Lawn and Garden
We’ll See How This Goes
For years I have had hydrangea envy – pretty much of anyone who has hydrangea successfully growing around their homes. You remember this right? I mentioned it here.
Our friends Taylor and Jenny have ah-mazing ones. Their house came up for sale recently and I would seriously have purchased the home just for the hydrangea. I’m sorry, it was an awesome house in other ways too and I would have told you all about it but they sold it in about 2 days. Probably because of the hydrangea.
This is all to say what you’ve already figured out from my not-so-subtle hints.
I want them.
Easter Sunday morning, before heading out to Saxapahaw, we made a trip to Lowes for all that mulch we used around our walkway as well as some tomato and pepper plants. But this is what really caught my eye.
These patio-sized hydrangea were about $40 each, a little out of our price range, especially for something that we are very likely to kill. Plus, I would prefer to plant ours. Permanent style.
These smaller, but equally as bloom-y versions were ready for planting and only about $25 each. But I wanted two, and thus had to pass. It’s tough being a cheapie sometimes.
BUT after going home defeated, an after Easter surprise came in the mail. Chad’s parents sent us a Lowes gift card – it’s like they read my little hydrangea-wanting mind!
It took about 12 hours for me to run back to Lowes for my 2 new friends. And aren’t they looking happy?
To plant them we just followed the instructions on the tags. Leave about 5 ft between the two (we’re a bit closer than that) and dig a hole twice the size of the original pot. Transfer the hydrangea and surround the plant with potting mix. Water and layer with mulch. Keep them moist and happy in morning sun and afternoon shade.
Bueno.
Until the day after planting, when we were faced with this:
And thus had to do this:
No bueno.
Actually, despite the cold things are looking good so far. Don’t they look comfy all tucked in?
In 6 Weeks…
Maybe we’ll have tomatoes!
The long weekend gave us plenty of time to clean up our nasty old vegetable garden, as well as tackle some other outdoor areas that we’ll chat about later.
We’re sticking to salsa necessities – and a GIANT bush of rosemary that never dies.
Last year you might remember us trying a much more ambitious plan including watermelons. Well, that didn’t go so very far. So we’re sticking to what we know this time around.
Lookie at our new walkway to the backyard too!
A little raking and a little mulch go a long way.
Yes we have plastic lattice panels rigged up over the gate. It matched the sides and keeps Lucy from jumping over. Seriously, she’ll clear it in a heartbeat. The mailman wouldn’t stand a chance.
Those hosta are huge now too! Remember how teeny they started?
In total we needed 5 bags of mulch which covered 2 cubic feet each. The color enhanced kind was on sale at Lowes so that’s what we used. It was $4 a bag.
We find it to be fetching.
Hosta Are Like Goonies
they never say die.
For reals. Barton digs these guys up every year – yet they somehow come back.
This makes these not so green thumbs pretty happy.
Thinking Ahead to Summer
In doing so, I’ve decided that I would like our front walkway to look like a Starburst commercial. Or maybe it was Skittles. I can’t remember.
Chad loves this commercial. The guy is telling his girl that he can’t live straight because the streets are just too rough – he’s on a scooter in some pretty nice burbs.
When Chad called me into the room to see the commercial and I paused the screen and said “Look at those bushes!”
You win some you lose some.
But seriously, look at them.
Perfectly manicured, shorty boxwoods. With pink flowers down the middle! Yes. Plus that house totally looks like ours, minus $800,000.
P.S. If you’re not ready for boxwoods but thinking about veggies, check out this month’s Durham Magazine. We’re in there talking about planning your summer garden, now.
Some Lights Came Down, Others Went Up
The return of our living room corner space is much appreciated even though it was a bit sad to take the Christmas tree down this weekend. You’ll remember that Lucy was really enjoying having an extra wicker chair at the dining room table to nap under.
Things are back to normal now.
Not without a little bit of a mess of course.
After all was packed away and swept up, we missed the twinkle lights so much that we decided to take the action outside – just in time for new years.
These guys are commonly known as our Cinco de Mayo lights because that’s when they made their first appearance in the backyard of Casa de Whited. Since then they’ve been taken down due to some bad weather and broken bulbs.
But now they are back.
We basically string heavy duty wire from our house to three different trees in our backyard, via eye-bolts like these. Chad drilled holes in the trees from a ladder and screwed the bolts directly into the trees. Then we run the wire through, clamping the excess at the end of our light strands.
The lights came from Tar-jay and the have little built in clips so they attach to the wire very easily. The wire is important if you’re planning to leave your yard lights up for a few days or even longer. The wire keeps your light strands from sagging, falling, swaying, etc.
During the day the lights look a little trailer park but at night they look mucho bueno.
Like a classy trailer park.
Pleased.
Here’s to a Less Eventful Holiday
Ever heard that saying when it rains it pours? We kind of experienced that with both of our automobiles ever since Thanksgiving. On our way home from Alabama in November this happened.
This came about after a few cars in front of us wrecked and we hit one of these.
And of course what would this post be without an artist’s rendering of the incident.
You’ll notice that both pups were extremely confused. Especially the little upside down one. And Chad’s beard looks like Santa.
It was scary but thankfully we were unhurt and the Jeep is still driveable as f-ugly as it’s looking right now.
Oh and the rest of the raining and pouring – literally?
My car battery died twice last week which led to me going to get a new one hours before we had people over for a holiday party. That was easy and expensive enough.
But then in an effort to let our house guests have space in the driveway I parked my car in the grass beside our carport. Add one monsoon that night along with me forgetting to go move my car and you have one very muddy and very stuck Cobalt.
AAA had to come tow me out of my own lawn.
Awkward.
And now our grass looks like this.
Yeah, we are those neighbors.
