Nice work...Young Lady! Keep it up and soon you won't have to do any mowing....:) I have Visions of another Munson Bed....in your future......heheehe.......Looks Great!

Rick

The same here except I was moving seedling clumps to the real garden and planted those in the same vicinity as one of the parent plants to be able to do some comparisons. I have also been cutting back some things that are trying to go dormant or should go dormant. If and when we ever get rain, I want the rain to be able to penetrate into the crown areas (non-daylily plants).

I would love to clean out my reseeding annuals but we still are getting lots of migrating hummingbirds and butterflies that swarm the plants. I won't pull those out until they get hit by frost. The only good thing about the clusters of free annuals is they make great mulch and no weeds grow under them. The other great green mulch we are growing this year is crabgrass - WOW what a crop. It does like hot and dry.

The daylilies won't be cut back until about Nov. 1. I want to be rid of the bug hiding dead foliage for the winter but if I do it too soon, they will just regrow and need it again. They have used enough energy this year just surviving the bizarre, I don't want mass foliage regrowth. Pretty can wait until another year - it isn't this year.

Yesterday was clean the pond day. Not my favorite job but necessary to complete before winter arrives. At least some of my plants were watered with great fish pond stuff - they deserve it after the torture this year.

And my biggest job each week - watering. We are on mandatory water restrictions with the threat of a no watering ban so I spend 3 days a week, watering. It's not sufficient but some is better than none.

Brooke

Jan, your new garden area will be lovely next year. PLEASE post pictures when they bloom. Somehow I still have not learned to fully appreciate double daylilies. I've got to try one or two this coming year. Do you have any that really stand out for you as great performers?

I really enjoy doing most of my fall cleanup chores. It's my favorite time of the year. I am going to squeeze one more small daylily bed into my back yard, just big enough for a dozen or so plants. (I've promised to take the kids sledding elsewhere, since they've outgrown the little hill in the back yard, and I'm taking the last little flat place at the top for my flowers.) I have to put in a simple railing around the stone terrace, and I've got the usual clean-up/edging stuff to do. I have to cut back the English ivy on the driveway wall (I have to do that twice a year, or it gets all over the place in the bed next to it). I'm going to expand a mulched play area for the kids in deep shade, so we can put in a swing for them next year. And, I'd really like to mulch my long shade bed. I guess that's the biggest chore on my list, beside doing the railing. Still, thinking of these "to dos" doesn't get me down.

Now, thinking about cleaning out our attic this fall (to clean up all the gazillion shingle bits from re-roofing the house, and get rid of excess STUFF) - THAT is a depressing chore to contemplate!

Laurel

Hi Jan, Your new bed looks wonderful! I can see that you have been busy. Don't you love creating something new?

I have finally finished planting my seedling bed (they're tiny, but they are in the ground). I put a concrete bench at the far end of the bed under some pine trees. It is very handy. There is a group of butterfly ginger to the left of the seedling bed that has become unruly. But I have decided to wait until next spring to thin them out. They smell like gardenias and I do enjoy the blooms this time of year.
{{gwi:635530}}

Before I could plant my new seedlings, I had to move the 1 year old seedlings out. I planted them in the bed on the other side of the fence. They're multiplying and seem happy. Last year I looked and looked for some native azaleas (with orange flowers) to plant in this bed. But I couldn't find them. If I don't find them in the next few months, I'm going to put camellias towards the fence in this bed.
{{gwi:635532}}

My project for the day was to plant these amaryllis seedlings in between the daylilies above. But I was rained out. They have to go in the ground ASAP. because I have about 60 more that are only 3 inches tall that need to go in these pots. BTW, sorry all these pics are blurry. There's a depression out in the Gulf and we are getting lots of wind and rain.
{{gwi:635534}}

I finished my little bog garden. It is the first bed on the left of the pathway. It is only 3' x 2', but it is over 2' deep. It took me an entire day to dig this out. There are so many tree roots in this area, it was slow going. That little chair at the other end is one of my favorite resting spots.
{{gwi:635536}}

Here's the pathway from the other end. And that's my new ground orchid in the first bed on the right. Brooke made me buy it (I'm blaming little Miss Snicker Pants for all future orchid purchases).
{{gwi:635538}}

As you can tell, I have been trying to catch up on my pictures during this stormy weather. I am still way behind, but making progress.

Kathy

Thank you all for your comments. Ya'll do like Kathy and show us photos of some of your new projects, etc. :)

Wow, Kathy, you have been a busy beaver lately, haven't you?
Yep, know about that td out in the gulf, too bad it didn't send more rain my way. Only a small shower here yesterday afternoon and we were counting on some good soakers!!
I've still got lots of things to do in my garden too, one being digging, dividing, and lining out clumps of dl's for sale next spring. I also have a couple more new beds to till and get ready for planting. :) Hopefully the weather will remain cool next week, and I can get lots more done.
Happy Fall Ya'll,
Jan

Kathy, your gardens are beautiful! Oh my, they're so neat and tidy, and now I'm thinking about my own disheveled beds and wondering when I can get out and buy a ton of mulch. I like the mosaic stepping stones.

I LOVE the idea of a mini bog garden. I've considered doing the same thing (digging, lining, and amending a small area), so I could try growing Japanese irises. The million dollar question in my yard is, WHERE??

I need to plant for more fall color. My favorite fall plants are asters, but I need some more good foliage accents.
{{gwi:635128}}
{{gwi:635540}}

Laurel

You've all been VERY busy compared to me -- I've been such a slug. Jan and Kathy, your new beds look so tidy. I'm envious.

So how do you all cope with the weeding? I really let things go this year, and finally had to realize I have to stop making new beds when I can't keep up with weeding the old ones. I did try something that was suggested on the GW and put newspapers under mulch with a new bed, and it made such a big difference. Next year, every time I weed a bed, I'm going to do the same thing.

Laurel, your asters are gorgeous. I have lots of lantana, ornamental garlic, and sedum blooming now, along with some annuals such as cosmos and zinnias. I also have some mums that are about to burst into bloom.

Chris, this is the way I deal with weeds. :) When I till up a new bed I take special care to remove all grass roots, by raking and reraking the tilled soil several times. Then once the plants are in, I mulch heavily and add mulch yearly as needed. I have very few weeds this way. Early spring is the worse time in my garden for weeds, and once I clear them out of the beds, I don't have much of a problem the rest of the season. I learned very early on, that the key is to remove all the grass and weed roots at the beginning. :)
Jan

Laurel, Love your asters...so delicate. If my bog garden does well, I will create something similar for my japanese iris. They are planted in a depression with regular garden soil and extra peat. They bloom and are doing alright. But I don't think they will ever thrive where they are now...not enough water.

Chris, don't be fooled by my pics. I have plenty of weeds - I just don't photograph them. I have found one thing that helps me with weeding. I use a low plastic step stool to sit on when I have a large area to do. I can't squat repeatedly or for any length of time...my knees ache too much. So the stool is a big help...and it keeps me from sitting on an ant bed!
:-)

Jan, we got about 2 inches of rain from this storm. We sure needed it, but I think it's over. We're about 20 inches behind normal. Did you get any?
Kathy

Nothing out of that one Kathy, but hopefully we'll get some this week. We have rain chances in the forecast just about all week long. I'm glad you got some down your way.
My son just cut down a large oak tree that had recently died, in a wooded area of my place today. There are 2 more that are dead, and I'm afraid the drought may have caused this. I don't know what else it could have been. We really need lots of rain here. :(
Jan

Whew, many more days like the past two, and I'll be a goner!! I've worked from dawn till dusk cleaning out some neglected beds and tilling them for dl's. My son moved two large hydrangeas to a shaded area, and I moved the 3rd one on Monday. I'm moving dl's into the newly refurbished areas. These are beds where I used to have a large pine tree, but the beetles took care of that for me. Now I can plant dl's there because the shade is all gone. I also had a small terrace with a bench out there, but took it up due to lack of shade. Heck, I can use the space it took up for more dl's, right? :) I've been trimming up lots of overgrown shrubs and especially one huge climbing rose (Old Blush) that covers a fence out back. It's beginning to look less like a jungle out there! LOL When I get it finished and all mulched, I'll post some photos. :)
Jan

Enjoyed the pictures...what an energetic group! My to-do list is extensive. Besides the tree mentioned on the mistakes thread, I have at least three trees that need pruning (by someone else!).

We are in extreme drought here. Supervisors announced Monday that the mandatory restrictions will increase and only hand watering (outside)will be allowed. At least we can do that. No rain in the forecast, it appears. I've not been good about watering, but between now and Sunday, I'd better enjoy using the hose while I can. Hard to think beyond that. Can't make up my mind whether it is better to get these potted daylilies into the ground ASAP or keep them in the pots (for easier watering)...decisions.

I have moved some daylilies around. Still have a few to move out. And, still need to figure out where some are going to be planted. Did take out a broom shrub and replanted that area with daylilies.

Everything pretty much needs fresh mulch. In one bed that is just daylilies, I did use newspaper between and it helped. However, wherever I didn't put it, those weeds emerged big time! Unfortunately, most areas are not just daylilies and it makes it a bit more challenging....weed barrier wise. Plus, I like some reseeding things (just not weeds).

So, general fall chores of weeding, fertilizing, mulching and planting new daylilies remain. Maybe I will actually do them this year...lol!

I do want some stairs in my backyard but it is difficult to access (one entry...heavily planted)...it would be so nice next year to have them, the steps.

Enjoy seeing all of your projects, it does give me a push.

Brooke, I would love to know a bit more about the foliage being cut back Nov 1. I have not done this before, but I am thinking of it for the reasons you say...i.e., bugs. Do you wait until after the temps drop or do you cut it green? How low do you cut it? Thanks.

Hi gg - we try to cut back a couple of weeks before we usually get a hard freeze so we don't get too much regrowth. We cut them back to 3-4" and let the temps take care of the rest. We have fewer aphids and whatever else hangs out in the clumps the next spring if we eliminate the gooey mushed foliage through the winter. The only year we didn't cut everything back, you know the free mulch idea, we had severe spring sickness that year so we cut it off. Bulb mites are one of the suspects for spring sickness and we probably gave them a nice warm home to survive our funky winters.

One year we cut them back in mid-Sept. during another drought, to take advantage of the tail end of a hurricane so the clumps would get moisture in the middle. By doing it that early, we had to recut again in Nov. The foliage looked like spring by Nov.

Spring clean up is also easier for me if I don't have to remove the foliage. In the spring, I am too busy removing weeds to deal with it:)!

Freeze/thaw is the problem we have in winter and the dead foliage insures that moisture will be trapped in the crowns of the plant and we lose more daylilies to too much moisture in the winter, than from actual low temps.

Sorry about your drought - I am willing to share my drought with anyone getting too much rain. Guess what - time to go switch hoses around since today is my day to water. Still mandatory here but I don't think they are going to shut it off all together (she said hopefully).

Brooke

Thanks, Brooke! I think I am going to try that this year. I've certainly had my share (or more!) of aphids, spring sickness, etc., so I am open to new things. Early Nov would probably work here as well.

A couple more photos of my new bed and also my newly refurbished bed. I had to transition it from a shade garden to sun after we lost a large pine tree to pine beetles.

This is the same bed as in my firt post, but now I have all the shrubs in and mulched. I'm still not finished with it however. There will be a small terrace on the back right corner with a garden bench.
{{gwi:635542}}
This is of the "once shady" area, now planted with dl's.
{{gwi:635544}}
This is a view of the top area of the same bed.
{{gwi:635546}}
Jan

Oh, WOW! Those areas will be stunning next year in full bloom. You have a great eye for design. I see many new daylilies there - did you plant by color or theme, or some other DL characteristic? That's going to be lovely with the new terrace.

I'm still puttering around in the yard, too. It's been unseasonably warm up here, and drier than usual, but we're expecting some cooler weather and rain soon. I'm hoping to put in a new railing for the patio terrace in the back yard - it's had a "temporary" mesh fence for a year and a half now, and I'm determined to finish that area off properly. That's this weekend's project, at least to start it by setting the posts in concrete.

Laurel

Laurel...the bed in front of the cedar tree is filled with my doubles. The end section of the other bed has my "candy" series in it. The rest of that bed is just a mixture, trying to plant by height, we'll see how I did next year when they bloom. :) Most of those dl's were in a holding bed out back of my barn, received this past spring.
I'm as busy as a beaver down here. So much to do and so little time....I transplanted about 175 seedlings from pots to a seedling bed Saturday and yesterday. Tilled up 2 line out beds approximately 4 ft x 50 ft, and amended the soil, yesterday. Lined out some dl's today, but it started raining, praise God, so I had to stop. We got a much needed inch of rain. Not nearly enough to stop this awful drought, but I'll take any I can get these days. :) The weather down here, is supposed to cool off substantially over the next few days, so I anticipate getting lots of dl clumps dug and divided.
Happy gardening,
Jan
Jan

Jan.......
Everything looks Wonderful!!! you do great work....:) Think how much enjoyment you will get this Spring....walking around to each of these beds...following the flow of colour....size....shapes and foliage.....it will be so worth all the work you have done....way to go Gal!!

Rick

Your garden beds are so pretty! But, I just love the barn!!!! The combination of the two are making you one fantastic garden setting. Your sure have been a busy bee. Thanks for taking the time to share your beauty. Blessings to all, Mona

Thanks Mona, I love our old barn too! We used to have horses, but not any more, so the barn has been converted into a workshop/potting shed/equipment storage building with a soon to be a studio apartment on the second floor. :) My son is renovating the second floor into an apartment for himself. :) It's going to a great place when he gets it finished.
Jan

Jan I wish I had half the energy you have, your yard looks so great, my husband say mine doesnt because I dont plan it out which is true. lol If I like it I get it with no thought where I am going to plant it. I am going to try to get an area by the edge of the wood mulch up with leaves and stuff so it can decay over the winter, then till it in with a plan where to plant everything that I have just stuck here and there. I want something with a little winter interest also. Does anyone know of a site that is free or cheap that you can draw out a plan and go check the stats of the plant at the same time?
Jill

Jill, I don't know of any site like that. But if you find one, let us know. It would be very useful.
Kathy

Kathy, you know with so much on the internet and they make their money by selling ads, I figure there has to be one somewhere. But I will let you know if I ever find one. lol
jill

Jill....did you find this site when looking for an online garden design....I haven't tried it yet, but it looks interesting and you can download it to your own pc.
Jan

Here is a link that might be useful: design your garden

We have a WINNER WINNER WINNER here Jan, cant wait till my hubby wakes up to tell me if I can download this on my computer. You can look up the stats also. Thanks Jan

Jan , I went to the site stated working on it and it doesnt have enough plants to choose from but it is what I am looking for, just need one with more plant choices.
Jill

Jan, I downloaded the program from your link. Condsidering it is free, it is quite good. In addition to a graph view, it will also render a 3D view with flowing fountains and flying butterflies. But I agree with Jill...the plant list they give you to choose from is very limited. And all the daylilies are rendered in Stella yellow. Still, it's very easy to use and I had a ball playing with it. Thanks for the link!
Kathy

Somebody has some new garden photos they need to put on here....LOL Let's get with the program.......need I say more???? LOL LOL

LOL....ok Rick....I can take a hint...although that was not a very subtle one!!! :)
Here's the new bed I've been working on folks. The first photo is an overall view as I would see it out my bedroom window.
{{gwi:635548}}
This is the bed from the front side showing how I tied it into an existing dl bed along the fence line.
{{gwi:635550}}
And last is a closeup of the little seating terrace I put into one side of the bed. I still have to finish mulching with pinestraw, and may plant another camilia or two but for the most part, the bed is finished.
{{gwi:635552}}
Jan

Jan, very pretty and I like your seating area - smart. Is that a cast iron bench? Love all the curves and curls on it.
Kathy

Thanks Kathy, and yes, it is an iron bench. In the spring and summer, I put a colorful cushion on it. I have a wonderful little home and garden shop just up the road from me, and she has the most unique stuff. The bench and the candle stand came from up there. Come to think of it, I need to pay her a visit, haven't been in a while. No telling what I might find next. :) Don't you just love browsing around those kinds of shops?
Jan

Now that is what I'm talking about....Wonderful....just wonderful....your gardening is like a painting....I enjoy watching and waiting to see what part of the canvas is going to get your ...touch...next! Peally Purdy Jan! Way to go...:)

Rick

Gosh Rick...thanks....:) It will be nice once it fills in and everything starts blooming...I can't wait till spring!! LOL
Jan

Jan, You have a talent for placement and design, very nice.
Jill

Jan, your garden photos are inspiring! You have a great eye for design. I like your fanciful iron bench - it will make a wonderful place to sit and admire your garden in bloom next year.

Laurel

Why thank you both, Jill and Laura. I just do whatever my mind thinks up. When an opportunity to create a new bed arises, I jump in with both feet! :) My DH is forever telling me I need to start my own landscaping business, but he doesn't have any idea how much work it all is. LOL It's all I can do keeping up with my own, much let's somebody else's!!
I'm glad you enjoy my photos. I can hardly wait for spring when it's all blooming.
Jan

It is finished! Got all the pinestraw down today, now I'm just waiting for spring!! :)
{{gwi:635554}}
And, I finally finished the renovation of the other bed also. Got the back corner all cleaned out and planted a little dogwood in the corner with 3 red Knockout roses just behind the daylilies. Got it all mulched with pinestraw too.
{{gwi:635556}}
{{gwi:635558}}
{{gwi:635560}}
Jan

Great job Jan. It will be fantastic next year, can't wait for those pics.

Brooke

WHEW - I hope you're finished...all your hard work is making me tired!
;-)
It looks wonderful, Jan. Our homeowners association planted dozens of knockout roses this year and they've done great. I chose to plant 2 homerun roses instead... very similar, but more red than pink.
Kathy

Kathy didnt mean to forget to mention your garden also, sorry. Very impressive also
Jill

It looks FANtastic Jan!! The "Knockout" Roses added the finishing touch.....now it's a total Knockout!!! You do great work...that will be awesome when it all blooms out this Spring....Way to go!

Rick

Jan, as always, the pics are gorgeous - you are my motivation LOL - one day my yard WILL look as good as yours!!!!!

Hi Jan, Great job on your gardens. You have a large area to play with. It must be so much fun having all that space to spread out and make more beds.
It's always fun to see others handy work, it is really inspiring. I go through times of the blahs and when I see someone else's work it gets me going again. I'm currently working on getting an harbor or pergola ideas in my head for an area to sit in the shade.
If I get it done, it will have two seating benches facing each other. I will post pictures if I do get it done.
The trick will be not digging, I plan on building it so I don't have to dig to place post in the ground.
Reason for no post is because there is a chance we could move in a few years and I may want to take it with me :)
I look forward to seeing your beautiful garden in bloom next year.