planters from last year as the plastic hasn't deteriorated too badly and bought two new hanging planters.  However, instead of regular potting soil we are looking at mixing in peat moss and  materials that will help retain water.  Last year I watered morning and night and the pots on the sunny side still dried out.  I have to dig through some of the bins as I believe I have watering spikes and bottles and they do help keep things moist all day.

What we are looking at for this year:

• Yarrow
• Lantana
• Marigolds
• Portulaca
• Snapdragon
• Verbena
• Zinnia

We will be planting marigolds, impatiens and geraniums like we do every year. The marigolds and geraniums seem to handle the heat and slightly drier conditions without too many problems.

Major change coming for the back yard.

 We received notice that the condo corporation will be redoing our fences in September.  Something that should have been done years ago as the posts have been rotting and last year we were concerned that it would fall over during a storm and take out the gas regulators in our yards.  They did a quick fix, but they put wood directly into concrete.  The concrete was also well below grade and covered by soil which isn't good for the longevity of the fence.

It will require us to move all the plants (in containers) and the patio stones at least 5 feet (1.5 meters) away from the current fence line.  With that project it gives me the opportunity to create raised beds.  Permanent plantings with trellises and if I plan it properly the various hooks can be placed to have hanging baskets so that we have a variety of plantings and colours.  We will be visiting the various home centers to look at materials for raised beds along with the associated costs.  

We will still have containers at the front of our place and for the back deck and for the eight poles.

Another bonus is that I will be able to plan a proper layout for the outdoor Christmas lights where I can quickly and easily access.  Also, with permanent raised beds I don't have to move and store the various planters making my fall cleanup much, much easier.  With the raised beds I will have a number of large concrete pavers and I will be using that to raise the two sheds up a few inches.  That will help me in the winter when I clear the snow as no matter how good I clear the yard, ice seems to build up in front of each door making it a chore getting in to take out the garbage, recycling and composting bins every week for pickup.

I will be heading out soon with a tape measure, paper and pencil to lay out the dimensions and placement of the raised beds, a small brick path between the fence and beds and the quantity of materials to create the beds.  Like my back deck project it will be done up on the computer so I have a record of what was done.  My wife is looking forward to this project as she has ideas on plants she would like to see instead of annuals every year.

2024 planning

My wife and myself have been having discussions on what we will be doing this year for the planters and baskets.

For the front, which is south facing we will be going with ornamental grasses, geraniums and drought tolerant plants.  It gets the sun most of the day and the house wall means it gets very hot and dries out quickly even with me watering twice a day.

In the backyard we are doing the impatiens again.  They seem to like the location and if they grow like the last three years they will be well over 50 cm in height giving us a massive corner of green and colour.  The fence between us and our neighbour will have the hanging boxes, but only ivy this time.  Geraniums in the boxes didn't do very well.  For the various hanging planters we will be a light-weight mix with lots of peat moss.  Flowers will be mostly geraniums as they last all season.  The only exception will be a small container with a few herbs.  I use a lot of herbs cooking and fresh herbs are nice.

We will probably cut back on the number of planter boxes though.  They took up a lot of room in a small yard and the wife would like a bit more room for our folding table and chairs so she can sit outside and enjoy the yard unlike last year where it was quite crowded.

One other item is that we are not planting tomatoes and sweet peppers.  Even with the mesh protection, various animals seemed to get in and enjoyed the products before we could harvest them.