Why I Oughta...

One of my 2026 to-do items is to 'expand the beds in Fall'.  I say 'Fall' because of how I utilize what I call the "lazy method" of smothering out the turf with cardboard.  That means that in addition to materials like cardboard and municipal biosolids, I need time.  Time for the grass to die.  Time for the cardboard to breakdown.  And time for the biosolids to MELLOW OUT.   Last year, I missed the Fall window to do some bed extensions, so I started to do them this Spring.  The first one was a few weeks ago with the Island Bed taking on new edges .  I used cardboard, municipal biosolids and composted manure to create a blend that I'll plant up (and mulch) later this Spring.  In the sideyard, I want to do the same thing:  expand the beds along the foundation to be more proud of the house.  Last year, I planted out the Dahlias in late May/early June.  I like to have about six weeks of time between laying down these bed exten...

Yesterday I posted my annual to-do list of 25 items I'm aiming to tackle this growing season .  I'm starting off with an early win by taking-on Priority item #2 on the list one-day-in.  I've talked about how I've adopted what I call the 'lazy bed extension method' of using three factors:  1.  Cardboard to smother the existing turf grass. 2.  A mix of (municipal) biosolids, leaf litter and composted manure + topsoil. 3.  Time. That 3rd factor (time) is why I'm going at this garden upgrade in March.   Here's what I wrote for #2: 2. Priority Project 2:  Expand and fix the edges of the front yard island bed .  But, use a ‘fewer curves’ approach to making a curvilinear shape . Last year, I planted Coleus (which was great) and Supertunias (which weren’t), so strike the right balance between colorful annuals (maybe mirror what I put in the front porch bed) along with some coleus for foliage. I also included further down the list at #12 a "Fall ...

Last week, I posted my first [Priority Project] for 2026 that focused on replacing the Oakleaf Hydrangeas that are being destroyed each year by the (dang) rabbits.  These [Priority Posts] help me begin to formulate my annual yard-and-garden to-do list.  I've found (over the years) that I NEED to prioritize some key projects and keep a running list of goals so I have focus and accountability.  Otherwise...I tend to wander and get distracted. Today is a look at Priority Project #2: Expand and fix the edges of the front yard island bed.   Starting earlier this year, I posted an exploration of how I could expand the front yard island bed and then , after thinking (or... because of WRITING ABOUT IT ), I changed my mind and reconsidered some aspects including the orientation and number of curves .  I initially was thinking about attacking the project by GROWING the bed from the sidewalk-backwards towards the house.  I say 'attack' because I know myself and...

Earlier in January, I posted an exploration of the expansion of my front yard "island bed " and talked about how I'd like to clean up the edges and expand the bed in a direction that will allow for even-more future bed expansion.  In that post, I suggested attacking from the sidewalk back to the house.  And, by expanding by going across the front of the yard along the sidewalk - connecting to the edge of the property line.   But, after staring at the bed every time I came/went on a walk, I have come to the realization: "The Defense is wrong." Well...at least *partially* wrong.   Since I put the Island Bed in back in 2024, I said I wanted to create three things: 1. A path. 2. A bern. 3. ...and some miegakure. My previous approach focused on the 'path'.  And, expanded a little bit of beds.   Here's how the beds looked last Spring when they were freshly mulched  below.  The lines, while clean, aren't what I want in terms of 'sweeping...

This Summer will mark seven (7) years since I planted and installed twelve (12) small Hicks Yews in the far back reach of our yard in a straight row spanning the width of our grass/yard.  Here's the post showing them in the ground for the first time when the needles were barely above the mulch .  That was mid-Summer 2019.   Seven years and this will be the eight growing season. Back then, I had a swoop-ing, undulating, but formally pruned hedge in mind .  That closely-clipped hedge was a product of YEARS of growth.   I watered them in the first year, but have mostly left them alone.  *Knock on Wood*.  I haven't lost one.  Yet.  Here they are in August of 2020 - one year after planting . Here the hedge is in November 2021 - four years ago . Here are some photos from December of 2022 showing the growth . And.. the Hicks Yews snuck into this post from Summer 2023 where I was talking about some ferns . Here's a post showing the gr...

Last week I posted a list of 'potential' sites to expand (and amend the soil) of various bed sites around the garden.  Some of these were/are small extensions (adding inches to the width/depth of the beds) and others are much larger (adding feet of width/depth).  I wrote up the list and posted it in January not JUST because of the Wintertime-induced garden-related cabin fever, but also because a key element of my 1 'lazy bed extension' method involves TIME.  Time to supress and kill the turf.  That's because my 'lazy bed extension' method doesn't require the removal of turf, instead I just smother it with cardboard and then top the cardboard with various materials (biosolids + compost + leaf litter + mulch). On that list were a few front yard locations including expanding the Magnolia bed (which is a tight circle currently), connecting the Oregon Green bed to the front porch bed (about four-feet of distance) and expanding the small (12" deep) bed ...

Yesterday, I posted a 'garden dreaming' post about building a new, raised bed section in our backyard to grow even more vegetables and flowers.   And, right before the new year, I posted by 2025 to-do list scorecard .  I bring both of those posts up because they are both involved in this post about lazy beds.   First, the scorecard .  I graded myself 18/25, but one of the seven incompletes was #23 - "More Lazy Bed Extensions" and I mentioned in the post that I have reserved the right to update my scorecard total if I get these bed extensions done before the end of January.   Time is important on these lazy bed extensions as we need time to suppress the turf that exists, 'melt away' the cardboard and allow the biosolids to mellow out a little bit.  I've done them in the Fall and the beds were ready come Spring.  And, I've done some on a quicker turnaround.   If I get these done in January, I'll have 120ish days of cure time....

This year, I planted three small Inferno Coleus annuals in the newly (this year) expanded bed at the corner of our back patio .  This was the second year of growing this red foliage plant as a bedding annual.  Last year, I put them in the front yard island bed.  By August, I was declaring them a big success as they grew into big mounds of bright color that contrasted with everything green back there.  #6 on my 2026 to-do list was to grow 'more coleus as bedding plants' , so this was in service of that goal.  Last Fall, I wrote this "In Praise of Coleus As A Bedding Plant" post and this year, I've become even more of a fan.   Below is a look at the current state of this coleus.  I let it flower and 'go to seed' late in the season after pinching off the blooms for months earlier this Summer.  The color is striking: For Fall 2025 and the 2026 season, I'd like to remember to do a few things: 1.  Expand this bed this Fall using the 'lazy b...

About five weeks (or so) ago - in Mid-June - I planted 64 plugs of annual Vinca.  Or, some call it Madigascar Periwinkle .   These were in the newly (as of last Fall) expanded front bed that I call our 'front porch bed'.  I've grown various flowering annuals up there.  To varying degrees of success.  Marigolds have worked .  Dusty Millers went nuts (and came back partially a second season).  One year, I did begonias and sedum.  The sedum looked great, but wasn't hardy .  Petunias failed .  Sun Patients didn't work, either .   I'm NOT EXACTLY sure how I ended up with pink (light purple?) annual vinca, but in one of those garden-center-induced hazes, I found myself sitting in the driveway with a couple of flats of these annuals.  I planted them and hoped for the best.  At first, they were stinkers.  A number of them (maybe 10?) up-and-died.  The rest just sort of were blah.   But then...time wo...

Often called "annual Vinca" or just plain "Periwinkle", you'll often find flats of this flowering annual at big box nurseries marked simply as "Vinca".  They're an affordable way to fill up your beds and borders with a pop of color.  Missouri Botanical Garden describes them as : Catharanthus roseus, commonly called periwinkle, Madagascar periwinkle or annual vinca, is an erect to spreading tender perennial in the dogbane family typically mounding 6-18” (less frequently to 24”) tall and as wide. It produces attractive bushy foliage that is covered by an often profuse bloom of phlox-like flowers from summer to frost. Best flowering is in summer. The NC State Extension listing adds this : It is utilized as an annual ground cover in beds and for bedding and borders in drought-tolerant gardens, butterfly gardens, and recreational play areas. It may also be grown in a container or hanging basket. Ground cover.  That's what I need out here.  Last Fall...