Garden Tour: The Front Foundation Garden
The front foundation garden was the first area I started to tackle when we moved here 10 years ago. It was planted with things that wouldn’t have survived in that bed. The rhododendrons in that bed were given to my parents and I replaced them with a few plants, most of which are long since gone.
I started by adding lots of chicken manure, leaf mold and compost for several years. Then I dig out all the big rocks and added more humus. After a few years, I decided it was time to plant a few things. This garden has evolved over time, just like my skills as a gardener. If I was starting this bed from scratch I’d do things a little differently.
Overall, I really like this flowerbed, it contains a mix of things that bloom throughout the seasons. Lots of spring flowering bulbs from February through April. It’s filled with peonies, hollyhocks, hydrangeas, catmint and other flowering beauties during the summer. In the fall there’s a beautiful ‘Pinky Winky’ hydrangea and a few balloon flowers that hang on for a last showing of color. It could use an evergreen shrub or two (like a boxwood) to give it a little more structure in the winter.
There are also lots of edibles; chives, fennel, asparagus, kale, blueberries, tomatoes, squash, cabbage and whatever other edibles I can tuck into empty spots.
My favorite time to view this flowerbed is in lat June when the ‘Annabelle’ hydrangea is at it’s best. There’s just something so wonderful about this original garden. It’s the first garden I started working on 10 years ago and it shows.
How old is your oldest garden?
Chiot’s Run Garden Tour
The Middle Garden
The Side Garden
The Front Hillside Garden
Mr Chiot’s Mailbox Garden
Garden Tour: The Front Garden
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Friday Favorite: These Cats
I’m not much of a collector. You won’t find my house overflowing with collectibles, figurines, or much else for that matter. I even try to keep my book collection to a minimum. There are however a few things around that I love, like these wooden cats.
They were purchased here and there a long time ago. In fact, I can’t remember a time when they weren’t sitting on top of my dresser. One of them I even repainted to look like our old cat Jeffrey. There hasn’t been a new one in many, many years and I don’t actively seek out more.
I don’t quite know what it is I love about these little wooden cats, they’re kind of quirky and cute. No doubt, they’ll remain on my dresser for years to come! Does it count as a “collection” if you only have four?
Do you have any collections?
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Making a Statement
Yesterday, at noon, I found myself standing on the corner of a major intersection in our area with a sign:
I’m not much of one to do these kinds of things, but one of my good friend is very involved in the fight against fracking and wastewater disposal here in our community. She helped coordinate a state wide rally that took place in communities all around the state yesterday.
The hope was to raise awareness of the fact that Ohio is a dumping ground for many other state’s fracking water and the dangers that come along with this.
Since she’s a good friend of mine, I went to support her and to take some photos to publicize the rally. We stood on a main intersection in town around lunch time waving our signs. Thankfully, we got a lot of people honking and giving us the thumbs up (a few other fingers too, but we won’t go there). Some folks that actually stopped to chat, thank us in person and to get some information to pass along.
This kind of involvement is really not my thing. I much prefer to work in the background. I’ll cook, support, make signs and just about anything but be out in the middle of things. Standing on the corner holding a sign is WAY out of my comfort zone. Sometimes, it’s all about supporting those you love and a cause you believe in above staying in your comfort zone. I’m thankful for those that are fighting to keep our water and air clean for future generations!
Have you ever taken part in an environmental/political rally?
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Wash, Rinse, Repeat
House showings, they’re kinda weird. Both houses we have purchased have been for sale by owner. So we met with the owners of the homes and they showed us around. Definitely my preferred method of purchasing a house. This house, we listed with a realtor for a variety of reasons, mainly our gated community rules. It’s really weird for us to leave for an hour while strangers come and look around our house and someone who hasn’t’ lived here tells them about it.
The worst part of it, is stopping everything we’re doing, mopping the floors, and leaving for an hour. So far, we’ve had four showings and it feels like all I’m doing is vacuuming and mopping the floors and sitting in my car waiting. Let’s hope we either move or someone makes an offer soon!
What do you think is the best way to purchase a home, through a realtor or for sale by owner?
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A Real Heirloom Tomato
Last week I went to my mom’s to visit and see how her gardens were doing. While there, she gave me a beautiful heirloom tomato.
This tomato was grown from seed that my grandpa gave us. It’s a hillbilly type tomato that he has been saving seeds from for a while. Sadly, this is the first year he hasn’t been able to grow tomatoes, so he gave the seeds to us.
I’m going to call it ‘Grandpa Meade’s Hillbilly’ tomato. You see, my grandpa is an authentic hillbilly straight from the hills of West Virginia.
You can bet that every single seed is being carefully saved. Hopefully, I’ll get enough to share with all my family members who are interested in growing them. If I get enough, I’m more than happy to share if any of you are interested.
Did you grow any new heirloom tomatoes this year? What’s your favorite heirloom beefsteak tomato?
