NewlyWoodwards

an unconventional home

June blooms and garden transplants

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I mentioned last week that I planted a lot of new perennials in our yard this year after the plant exchange. So, I thought it was time to do a little outdoor spring garden tour.

First, I should mention that much of the yard is very much a work in progress. But, it’s come a long way.

We started out with, um, nothing, in the way of plants. When we bought the house in August of 2010, one of the first things we did was rip down the overgrown plants out front.

After we pulled the bushes, we had a blank slate. A very ugly blank slate.

(I know, I just threw up in my mouth a little.)

Nearly every single plant in the yard was transplanted from our old house or friends. Both because it’s fun to share plants and also because we don’t have the money to spend at the garden center. So, don’t be too proud to take any plant you are giving, friends.

And here’s the front of the house today. Most of these plants are hosta, iris and lilies on their second spring in the ground. In the past few years, they’ve grown like wildfire.

I added these hostas last fall, and they seem to love their new home around the lamppost. (Which, by the way, needs glass replaced and repainted.) But, can you believe how much these hostas taken over since September?
Speaking of taking over … the iris. They are really loving the side of the house. These all came from four or five original plants in 2007 that I got from my uncle. Yeah … they grow like weeds.
Can you believe how beautiful the blooms are?
I’m trying to enjoy them while I can, since iris blooms will only be around for a short time.
Moving on to other plants, here are a few garden beds in year one. I planted these hostas last fall from our friends’ Dave and Pam’s yard. They are still a bit small, but I’m expecting them to be massive next year.
As you can see, Ryan also mulched the yard and added a little area in the backyard shade for our chairs. 
Moving on to this little garden. I transplanted the day lilies and hostas last fall. They are already taking off in their first spring.
Ryan and I also started a little side garage garden last fall. The plants are still small but I have hope.
I also never shared Ryan’s little project from last fall – this great stone walkway that he made. It looks amazing, right? And the stones were all repurposed from the in-laws’ stone fireplace.

And finally, the most recent transplants from last week’s plant exchange. I like to split hostas up really small so I can get more out of them. That means they look really teeny and pathetic for the first year, but the payoff is worth it.

And that, my friends, is how you can make a garden (or a few gardens) with transplants. Not only will they look great, but they will save you lots of money at the garden center.

What do you think of our little gardens? Better, right?

Comments

  1. all i have to say is your neighbors must think yall are the best thing since sliced bread 😀 yall have done WONDERS with that house and yard!!!!

  2. I am jealous of your iris. I think I need to steal some. Good thing I live many, many states away, right? 😉

  3. Much, much, much better! You can come down to my house and spruce it up whenever you want.

  4. my mouth seriously dropped open with the before and after curb appeal shot…what a difference paint and landscaping makes!

    and now i know what the plants in the backyard are that i didn’t know what they were called..hostas! thank you!

  5. Uh, better???? It’s quite a transformation!!! You are one seriously frugal gardener-a woman after my own heart! Gotta try me some hostas. Enjoy!

  6. We have Iris in our yard too, and I just love them! They are so pretty, require no maintenance and spread so nicely! My kind of plants 🙂

  7. looks great! do you ever see snakes in your yard? I’m paranoid of planting hostas for that reason!!!

  12. Our landscaping needs a lot of help, but I’m so done spending money on plants because the dogs killed EVERY SINGLE PLANT we bought last year. The front yard has fared much better, which is what convinces me it’s the dogs killing them instead of me. Our neighborhood is having a plant sale this weekend so I’m hoping to score some perennials on the cheap. I love how the front of your house is looking!

  14. Ok… so. Kim. With your beautiful landscaping, you’re making my life more complicated. 😉

    I have this never ending debate in my head: “I should remove the gigantic overgrown boxwoods out front. But then our house will be naked. And it’s a lot of work. But with some landscaping it will look amazing! But that’s a lot of work.” And so the boxwoods sit. But I want your landscaping. Maybe HGTV will decide to come to my house one day? 😉

  15. I love when you post pictures of the outside of your house because that trnasformation is unbelieveable! The plants look great – I wish I knew what half of those plants were. I need to study up.

  16. We are working on landscaping our house this year and I just discovered hostas. I love them and can’t wait till next year. I think everything looks really good and it is getting me excited to go out and plant more at our place.

  17. What a difference almost 2 years can make, huh? I love all of the character and personality your yards have. You are very good at taking what you have and making it uniquely yours. Any chance you want to come up here and help us out with our blank slate? :o)

  18. I love your landscaping! I divided my hostas this year, too, and put some in the “blank” space under our front-porch stairs. My neighbors are always planting them around the base of the trees in our backyard. I tell them they never need to ask permission – I’m like you, I’ll always take in a “stray” plant! 🙂

    Speaking of hostas, just out of curiosity … do you trim off the stalks when they pop up or leave them on?