Saturday, May 25, 2013

~Three-Day Weekend Garden Update~




 It's a three day weekend here in the U.S. and our little patch of Pacific Northwest has actually been clear, dry and- dare I say it?- sunny today! After a week of sudden torrential downpours (our gutter actually fell off the house!) constant sprinkles, all out rain, or even a bit of hail we woke in surprise this morning to see the road and sidewalks actually dry. Dry! A dry Saturday and therefore a gardening day! Woohoo! Okay- it's only me who was excited. The three men in the family were not quite as enthusiastic.

But excited or not, we got down to business and took care of things. Husband and sons got the gutters back on the house and cleared the sidewalk parking strip in preparation for a future project. I finished up a section of garden I've been working on by getting it mulched and swept (more on that in a bit). And Husband and I saved the overgrown, droopy climbing rose that was falling off the chimney by a spot of pruning and then stringing up some twine for it to climb along. All in all, a good day's work. 


We finished the day off with hot dogs roasted over the open fire and later, Reeces' Peanut Butter Cup S'more's for desert. OH, yum!




 So it's been a good day and I will share a little more of what I was able to finish in the garden, but before I do I need to go back awhile. Mid-April to be specific. It was then that Husband and I finally took care of a little project that has been needing doing for the last three years.

Look closely at the picture below. Notice anything? (well yes, there is a cute feline rolling around on the sidewalk, but besides that)



Here's another look:


That beautiful but gangly looking plant alongside the fence is actually a 'cecil brunner' rosebush. A climbing rose. And what exactly is it climbing? Well, . . . nothing. That's the problem. It was a Mother's Day gift three years ago and when I planted it I envisioned a lovely trellis/arbor thingy arching over the gateway for it to climb over and spread it's leaves and delicate pink roses everywhere. Very romantic stuff really, and a far cry from the ugly chainlink fence I am stuck with. However- as you can see, my dream never became reality and we have spent a good couple of years ducking and dodging it's thorny branches as it has taken over the entire entryway into the garden.

Our biggest problem with putting in the lovely, imaginary trellis/arbor thingy is that the entry space is not 'standard' and was much too narrow for a store-bought archway. We tried. It failed. And our financial reality said we could not in fact have one custom made, while our skill-set/tool ownership reality said we could not build it ourselves. So you can see why we ended up just 'ducking and dodging' for so long.

Until . . .
(Perhaps you can see where this is going)
yours truly had a little brainstorm!

I spied seven-foot, pre-made trellises at our local home improvement store. And I suddenly pictured two of them standing across from each other while a section of a third trellis lay across the top like a bridge . . . a bridge for roses!

And so you can see from the picture above, that's exactly what we did. I admit it was much more complicated than my little vision had let on, but in the end (after much sawing, hammering, gluing, measuring) we managed to put together our very own, custom made rose arbor!


And here it is!

Isn't that a huge improvement?!

No more ducking and dodging every time we go in or out of the garden! It's been a month and a half and I am still so thrilled to be able to walk under my roses instead of into them!

But it gets better, because then . . .


they bloomed!

and they bloomed . . .

and bloomed . . .

and bloomed!

Aren't they just the loveliest, most delicate little roses?
And their scent is fantastic, too! Every time you pass under, you get a sweet whiff of perfume . . .
pretty romantic for a chainlink fence, I'd say. ;)

They've been blooming since the beginning of May and I know they are thanking me for the arbor by putting out far more roses than ever before. I'm glad they approve.

And now, back to today and the little area I got all spruced up. It's really been in honor of the roses that I took time to clean this spot all up. See how it all sort of makes it's way out to the arbor? I wish I had thought to take a 'before' shot, but trust me- it was overgrown and weedy.


And here's the view looking back down the path. 
My poppies are all over like little drunken sailors. Too much rain. 
I love it. :)

And here is the latest newcomer to the garden . . . my Spanish lavender. You can see all the little petals from the roses scattered all around. I tucked her into a bed of rocks and with all the sun she'll get here, I think she'll be twice as big this time next year. She came home with us from Elk Rock Garden . . . but more on that next time!

Thanks for stopping by to visit-
Have a lovely weekend!

Cheers!

4 comments:

  1. I love that firepit! The rose is beautiful and y'all are so clever for making that trellis. The rose will love you in days to come.

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  2. jenniffer - your yard just looks so gorgeous! i love the firepit and i ADORE that arbor you guys built! so beautiful with the roses! wow. can i come and visit?!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow! It is as if the Roses were so pleased about their trestle they could not contain themselves:)
    Your yard is lovely, and so wonderful that the whole family works together to make it so!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Everyone loves it when individuals come together
    and share thoughts. Great site, continue the good work!


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