Thursday, September 24, 2015

How did I do?


                                                   
West Virginia Department of Commerce

Happy Fall, Y’All from the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia! I can’t believe the gorgeous weather we’ve had all this week: cool mornings and lovely temps in the high 70’s.  Perfection.

When I look back over the summer to assess how far I’ve come in my new home,  I’m somewhat disappointed that I haven’t achieved very much by way of gardening. And yet I’m very pleased with the good attempt. I have to remind myself of the time and money spent scrubbing and painting every inch of my house, and buying all the things one needs to own a home.

My house is a small raised ranch. The inside is in excellent shape and as cute as it could be. The outside has very nice siding and really bad windows.
When I moved in, here is what the front looked like. You can see why I needed to put some type of porch on the house, which was a large expense for me, and before I spent money on any plants. This was necessary for not only the appearance but for safety precautions for myself and others.

                                                       

Enter my kind and handy son-in-law and we put a simple wooden deck on. I stained it the red color because that is the color of my roof and my large deck in the back so it all coordinated. We put a new storm door on and I painted the trim. On the left are most of the shrubs I bought (see below) surrounding the French Lilac bush that was there. They are rather close together for now, but I wanted to get them in the ground before winter. On the right are two Knock Out rose bushes, and the little obelisk is harboring two clematis plants - one Jackmanii, a deep dark purple and the other a hot pink. I hope they will get large and intertwine and look beautiful as they climb up the house. I have to figure out how to make them live through the harsh winter we are being promised - again.

There are many things I want to do and I'll tell you about them in another post!


But I do want to show you one of my very favorite annuals - the Angel Wing Begonia. They somehow remind me of a heartier orchid growing tall stems with their flowers dangling off the tips, and looking so elegant. I love mine here with the little Impatiens "sport" that popped into the pot. It turns out to be my favorite color - the purple.                                   
                                                      

So what do you do to protect your plants from winter or other harsh weather?  

I hope life is going well for you and I'll see you next time!


8 comments:

  1. Very nice post, Ann! And your new house is coming along great! Your bushes and clematis should do fine over the winter. You might want to put some more mulch around them though. Keep them watered well in the fall, too. The clematis won't climb up the house, but will twine around your supporting items. It will probably use your porch, too, as a support!
    Great start to your landscaping!

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    1. Thanks, Sue! My plan is to get a piece of lattice and attach it to the house to twine the clematis around. I will water it good though and mulch heavily.

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  2. Ann, your house looks beautiful, you and SIL did a great job! Your clematis should be fine. I used to have one, situated close to the house like yours, and I never had to do a thing to it. Of course it naturally got a heavy layer of mulch from the fall leaves so maybe that had something to do with it - if you're worried about it you could just mulch it well for the winter.

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    1. Hi, thanks for your comment! I will definitely get more mulch before winter sets in. It's so painful to plant things and have them die over the winter!

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  3. Ann, your home looks terrific! I am enjoying reading your notes~ keep up the good work...happy fall!

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    1. Hi Rita, thanks for your comment. I have a lot more to do in the front....but one step at a time.....;)

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  4. Your porch looks nice, and you are lucky to have a handy SIL who shares his talents. :-) It sounds like you got all the advice you need above regarding the Clematis. I love Knockout Roses because they take care of everything themselves as long as they are in good soil, have sun, and are watered.

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  5. Hi! Thanks for your comment. I hope winter waits a good long while before it hits here so my newly planted things have a chance to grow some decent roots. I sure hope your winter isn't as bad as last year's was, Judy!

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