We have some bedding dirt left over from the front flower bed project, so I used left over stone to build new terraces between the house and the coop where the land slopes.
This was about all the stone and dirt I could haul in a day using a wheel barrow. The plan is to fill both new terraces with dirt, then maybe plant pumpkins.
To get rid of the Gregg’s Mistflower (which doesn’t get enough light there), and the grass which has been persistent since we moved in, I dug out several inches of the dirt in the front flower bed in December. Winter ice packed down the clay, so before we put new soil in I used a mattock to break up the packed surface.
My husband hauled over the new bedding dirt and filled in the flower bed, amended with chicken compost.
Weather reports say we should be getting a solid rain. We’ll see how much the bed settles then get plants and mulch.
It is officially spring in our part of Texas: the grape hyacinth has put forth a bloom. I rebuilt the bed last season, so am watching carefully to see how the plants do. The leaves survived the big freeze, which is encouraging.
The mossarium I made in a case was not doing well. I tried adding a plant light and it was too much for some of the moss. After six months of steady decline, I decided to clean out the container and put in something else. I have a young African violet that I received from a friend that currently fits.
As much as I love Gregg’s Mistflower and the mass of butterflies that love the purple tufted blooms, the front garden bed was not the right environment. Even though it is one of the places in our yard that receives the most sun, it isn’t enough to keep the plant from bolting, growing too tall, and falling over onto the side walk. Mistflower also really doesn’t like being trimmed, it won’t flower if trimmed shorter, and the whole point is to flower.
Gregg’s Mistflower is native to Texas and self seeding, so in order to remove it from the flower bed, I first pulled up all the plants, then dug out the top layer of soil.
Tearing out the plants took about an hour. Digging down 3-6 inches across the entire bed took 5-6 hours. I put the seed heads in the meadow, where the sunlight is brightest, and I spread the dirt in the meadow and around the house in areas it was needed.
I am hoping this will also help with the chronic grass problem in this flower bed by removing the roots that kept coming up. I had one hardy hibiscus that was struggling in the lower light that I also replanted.
The next step is to fill the space with garden soil and mulch and plant different species.
Yes, it is December and I’m gardening. It is Texas.
Critters and Craft 