Things Are Growing

So just a quick look at how things are growing out back. It's a big change, when we moved in six months ago there was nothing growing except the trees. I don't think anyone ever planted a single flower on the property, so sad.  Out home in Alabama had very mature beautiful plants every where. Azaleas, gardenias, iris's, pecan tree, pomegranate bushes, holly etc.

 It just seemed so barren and unloved here at this new home. We love flowers and we spend so much time at home now that I wanted to really give it some love and TLC. It's amazing how much plants cost these days so I'll be doing it a little at a time. I especially wanted to plant the roses tho, I wanted some flowers that smelled really wonderful and looked just as wonderful to cut for inside the house.

So here we go, the area above my back steps are planted with Vinca and Asparagus Sprengeri, I can't remember what the light colored plant is but I like it hehe.

Down below I planted some coneflowers , my Eden climbing rose and my Moondance Rose.
I know it looks a little bare. I'll be adding some more coneflowers and maybe some sort of white flower to fill it in a little until the roses get bigger. There were a few odd bricks and blocks along with some wood laying around so I just used them for a border of sorts.

This is what Moondance will look like...

And the gorgeous Eden climbing rose.....

Close up of the Coneflower....

Next to the side gate I have lantanas which I love. They are pretty and carefree so what's not to like?

I have a lot of pink flowers so I wanted to add some blue in with this pretty plumbago.

My daughter got me this cute little chicken garden decor. I used to have chickens in Alabama and really miss having them. We aren't allowed to have them in my neighborhood, boo.

Take a look at this beautiful flower, it a form of Hibiscus.

My little succulents are doing really well too, take a look.....

Oh I almost forgot about the rose bed. I received my bareroot roses a little late in the season so no flowers yet but lots of leaves.

I have the following roses planted in there..... Sunny Days...

My Olivia Rose Austin English rose.....

Jane Seymour Hybrid Tea

Bella Roma, a very fragrant rose, in fact all of the roses i planted are very fragrant.

Aromatherapy...

Clouds of Glory, isn't it beautiful!

I also planted this Beautiful Bride Clematis, I've never had one of these. It's only like 3 inches high right now but this is what it will look like, lots of growing to do!

Another first time plant for me, a Peony, this one is called Sorbet.

So that's it so far. Whats growing in YOUR garden?

Sharing at Wow Us Wednesday

Time Began in a Garden

I've been spending some time in our backyard planning a rose garden. I used to have a beautiful rose garden when I lived in California and for some reason when we moved to Alabama I never planted any roses. I've really missed the beauty and the fragrance is heavenly. So I've decided to start working on a rose garden in our backyard in Texas. I can't plant any out front due to roses being high on the menu for the deer.  The back is fenced so no problem hopefully. 

My daughter Kim actually got me started already with a gift of a rose called Olivia Rose Austin, an English Rose. 

It just started to bloom and it's absolutely beautiful! Take a look .........

I has tons of petals and a light beautiful fragrance.

I'm going to plant a few roses right in the ground but due to the fact that we have such sandy soil I decided to do a raised bed for most of them. That way I can put perfect soil in the bed and as an added bonus I won't have to get down on the ground so my back will thank me.

I love pink roses so I'm going to plant mostly pink but I also like the creams and and yellows so there will be a mixture. There is a very limited space that receives full sun out back due to having the forest right behind us and lots of big trees on the rights side of the yard, but I think it'll work.

I used these blocks from Home Depot to build the raised bed. It was super easy.

 You just slide the 2x6 by (however long you want) boards into the blocks and you have an instant raised bed. You can stack the blocks as high as you want then pound a rebar pole down the hole in the block (make sure to go at least six or more inches into the ground level soil) to stabilize and anchor the bed.  You can actually make lots of different configurations and easily add on to it. I used pressure treated wood for the sides. In my veggie garden I'll use cedar. The hardest part was adding the bags of planting mix. I made the bed on top of a grassy area but I didn't have to remove the grass. I just laid down cardboard and over time it will kill any grass underneath and then decompose.

Here's the completed raised bed.

I also got a rose called Eden Rose, here's a picture of it from a catalog since mine hasn't blossomed yet.

I'm going to plant it so it will grow up this trellis by our back stairs. Toby often sits at the top of these stairs  to keep an eye on our dog Semper when he goes out to do his business :). So I thought it would be nice if the fragrance from the rose would drift up to his direction. Haha, I just read what I wrote and I guess this rose will do double duty as a doggie deodorizer!

Here is the stair/trellis area where the Eden Rose will be planted.

See that planter up there? I have a tomato plant and pepper plant in it. It will make it easy to pick and take right to the kitchen.

In this area I planted the gorgeous Olivia Rose Austin my daughter gave me.
It's in the half round blocked area. The rose in the bed is a Double Pink Knockout Rose.

Here is a closeup of the GORGEOUS Olivia Rose.

Here's a view of part of the yard from the top of the stairs. The Sam Houston National forest is right there behind the fence and it's full of deer. I LOVE the deer but I don't love what they do to roses, as in EATING them lol. So I really hope my fence will keep them out. If not I may have to build a smaller enclosure around the roses and the vegetable bed I'm planning on doing also.

I'm on a mission to make our home a peaceful retreat for my sweet Toby and me. We NEED it in our lives. This rose garden will go a long way towards achieving that goal. I think about God placing us in a garden originally and how we have gotten away from that. We are all surrounded with concrete, cars, buildings, cell phones ringing and all manner of noise and ugly. The serenity God wanted us to have has been lost by our own doing. So if there is anything I can do to get back to that garden I'm going to do it. I think it's so important to have a peaceful and beautiful space to relax and even more so when there is uncertainty in your life. So say a little prayer that I'll be able to accomplish that.

SHARING AT 
Tweak It Tuesday