Ever tried pulling up weeds through straw? It sucks! So, I raked off the straw. Action Hoe to the rescue!!
After removing as many weeds as I could, I loaded the rose beds up with the woodchips. I think it looks much better.
Another post mulch picture
I gotta say, I'm sooooooooooooooooo glad I am done with those damn woodchips!! I made a total of 9 trips!! That's 27 raggedy metal trash cans, 18 recycle bins and 18 storage containers full of this stuff. I wonder how many yards that was?
Below: Foundation bed
Below: Garage bed
I didn't post a picture of the south fence bed as I'm scared that Carol and Carolyn will yell at me when they find out that I cut the Spirea down to the ground.
Below: Garage bed
I didn't post a picture of the south fence bed as I'm scared that Carol and Carolyn will yell at me when they find out that I cut the Spirea down to the ground.
You did WHAT?! You killed that beautiful Spirea ?! Just kidding. It's your garden, do whatcha gotta do to make yourself happy .
ReplyDeleteIf you cut the Spirea down to the ground and didn't dig it out by the roots, it will come back to haunt you !
I think you did a good job on mulching ( it was a gazillion yards ) the roses and from now on you'll have fewer weeds.
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ReplyDeletecarolyn - no no no, I did NOT kill the beautiful Spirea! Let me publically state that I LOVE THE SPIREA! It was just out of control. After you and carol told me what it was, I researched it and found that I could cut it back to a few inches above the ground and it would grow back. After I tried pruning it, this seemed like my only viable option. It already has lots of new growth on it and now that I've come clean with you, maybe I'll post some pictures of it. I doubt it will bloom next year but at least I can keep it under control, now.
ReplyDeleteThe beds look great, Gina. Amazing what a few jillion yards of mulch will do. I like the trellises too. Be sure to let us see when they are covered with flowers.
ReplyDeleteI cut my spirea all the way to the ground this spring and they have come back out nice and full, not leggy at all. Some spirea blooms on new growth, so you should have blooms next spring.
Now, sit back and enjoy!
Hey, Gina you must have meant some other Carol other than me, right?
ReplyDeleteI cut some of my spirea down to the ground this spring and they are back "better than ever". I recommend doing it and am trying to talk my neighbor in to cutting some of hers back next spring. I don't know when you cut yours back, but I advise doing so in the spring while they are still dormant. It might still be okay to do it at other times, but I think spring is best.
See, no yelling or getting on you! You're doing great with your garden!
Carol at May Dreams Gardens
Thanks for clarifying that Gina. What you did is "rejuvination " pruning. Next time don't get us so excited, just say you "rejuvinated " it. And you have . It'll be back better than ever next year. No blooms guaranteed , of course. But a better shrub all around.
ReplyDeleteWhat a lot of work you've done in the past couple of weeks, Gina. Sit back and enjoy some iced tea (or stronger beverage)--you've earned it and things are looking great.
ReplyDeleteDavid - thanks for stopping by. I think my spirea blooms on old growth but my question is, how old is old growth? I mean if i have growth right now, will that growth be "old growth" by next spring? How long does it take?
ReplyDeleteCarol - my variety of spirea says it should be pruned immediatly after it flowers. So, I was a couple months late.
ReplyDeleteJodi - I was just thinking today that I havnt spent any time outside enjoying my garden. I'll make an effort to do that while I enjoy some peach iced tea. Thanks for the suggestion!
ReplyDeleteWow you've been busy. And you were smart enough to take before pictures, which I never thought to do until after we did all the work! I laughed out loud every time you said you were lazy, I am lazy by nature too, but gardening doesn't let you, does it? I love woodchips, they just make everything look neater, but wow are they a pain to lug around. Keep up the good work!
ReplyDeleteHey Heather - thanks for stopping by! I'm soooo sore today from lugging all those wood chips around.
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ReplyDeleteHi Gina,
ReplyDelete"Old growth is the previous year's growth, so yes--the growth you have now will be "old" by next spring.
You should start to see some new growth coming out over the next few weeks--this too will be "old" by next spring, but it may not bloom if it doesn't have enough time to develop between now and winter. (Sorry, I don't know how many weeks it needs.)
So, if you have a little bit of growth left, that would probably bloom. If it's cut totally to the ground, probably not--but it will still be a nice, full, attractive shrub. Either way, you can't hurt it, and you'll probably be a lot happier with it. Be sure to show us photos this time next year!
If yours is an old-growth bloomer, the best time to prune (in my limited experience) is immediately after the blooms fade.
If it's a new-growth bloomer, you can prune it in late winter while it's still dormant.
Good Luck! Hope this helps
david - thanks for the great info! It was very helpful! Mine is a spring bloomer so hopefully my growth will be old enough by next spring. Either way I'm sure it will look much better even with no blooms. I've been very surprised how much growth I've seen even over the past week. At this rate it may be huge again by next summer! thanks again
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