It worked. It’s enchanting. The sweet peas are now in full bloom and their tendrils have coiled through the corn crib.  Their fragrance pink blossoms are  seductive and draw me over several times a day.  It is a wall of flowers with sparkly crystal prisms peeking through.  It is just as I had imagined; a beautiful magical wall of blooms in the middle of no where.

I’m also rather pleased with my “Destination Garden”.  Everything is growing and blooming masses of lively colours.  It is guaranteed to put a smile on anyone’s face who walks down there.   Both new beds are thriving.  (I highly recommend mushroom compost.)   The zinnias, cosmos, lilies, and dahlias are all in full bloom.  I’m proud to say that everything was grown from the seeds taken from last years plants. How cool is that?

Perhaps next year I will add in a few flag stones and a bench and build on the idea of creating a hideaway respite.  This space also cries out for a  bird bath and feeder but  I don’t want to make additional work for myself by having to truck containers of fresh water and bird seed out there every other day.  Keep it simple.

My vegetable garden is also a success (so far).   Last year my tomatoes outgrew their support cages so Warren has since installed medal fencing  to hold up the branches. They are not needed yet, but we are ready. In this bed I also have all of my herbs, hot peppers and squash.  The whole border is edged with  marigold and zinnias.

You are probably thinking that I have an amazing green thumb and everything I touch grows, but I do have my failures.  I’m sad to report that my hollyhock garden didn’t materialize.  After all of my work clearing out the prickly weeds, digging a new bed and sprinkling the soil with thousands of hollyhock seeds and a few dozen actual hollyhock plants,……  very little survived the winter.  I think I only have three hollyhocks living there and being biannual they won’t bloom until next year.   To fill out this bed I have had to plant some Rose of Sharon, several dahlias and the left over irises that needed to come out of the front bed before its makeover.  I’m ashamed to say that this little garden is pathetic.  I must continually weed constantly because the stinging nettle and wild raspberry keep popping back up.   Give me more time.  I plan to repeat last summer’s efforts and encourage more hollyhocks for next year.

I drive around the county right now and see lovely hollyhocks growing naturally at the side of the road.  I want them!

This dream is still very much alive and will require more patience and another year.  Stay tuned.

Finally, here is an update on our outdoor landscaping projects.  As I write there are two young men outside sweating away in this horrible humidity and heat.  They have been here for almost one week expanding the interlock drive and extending the flag stone walkway.  When they are finished those projects they will dig up the front flower beds, remove the roots from the former shrubs and replant my existing garden into lovely healthy nutrient rich soil.  Their last task will be to lay new sod around the front bed and on either side of the driveway.    Yahoo.   I can’t wait until this is all completed, although I feel guilty as hell for sitting inside my air-conditioned house while they are slaving away in this heat.

By this time next week it will all be done.

I bet you can’t wait for my next update?