Thursday, October 14, 2010

how does your garden grow?

Did you know many European homes do not have lawns? Neither front lawns nor back lawns?

They have gardens instead.

I got my package of bulbs in the mail today that I've been waiting anxiously for the last month and a half. I got a catalog that had a $25 off coupon any purchase of $25 or more. So of course I bought 2 kinds of bulbs, totaling $24.99. I only paid shipping.

So I am excited to get out and take another look at the area around my front porch and front side of the house, think about what I did and didn't like this year, and weed and move bulbs accordingly.

Then I look at our front lawn and cringe. The previous owners of our home didn't take care of the lawn. In fact there was no landscaping whatsoever around the house. So I was excited to start with a fresh slate, and this summer I was mostly pleased with the perennials and annuals I'd planted. But the poor lawn. It needs help. The good grass only grows in little round patches, and in between are patches of bad grass and weeds. And a lot of it is brown. Granted, we didn't water it as often as we probably could have, and it's been awhile since it's been mowed. I'm hoping by putting down some fall weed & feed, and getting a jumpstart on weed control and fertilizer in the spring, it'll be better next year.

But in the meantime, I envy my European distant relatives. This picture is from the backyard of one of Rocky's cousin-aunt-removed-something-or-other who we visited when we were in the Netherlands a couple years ago. Her front yard is just as amazing.

Maybe next year I should just forget about having a lawn...

5 comments:

Angie Sylvester said...

We just planted grass seed 'again' this past weekend:-P We're hoping the cold weather holds off until it gets established. It's tedious watering it everyday, but I'm hoping all our hard work will pay off.

I'm excited for your garden! I love coming home to all my flowers:D Moved part of my herb garden inside this past weekend too...we'll see how long it stays alive:-P God does a better job of watering outside than I do inside.

Urban Earthworm said...

Love that picture! I would rather have that than a yard any day!

Our yard is the same way, though it's mostly sand. The previous owner was horrible (imagine my surprise when we found out he was a landscaper, he just never worked on his own house).

What kinds of bulbs did you get?

Urban Earthworm said...

Oh, and we found a great way to get grass to grow in our inhospitable yard - birdfeeders, lol!

Carrie Roer said...

Thanks guys. :) One of the biggest reasons I wanted my own house was so I could handle my own lawn and landscaping! I'm hoping to plant bulbs today, yay!

I got 15 English bluebell bulbs, and 50 "mountain bells mixture" -- a type of allium, the description that caught my interest was "Blooms burst in small clusters during the drab, latespring months when petals of most bulbs have faded and summer flowers have yet to open." :)

And YES I want to put up birdfeeders too! I have some from our other house but don't have a place to hang them yet!

Urban Earthworm said...

I tagged you on Cheap Wine and Cookies!

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