5:19 PM

My New Fence and the Garden Within It

Hi there! I am back with another update on my new fence and the garden I am making inside it. I told you in my last post that I had been waiting all spring and the very beginning of summer for a fence to be installed on my property. I was so looking forward to the new fence because it would allow me to have a garden or two that would keep unwanted animals out of it. I have a real deer problem in my yard and am tired of trying to protect all my flowers with various methods from these gorgeous but pain-the-neck animals. As you can see, the deer are perfectly comfortable in my yard.

The fence was installed five weeks later than I had thought it would be in mid-June, which meant my plans of transplanting flowers from the back garden to the two new fenced-in garden areas and starting a whole new landscape was severely postponed. I chose to work on the side garden off the side of the back deck first because there was a garden bed already prepared there. The 6-foot tall fenced-in garden in the side back yard will probably have to wait until next spring as new beds need to be created before plants can be transplanted and added. The garden off the back deck was where I put all my energies. This photo was taken almost two weeks ago. I think the garden was coming along pretty well then.

This photo was taken a few days ago. The zinnias are starting to bloom, which is awesome!

In the center of this garden where the stakes are is where I have planted dahlias, the tall variety. Some of them I overwintered and some I purchased this spring. Many of the dahlias did not do well over the winter even though I put them in peat moss and placed them in the basement. I thought I did everything right, but I still had to purchase more tubers this season. To be honest, some of the tubers from the garden centers where I purchased them didn’t look all that terrific either but most of them seemed to grow. I have been fertilizing the plants like crazy and am hoping for all sorts of blooms at some point!

Other flowers now in the garden include the afore mentioned zinnias I grew from seed in planters. They had been growing since the beginning of May when I finally placed them into the ground at the end of June. I purchased cleome, cosmos, celosia, and marigold plants from nurseries around my area to put in the garden, as well. I had one bachelor button plant reseed itself from last summer. I love the blue color. I will have to remember to throw some bachelor button seeds in this garden next year. The plants are somewhat wispy and soft stemmed, but the color is beautiful and worth the experimentation.

I also purchased a scabiosa plant. It is supposed to be a perennial, but I have my doubts. I have tried this plant before in my garden without any luck but, they are still worth the trouble to me. The blossom is unique and amazing.

In this garden bed are also some phlox plants that I somehow saved from the deer last summer. They are about to blossom as we speak. Very excited about that!

There are some petunias and salvia also trying to grow, as well. I say trying to grow, because as a side note, not only do I have deer and woodchucks to contend with, now slugs and bugs are eating the leaves, etc. of my plants! You have to love gardening as I do to endure all this heartache. I bought an organic bug spray for the plants and am also trying Sluggo to keep the slugs at bay. So far, things are improving.

There is also another garden in this fenced-in area opposite the one I have been showing you that is a little sad at the moment but still has potential for loveliness in the future. In this garden are hostas, some I had to move here because the deer chomped them down to the ground in other areas of the yard, some that we had placed a wire fence around until the real fence arrived that kept them safe. I added a caladium, a spring phlox, coleus, impatiens and begonias because this side of the walkway is shaded. I also transplanted a hydrangea shrub that was hiding out from the deer also in another area of the yard. Two brand new purchased hydrangeas were added to the mix, as well. They even have buds on them. I am thrilled!!! Deer have always eaten the buds off of my hydrangea bushes in years past.

I have plans to move some sedum from the back garden into the sunniest parts of the fenced-in garden if I have the time this summer. Right now, they are growing under chicken wire cages, so they won’t get eaten, although the stinkers (deer) eat any little sprout that escapes the caging. I am praying they will thrive in a new environment.

My daughter also has tons of Hosta in her yard, and she is promising me some for next season. I will fill in bare spots on this side of the fenced-in garden with them next year. It was too late to take advantage of her offer when the fence finally was installed. The Hosta was too established in her garden to disrupt them in late June. Finally, as you can see, I need to put down mulch. My husband and I have had some health things going on, so we haven’t been able to do it yet. Bark mulch always makes a garden look tidy and finished and I really look forward to putting it down soon.

I know my photos are not going to get into a magazine and may not be all that impressive to you but to me, I am ecstatic to have a garden where the flower tops have not been eaten off and I can descend the garden steps every morning to see what new flower has emerged. It brings me joy!

I am also happy that the deck is looking pretty good too...finally!! It seems everything was delayed this summer, but it did get done and now I feel I can take it easy and enjoy my deck. I have a minor improvement I am thinking of doing here. If all works out well, it will be shared soon.