2024 planning.

 It has been way too long posting about the plantings.  Since the last post we have bought a place and the yard is almost as big as the place we were renting.  The yard however faces north and has a completely different micro climate.  Sun and heat loving plants were not doing quite as well. 

Wall on the west side loves geraniums and ivy.  Wife loved that as the ivy draped down the fence and gave us a wall of green.  The geraniums ran along the top of the fence and gave her colour.  The north side was a mix of geraniums, impatiens.  

The front faces south and does get hot and dry.  Ornamental grasses for foliage and geraniums for colour.  This year they will get a light mulching as the soil tends to dry out even with twice daily watering.

2021 and a new location

This year will be very different for our garden.   We moved and we have a larger yard, but, face north.  In addition to the direction we have mature trees to the west which will provide shade most of the day.  Wife is looking forward to the yard as it will be a cooler location, but, we will need to pick plants that are shade tolerant.   Next mini project is to map out the yard and with the sheds determine what can be seen from the living and dining rooms.  Another mini project is to plan a ramp so it will be a handicap accessible yard.

Preparation for 2019 gardening season

Now is the time we start looking at what we are going to plant for the season.  My wife and myself start discussing what worked well in prior years, how the backyard was laid out and what supplies we will need for the coming year.  We also start stocking up on some of the supplies we need as the stores are now starting to put out gardening materials.

Last year was a hard one on the plants.  It was so hot that most plants struggled even with watering multiple times of the day.  The planters where we had peat moss mixed in did better as the soil could hold a bit more water than the black earth mixes.

The plantings I had hung on the wall need a mix that is much higher than peat moss and varieties that are heat and drought resistant.

The pots I stacked vertically worked well and that will be repeated.  The clay pots did the best vs the plastic pots.  My wife like them as she got a waterfall of green and colour that she could see from the living room.  She has mobility issues and it is a struggle for her to get out into the back yard so I have been going more vertical with the plantings and picking varieties that grow tall so that the living room window is a window to a wall of colour.

I found that the dollar store trellises worked very well.  I hung it sideways below the top of one fence with hooks and then hung small pots from that.  Part of the plantings died as I didn't use enough peat moss and the plants I chose were for colour only and they were not drought tolerant as the pots dried out quickly.  This year it will be a peat moss mix with plants that can handle the heat and being drier.