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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

The Frugal Gardener 3

It's been a while since I shared my garden with you.  Just to bring you up to date on my philosophy, I think you can have a beautiful garden and a beautiful home if you just exercise patience and collect only things that you love.  We have lived in our home for 31 years, and I still love to go out in the morning and visit my lovely garden and marvel at nature's generosity in sharing so much beauty with us.  If you would like to see my previous posts click here and here.


Our lot size is not very large, however, like the front yard I shared in earlier posts, our yard is broken up into many different areas.  I have taken advantage of every corner and turn to create little vignettes or "garden rooms."  If you are wondering what I feed my plants to get them to grow so huge, I will tell you my secret.  Number one, when I plant a pot this size, I start with small 4 inch plants or pony packs.  I use regular potting soil and Osmocote which is a three-month general fertilizer.  For this sized pot, I simply reach into the bag of Osmocote and grab five handfuls of fertilizer and mix it with the potting soil.  That's it!  And I only do this in the spring around March. For established pots which most of mine are, I trim them way back in the spring, and put the fertilizer on the plants and that's it.  Of course I water the plants too.  In the spring and fall I water twice a week.  You can see by the stains on our brick our water is incredibly hard and leaves deposits.  It's part of life and I just live with it.  But our water is nothing special either.  In the hot summer months I water every other day.  I don't like things getting too water dependent because we live in a drought area.  In the winter time they only get watered once a week. 

I love statuary.  LOVE, LOVE, LOVE it!  I put it anywhere I can find a spot.

An hour in the garden puts life's problems in perspective.  Isn't that the truth?  I found the above statue at a salvage yard of all places.  She is pure cement and she's not going anywhere.  My garden tends to be 95 percent white flowers with the green foliage.  I just love the peacefulness of an all white garden.  It is so restful.  I call it my French cemetery look since I have so many statues.
Another thing I have a lot of is Shepherd's hooks with lanterns.  I have found a ton of these at yard sales.  They just add so much to the ambiance.

I bought this little beauty in Mexico.  Isn't she wonderful?
I call these two my wild birds.  Just like living in the countryside.

Of course watch out for the alligator, or is this a crocodile?  He is almost buried in the ground I have had him for so long.
I have lots of frog statuary too.  I used to have a pond (a little one) but the raccoons ate all my fish and it was a lot to keep clean so I removed it.  The frogs got to stay.

All of these hydrangeas came from the kind you buy in the grocery store and take along for a hostess gift.  They are enormous.  Now I must tell you that I do not use Osmocote in my yard in the soil.  I mulch with Gardner & Bloom soil amendment.  Between the front and back I used approximately 15 bags and I feed with organic fertilizers.  The only time I used anything like Miracle Grow is when I was getting ready for my daughter's wedding and I needed to speed up the growing process.  Now that the yard is established I have the opposite problem of keeping everything under control.  This yard can be a real jungle if not kept in check.

Here is one of my New Dawn roses peaking out.  Isn't it divine?
I love bird houses, bird cages, and metal accents too.  My back yard is a little more wild than the front yard, but I love its ever changing atmosphere and welcoming feeling.  I hope you enjoyed today's tour.  I will save the rest for another post.  Thanks for stopping by.
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17 comments:

Betty@SouthernGrace said...

Beautiful garden! I'm so proud I have my first hydrangea flower after moving them 3 times. I finally found the perfect shady spot. Too much heat in FL for flowers!
betty

Dreaming of Vintage said...

Your garden is absolutely beautiful! The hubby and I have had one of those alligators for 10 years now. We love him!

Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions said...

Your yard is just lovely, Maggie! Your brick patio reminds me of the one I left behind in NY. Love the hydrangeas. I had heard {a long time ago} that those little hydrangea plants didn't do well when planted outside, but I can see that was not a true statement! I used to have it more "casual" in my backyard, too, and "formal" in the front. He hated the casual and it was a good compromise.

NanaDiana said...

OH- I absolutely LOVE your gardens. They are just beautiful! I can tell you love being out in your gardens and working on things. I love statuary, too. You have some beautiful pieces. Blessings to you today- xo Diana

kathee said...

Maggie....no wonder I like you...you and I love to garden! I love your garden...off to go see your other post!! So BEAUTIFUL!!
Thank you for sharing...xok

Peggy said...

How beautiful. Thanks for sharing. I'm in the middle of a complete relandscape and everything is bare. I hope someday to have it established like yours. You can visit at season-to-season.blogspot.com Peggy from PA

Bliss said...

Do you have gardenias or magnolias? I miss those here.

~Bliss~

karen@somewhatquirky said...

so pretty Maggie! Oh to live in a climate where you have green in the winter!

Rosemary@villabarnes said...

Cute garden. I love all your unique touches, like the alligator.

Nothing But Blue Skies... said...

Maggie, your backyard is just beautiful!! I love the look of all white flowers!
Simply stunning!
xo-Lisa

Lorilee said...

Your garden is gorgeous. I love to be out in my garden! I just wish it wasn't so hot here in south Texas in the summer. I adore day lilies and just added several to my collection.
Blessings,
Lorilee

thistlewoodfarm said...

Your garden is amazing! I love the little crocodile buried in the grass....and your armilary :)

Thanks for linking up and for all the inspiration!

Have an awesome weekend!
blessings,
karianne

shoptalk said...

Hi Maggie! so I finally get to see your garden! Lovely, Just like you!

shoptalk said...

Hi Maggie, so I finally get to see your garden! Lovely like you!

Karah @ thespacebetweenblog said...

Beautiful garden space. Your armilary is perfectly rusted! Thank you for linking up at our party! :)
Karah

Linda @ it all started with paint said...

Maggie,

I just adore your garden! And I love the white flower theme (totally agree that it is so calming) and your statues are so very special ...

... and am so very, very happy that you shared with us all at our Great Outdoors link party!

:)

Linda

Fishtail Cottage said...

Amazing Gardens! I love all of your statuary!!!! Thank you so much for sharing at Fishtail Cottage's Garden Party!!! Can't wait to see what you share next week!!! xoxo, tracie

Ps - I'm your newest follower!