A Year In The Life Of Semi-Dwarf Bell Of Georgia Peach

Last year the week after I planted my first kitchen garden I bought this little homely peach tree from Home Depot. It's a Semi-Dwarf Bell of Georgia.

I complain all the time about being from the south but when it comes right down to it, I sorta miss some things about it. And even though I'm not from Georgia, I am well versed in the deliciousness of the Georgia Peach. So, when Mr. Wonderful said he'd like me to grow some peaches, I picked this variety hoping to plant a little of my southern heritage in my yard. Check out the "flower bed" in the picture below. Boy that brings back memories of sod and weed removal last year. I dug a hole and plopped it in and watered it when I remembered.
Here it is this morning. It's kinda wild looking and I suppose I should prune it some day but I don't know how to do that either. It's done really well in this spot but I'm worried that it's going to outgrow this space fast.
After I planted this tree, a guy I work with who lived on a farm with an actual orchard told me that I may as well dig this up and throw it in the trash because I'd never get a peach tree to bear fruit in Chicago. He says it's too cold. Well, that's OK too. I still think it's pretty.

How Gardening Changed My Life

Please bear with me but I'm feeling very sappy and I'm overcome with the urge to write a big ole corny post about gardening.

Tomorrow (May 21, 2008) my blog turns a year old. I really can't believe how my life has changed over the last year as result of gardening. Actually, some of it has been more related to blogging than gardening but the two are so blended that I almost can't see doing one without the other. It's like blogging has just become another step of gardening, like putting away your garden hose when you are done.

Here's my very first blog post that was written the same day I planted my very first kitchen garden. I really cracked up looking back at the birth of some of my flower beds and the transformation of some of my first plantings. For the next few days I think I'll make these transformations the focus of my blog because I'm telling you some of this stuff cracks me up.

Somebody get the violin!

Gardening has changed my life in the following ways (in no particular order)

1. I've established new friendships that I think will last a lifetime with people who share a love for gardening. shout out to GB!


2. I've crossed e-paths with some really great gardeners across the world who have been so helpful to me for reasons I still don't understand and even met one in person. Thank you all!


3. I've found a great way to de-stress that does not involve drug abuse. HA


4. I've learned more about the environment than I ever thought possible just from paying attention to my dirt.


5. I've gone way outside my previous comfort zone building all sorts of crap and even though I've made tons of mistakes I've had so much fun doing it! Plus, my confidence about DIY stuff is out the roof and I'm pretty sure I could build a house or something. (OK maybe not a house)


6. I've been inspired to explore some other creative outlets that I hope to tell you about soon.


7. My yard is prettier and I know how to grow food!

I think my blog (and my life) will be changing in some very big ways over the next year and I can't wait. I don't have some big master plan other than to keep on gardening but I believe we should all be moving forward so that's what my garden and my blog will be doing.

Next up I'll be showing you how my Dwarf Bell of Georgia Peach Tree went from shabby to chic.

Happy Birthday to me!

Refurbishing Benches

This past weekend I happened on an estate sale where I scored these 2 old raggedy benches and the table (or is that a bigger, better bench) below. Just so happens I was looking for my next project!The extra 2x4's from my pergola project will be pefect for replacing the damanged boards making this was a great bargain at 8 bucks for all 3 pieces. These may look really horrible but only the top boards are bad and if you've ever built anything you know that the bottom part is the hardest part to build (repair) with all those mitered cuts. I've already cut the boards in the right lengths but didn't finish the job because I had all the wrong size screws. I'm thinking of leaving the old center boards for character.

I'm not sure what this is supposed to be but its going to be a table for my 2 new Adirondack chairs to be purchased in the near future. It's heavy and other than needing a good cleaning, there's nothing wrong with it.

My new patio space is filling up already. Stay tuned for the completion of this DIY project.

DIY Pergola Wrap Up

I'm happy to report that the pergola is done! Well, I still want to stain it but it's basically done. Several people have commented that they were thinking of building one of these bad boys, so I thought I'd post a summary of the project including all the crap you'll need to know if you decide to try this yourself.

Size - I'm happy with the size of the pergola. My posts are placed 12 feet apart and the top boards have a 2 foot overhang which makes the total size about 16x14.

Cost - 940.00

470.00 Lumber (4) 4x4 for the corner posts, (4) 2x6x14 for roof support, (15) 2x4x16 for the roof, (2) 2x4x14 for practice.

55.00 Lumber delivery

20.00 Hardware - brackets, screws, drill bit

40.00 Fast Set Concrete

20.00 Concrete tubes - 4 8 inch round ones

73.00 Tool Rental - 2 man post hole digger. You can use a one man if your hole will be 8 inches or less but anything larger than that will require a 2 man machine.

250.00 Labor - (post hole digging, lowering the pergola, attaching the top boards, replacing bricks.

DIY or Professional?

If you can afford it or if you are not handy and have no handy friends, you should definitely order up a professional pergola. Professionals are in and out, they clean up after themselves and they are really good at leveling and spacing and all that stuff that you think is easy but is really a pain in the ass. If you are in the Chicagoland area, my recommendation is Thomas Landscaping. He's been great to work with and I have no doubt that he would have done as great a job on the pergola as he did on the paver patio. But, if you are on a tight budget like me and you really really want a pergola so bad that it's all you can think about, then I'd say it's a good DIY project.

Tips

Find your inspiration photo - I found a great Pergola picture in one of my gardening magazines and kept this with me during the entire project. It really came in handy while shopping for supplies. It was particularly useful to show to salesmen when I was shopping for supplies like hardware because I could show them exactly what I was doing rather than trying to explain it to them. My inspiration photo was a pergola that was much larger than mine but I loved the style of it and the way it was connected.

Draw your plan - we laughed about Pie Guys "official Pergola plan" but when it came right down to it, this thing was very helpful. We taped it up in our work area, made notes on it and referred to it frequently during the project.

Get organized - keep all your crap in a folder that you carry with you everywhere you go until the project is finished. Keep receipts, inspiration photos, drawings, patterns for your pergola cuts, menus for lunch and anything else you can think of.

Make end cut patterns - I waited until right before it was time to make the cuts in order to make my pattern and that time could have been spent doing other work had I created my patterns ahead of time. It took longer than I expected to make something I liked. The pattern is pretty easy to create. Just cut a piece of cardboard that is the same size as the end of your board, draw your pattern with a pencil and cut along the pencil line with a box cutter. Be sure to save your patterns forever in case you ever need to replace a board on your pergola. Great tip, GB!

Practice on extra boards - you'll need a couple of extra 2x4's to practice end cuts with the jig saw and to make spacer boards and other random stuff like that.

Make a schedule - With weekend projects, time is a huge factor. More than likely you're trying to do way too much in the time you've allowed yourself so, if you have a set amount of time to finish your project, create a timeline. This will help you stay on schedule. Be specific about what you need to get accomplished by when. Share your schedule with your team.

Shop around for lumber - I was really surprised at the different prices for lumber between Menards, HD, Lowes and Hines Lumber. Since I had my heart set on Cedar, which is more expensive than treated wood, I needed to get it at the best price possible. The variation in the total price of the lumber was almost $300! I purchased my lumber from Menards.

Get extra wood if you are having your supplies delivered - if you can afford it, order a few extra pieces of the sizes that you buy. You can always return the unused ones. For some stupid reason, when they pick the lumber they don't look at the quality of it. As a result, they delivered me 5 boards that were just awful and needed to be replaced. I was able to throw a fit and get them to replace the wood the next day but I was very lucky and if they hadn't done that, my project would have been delayed.

Borrow equipment - if I'd had to buy all the stuff I needed for this project but didn't have, the price would have been significantly higher. My great friends not only helped by providing the brains and the muscle behind the project, they also brought all sorts of equipment like ladders, drills, ratchets (I finally learned what that was!), levels etc. So, make an equipment list then start begging!

Call the professionals when you need to - at some point in the project it's better to cut your losses and reach out to the professionals to help you with the really hard stuff like digging holes with big scary machines, cutting off posts that are already mounted in concrete (what a bloody mess that could have been) and replacing the bricks around the posts (I still don't know how they cut those things to fit - it's like magic!) I spent around 250.00 on extra labor but I think it was well worth it. Here's the pergola dudes who helped me. Thanks, pergola dudes!

The verdict

It's hard to say how much money I saved because, even though my project cost 60% less than the estimate I got, there were some big differences in the estimate I got and the project I did.

1. Professional Pergola makers usually use way bigger wood than I did. For example, my corner posts were 4x4's and a professional would have used at least 6x6 which cost 3 times as much in Cedar. Similarly, my 2x6 would have been 2x10 with a professional and my 2x4 would have been 2x6 or 2x8. I simply could not afford that lumber but if you can, buy it! Your pergola will be bad ass! Trust me!


2. The estimate I got was for pressure treated pine which is much less expensive than Cedar. If you are not picky about that sort of thing then you can really save the big bucks by using treated wood. Personally, I hate that stuff because of the required maintenance. Wanna get fancy and you've got the cash? Try composite wood. It lasts forever! And its a green product.

I feel pretty good about the pergola project. It was very hard work but I had a great time doing it and I would totally do it again. I think it turned out really nice, don't you?

So, if you've been thinking of building a pergola I say go for it. I think it is a very reasonable DIY project that can be completed in about 2 weekends.

Want to see more about this project? Start with the countdown, then take a look at my plans and then read about Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

A Year In The Life Of Vanhoutte Spirea

Meet Vanhoutte Spirea. It's the big ass shrub that came with the house. I had no idea what it was until some helpful gardening bloggers ID'd it for me. As you can see this thing is completely out of control. It's taller than the 6 foot fence and I think I remember that it was like 12 feet wide and protruded from the fence over 7 feet. Carolyn and Carol both told me they felt that it had a nice shape when I first posted about how much I hated it, but that was one of the few things that I totally disagreed with them about. This thing was just too much and it had to go.

I don't know if you've ever seen a Vanhoutte Spirea in bloom but it's breath taking. Every branch is stuffed with beautiful white flowers and that is the one time where I'd agree, the bigger and more out of control the better. But after the blooms are finished, an out of control Spirea is an eye sore in a bare garden like I had at that time.

So I hacked Vanhoutte all the way to the ground (below). I never posted any pictures of it because I knew I'd be scolded by gardening bloggers world wide. I just figured, if it lived that'd be great, and if it didn't I'd be OK with that, too. I did find that the center of the shrub looked completely dead. I don't know the life cycle of a Vanhoutte but I have a feeling this one is towards the end of it. And it took a few weeks but I finally started to see some growth. Thank goodness!

Here it is after it started growing back (below). Isn't that adorable? And much more the size of a shrub I needed for this bed. It turns out that, for multi-stemmed shrubs, you can cut them all the way to the ground and it "rejuvenates" them. Now don't run out and do this to all your out of control shrubs because it won't work on the single stemmed ones. If you kill your shrubs, don't blame me! Mutilating shrubs is risky business.

So then the landscaper made it in to a ball. Bad Landscaper! I had no idea that I needed to specifically tell a landscaper not to make things into balls. Why are they so obsessed with that? Is there anybody who actually asks their landscaper to make their shrubs into balls?

And since Vanhoutte Spirea blooms on old wood, I assumed that it wouldn't bloom this year which kinda pissed me off.

Well here it is this morning (below). I just love this shrub. That it has taken all the abuse thrown it's way over the past year really impresses me. The blooms are nearly as profuse as they normally are, but it is still breathtaking.

It'll always have a place in my garden. And if it ever dies, I'll buy another one. It's the elder in my garden.

May Bloom Day 2008

OK so I'm lame and skipped a whole bunch of Bloom Days. But, what's a girl supposed to do when she has crap for blooms? Well, this time no quitting!

So, here's to my first Bloom Day of 2008. Thanks to Carol over at May Dreams Gardens who hosts Garden Bloggers Bloom Day on the 15th of every month. Drum roll please!

Karen Azalea planted in my front yard garden. This was one of Carolyn's recommendations.

Dwarf Korean Lilac also planted in my front yard garden. Another suggestion from Carolyn.
Magnolia Ann planted in the front yard garden and still holding on. You go girl!

Northern Hi-Lights Azalea planted in the Good Neighbor Garden. This was one of last years Charlie Brown Shrubs.

Strawberry plants courtesy of GB. I'm sorry to say that about an hour after this photo was taken, a landscaper pulled out all these strawberry plants because he thought they were weeds. Shame on you, Bruce! You almost made me cry!

Red Twig Dogwood. Another one of the Charlie Brown Shrubs.

Holy smokes this is the Lily of the Valley from that nice Freecycle lady. I thought it was a goner! Look how pretty!

This is my prize Mountain Bluet from GB. I say prize because this was my second attempt to grow it. I killed the first one she gave me. Now I have a big ole patch of these and i just love them! Thanks, GB!

6 Alliums. They look like soldiers gardening the Spirea to me, which is a good thing since some landscapers like to make the poor spirea into a ball.

Speaking of Spirea - here it is! Despite being hacked to the ground by me, then growing back only to be made into a ball by some dude, it still bloomed! Yay, Spirea!

Big Box Tulip

Another Big Box Tulip. This one looks like wax to me. It's so beautiful! Mr. Wonderful picked it out last year. Nice job, honey!

Weigelia Wine and Roses. (the replacements)

Nasturtium that I started from seed.

Dahlietta Anna Dahlia that I just purchased yesterday. It was already blooming so I suppose I can't really take credit for this but what the heck...

And last but not least, the flower that needs no introduction.

Wow! That's a good showing for May if I do say so myself.

Ornamental Grass: The Garden Seductress

Today I was out picking up a couple of annuals for a container planting and I was seduced by a some ornamental grass. Has this ever happened to you?

When I walk past ornamental grass I cannot not touch it. I stood there fondling a pot of Toffee Twist Sedge to the point that it got sorta creepy. "I can't stop touching it" I was thinking.

I finally walked to the cashier with my plant but I couldn't stop thinking about that sedge - I had to go back and get it. I also bought a few small fiber optic grasses because I thought they looked fabulous with the Toffee Twist Sedge.

No other plant seduces me like the ornamental grasses do. There is something about the way they feel in my hand, like the long hair of a beautiful doll that you can't walk by without touching. And there is something about the way they move with the wind, like the seemingly effortless moves of a beautiful ballerina. And there is something about the way every blade of grass is perfectly juxtaposed to every other blade of grass, like a great hair cut.

When I planted the bronze sedge with the fiber optic grass, I added 2 pretty yellow/orange Dahlia's and they actually detracted from the beauty of the arrangement. They seem to dilute that softness that is so attractive with the grasses.

I think I'd love to have a sitting area where I am surrounded by all kinds of ornamental grasses. They would be so close to me that, no matter where I sit, I could always reach out and touch at least one of them. And every time the wind blows, I could hear that soft rustling of grass in my ear.

Do you have a plant that seduces you? I'm not talking about a plant that you like or just think is pretty. I'm talking about a plant that, when you walk by it you feel that chemical attraction that feels different from any other plant.