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"Possibility and promise greet me each day as I walk out into my garden. My vigor is renewed when I breathe in the earthiness and feel the dirt between my fingers. My garden is a peaceful spot to refresh my soul." Meems






Welcome to my Central Florida Garden Blog where we garden combining Florida natives, Florida-Friendly plants, and tropicals.

Monday, November 12, 2007

the dirt on expansion projects


finally, this weekend i finished this expansion project- located at the back corner of my yard. previously this bed was half this size. the lime green potato vine was overrunning its bounds -- it now has plenty of room to continue sprawling and spilling over into the new bed. the new plants include a combination of zinnias, indigo spires, lantana, purple butterfly bush and variegated liriope to border. i left space for the trailing lantana which will eventually attempt to crowd out its neighbors.

on to the next project.

for a while i have wanted to do something about this area. over the years this section in the grass has sunken - yes, sunken. dropped --to form a shallow valley. added to that... the abundance of shade poorly affects the growing of grass. i have made several attempts at recovery to no avail. it's time for rearranging the landscape.

the solution:

a dump truck from a local nursery unloaded 5 yards of soil onto my driveway this morning. wow. my wheelbarrow made way more trips to the backyard than i bargained for. but i want to say this about dirt. there is just something wonderful & exciting about good dirt to a gardener... to handle it, to feel it, to smell it, to dig it ... just the sight of it... rich, dark and healthy. it's oh so inspiring.

the results:
another expansion project... a clean slate ... a blank canvas. oh my little designing mind has so many ideas. i also purchased more flagstone at another nursery today to extend the pathway that runs through the existing bed. stay tuned ... as this area develops i'll bring you updates.
over the weekend i put some red new guinea impatiens in the ground for fall where caladiums dotted the landscape in summer. i also put these in containers coupled with variegated ivy and lime green potato vine. i'm expecting these will transfer easily into the winter season in a few short weeks.

8 comments:

  1. WoW! You really have been busy! Can't wait to see the results after you finish playing in the dirt. 8-]

    I'm so jealous of your white peacocks! I do believe it's my number one favourite butterfly of all. We're just out of their range. Once in a blue moon I see one down at Alligator Point, but they're an extremely rare treat.

    I looked at your skipper again. If I remember correctly, hammocks are only found in extreme south FL.

    I'm really looking forward to pics of Bok Tower. Do they still have the little building with the big wildlife viewing window?

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  2. Oooooohh such a nice pile of soil. It looks so rich. I can't wait to see the end result of your expansion. Just seeing that lovely soil shaped into a bed waiting for plants makes my head spin with possibilities for you. :)

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  3. Wow that is a lot of dirt to work with.

    The more you do the less grass you have and to think that yard combined with the neighbor's used to be perfect for the neighborhood football games. How many hours did we spend playing those games in our big back yard? Great memories and times. It is definitely more pleasing to the eye now, and I know there is still pleanty of green space left.

    Looking forward to seeing the progress.

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  4. sophie: yes, our timing must have been off for the little building with the view -not much to see except lily pads and turtles. i have been so caught up in gardening that i nearly forgot to post my photos from bok tower... maybe tonight...

    those skippers are too numerous and similar for me... i didn't even account for their territory when guessing hammock... duh! thanks for the help. :-)

    it's funny you say that about the peacocks because i captured my very first one while in lake wales. i came home and immediately purchased zinnias to attract them and walla! i'm pretty sure they were there all along. :-)

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  5. lisa: i just love the look of that soil even without any plants. my head is spinning too! oh so much fun. and hey... i'm open to any great ideas you want to share. :-)

    nt: ...and volleyball, and baseball and kickball and don't forget the dirt bike trail i was never thrilled over. :-)

    not to worry there is plenty of grass left for the games to go on.

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  6. Everything's beautiful (as usual) but I'm still pouting about the loss of good football field (or croquet field). At this rate, you soon won't have any walking space and will just have one giant garden and no yard to bring back memories of childhood games. WAAH! (Seriously, I need some help letting go, don't I?)

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  7. I just read Nathan Talbot's comment and feel better that I'm not the only one holding on to good times now gone...

    NT: Meems PROMISES we can still fit croquet out there...ready for a Christmas rematch? :o)

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  8. It is great to see 'work in progress' projects. That pile of soil looks soo tempting... so reach.
    I like your new arrangement - it will look much better that just grass.

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Have a blessed day,
Meems


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