A New Garden

Now that the fence has been replaced, and the herb garden has been developed, it was time to tackle the other side of the playhouse. The Tower of Doom™, while blending in just a little bit better, sticks out like a sore thumb from the back yard. On top of that, the cement slab still hasn't been buried yet, because it needs to be lowered one more time to put the router up. The router, however, costs a LOT of money, and The Boy™ is still saving. Once we bury around the base  I plan to do some type of vines that will grow up the base of the tower and make it look a little prettier in the yard. Well, the part that's not 40 feet up in the air anyhow. In the meantime, I put in a flower garden behind it.

It all started when the wheelbarrow died.  We inherited that thing with our house from the prior owners. I never understood why they left it behind  until I went to buy a new one and realized how light and easy to push they are. The one we had is an old, heavy monster. I can't even tell you how heavy that thing is. It took 2 of us to carry it to the back yard once we got the wheels off. Anyhow, I'm getting ahead of myself. I bought us a new, shiny orange wheelbarrow and the old one stayed leaning up against the barn next to it. It needed to go to the dump but no one was looking forward to taking it there. One day in late-May I was out mowing the lawn in the back by both the playhouse and the back of the barn where the wheelbarrow's were, and I got a brilliant idea. What if the wheels and metal wheel base could come off, and I put it as the centerpiece of a new garden. As I mowed, I planned and plotted and daydreamed about the new garden I was going to build.

I got The Boy™ when I was done and he agreed with my suggestion that the wheel and metal bars could come off. He didn't ask why when I offered that I had an idea for it, if it worked.. he just did it. He's awesome like that. I would've asked a million questions and huffed if he wouldn't tell me. It took him a while, and some WD40, as those bolts were really rusted on there, but eventually he got it all taken apart. We lugged that thing over by the fence, and I rested it right on top of where one of the old pine tree stumps are still rotting in the ground. I can't grow anything there anyhow, so it was perfect. He agreed with keeping it there (if it was too hokey for him, I was going to abandon my idea) and the base of the garden was born. 

Two of the plants back there were already in place. I put them back there last year with the idea of planting a flower garden, but that was as far as I ever got. You can see them on the far left near the fence post, and at the very left edge of the front of the wheelbarrow frame. I also put in perennial sweetpeas on two sides of the playhouse last year, and two of them survived the drought-filled summer and harsh winter. The plan is to lattice around the bottom of that which will keep the cat from leaving dead animals there, and give the plants a base to grow up into the posts of the playhouse.

I got the orange and red flowers at school for my birthday, and the pink geranium came from a friend, also for my birthday. I bought a 6 pack of annuals at the nursery, along with a morning glory and a shasta daisy. A co-worker gave me whatever that yellow flower is, and it will come back again next year.  It's really starting to come along, and today I had blooms on my morning glory. I haven't ever planted one before, and I'm excited about it. Part of the plant wrapped around the base of the playhouse is growing up the left side near the sweet peas which is fun also.  I love how it brightens up the back yard, and brings life to what was once a weedy, empty corner once we took the sandbox out.

linking to: Just a Girl