Long Time No See

In November, I was laid off from my job.  In December, my best friend became my roommate, and lots of house things happened.  February saw SCA Candlemas, and I'm leaving for Gulf Wars in like two days, so lots of costumery has been happening, as well.  Hence my long absence from both this blog and my actual gardens.

However. 

While I was planning to wait until week after next (when I'm home and rested after my trip) to start the gardening for this year.  But today at Big Orange Depot, where I stopped to procure some plumbing supplies for a woodworking project (which I'll write about on my SCA blog next week), I was waylaid by an armload of African Daisies and Spanish Lavender.  So the gardening began today!
I don't have pictures for you, but after a quick cleanup of the front bed, a few plants tucked into the ground, and a bagful of new mulch thrown on top of it all, the population of the front garden is now as follows:

Big

• cream/yellow (single, wild-type) rose
• magenta (single, wild-type) rose
• magenta Chinese Witch Hazel (Loropetalum)

Flowers

• magenta/purple African Daisies (Osteospermum)
• pale lavender African Daisies
• red Cyclamen
• black "Before the Storm" (german bearded) Irises
• lavender/blue Irises
• purple Spiderwort (Tradescantia)
• green/lavender Spiderwort (Tradescantia)
• pink Autumn Lilies (Amaryllis)

Herbs

• Spanish Lavender (Lavandula stoechas)
• Spearmint (Mentha spicata)
• Cilantro (Coriandrum sativum)
• Sweet Basil (Ocimum basilicum)
• Garlic Chives (Allium tuberosum)
• white Yarrow (Achillea millefolium

While I have been trying to keep the color scheme kind of uniform (blacks, purples, magenta-pinks, and white), I have been sort of throwing things into the front bed willy-nilly the past few months, when I've bothered to work in the garden at all.  In a month or so, it should be a riot of flowers and herbs, which is how I like it.  

When I get back from my trip, I'm planning to make a huge trip to my favorite local organic nursery to stock up on vegetables, more herbs, some ornamental grasses, and some perennial flowers, all for the back yard.  

After the Martian Death Fungus of aught-eleven (ha) and the subsequent Drought To End All Droughts, I kind of let the whole thing go.  Last autumn the whole thing was knee-high with scary weeds (mostly ragweed and hemlock), which I plucked up by hand in December - all 864 square feet of it.  My trees are all doing quite well, as are the few remaining Garlic Chives plants, and my black "Romantika" Clematis that survived the last few years' hardship. The hateful Bermuda grass that my lawn was sodded with when I bought my house in 2004 has finally been totally replaced by whatever local grasses have decided to take root, and I have a nice, fluffy, cool, soft, green carpet back there again.  HA!  Take that, Bermuda Ass.  

So there'll be lots happening in the garden this Spring.  I'll be back soon. :) 

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