Well, I hauled all that sod to the rear of the house, then we hauled in a boatload of topsoil and compost, then about a hundred Oregon moss rocks for edging, and the front now looks pretty good. Planted a forsythia bush for starters and ordered peony bulbs for fall planting. Next up: flowers and veggies. Everything else in the yard has exploded into bloom, including iris, tulips and lilacs. Lots of blooms on the strawberries and it looks like we’ll have a bumper crop of Asian pears.
I love peonies, Chefguy - I’ve got an old white one in front (that gets frikkin’ HUGE!), and a new pink one in back that probably won’t flower this year. I’m planning a sitting area surrounded by peonies that I might not get in this year (I have many other beds to dig).
Ooh, that reminded me - I’ve got a couple of asiatic lily bulbs to get in the ground.
I have two square foot gardens, one 4x6 and one 4x4. I’d planned to put in at least one more this year but don’t know if I’ll get to it or not. I’ve just about filled all the squares…too many tomatoes (what is it with me and tomato plants? honestly.), some broccoli, carrots, lots of snap peas, a few melons even though they never do anything for me, a few squash even though I can get a ton for free at the food bank later in the summer.
Some of the tomatoes are blooming already; everything else is looking good and sturdy.
The butterfly garden gets a little bigger every year, and it looks really nice. I planted some tiny shrubs (hydrangea and lilac) that, if they survive, will mean moving some of the other perennials in a year or so, but that’s okay. It’s a raised bed, and I’m trying to keep the yard grassy and the garden bloomy.
One day my gardens will all meet in the middle and I’ll never have to mow again!
Update:
These seedlings were started indoors at the beginning of March.
Here they are, as of today. Transferred to larger pots, they have been placed out on the porch for the past few days, as the weather has been warm at night. If it gets colder (below 50) again, I will probably bring them inside.
Some of the bottom and middle leaves are floppy and look rather bad, but the good news is that all of the leaves at the top of the plant, the newest leaves, are dark green and look quite healthy. Further, the bases of the stalks have turned a purplish color since being placed outdoors.
As can be seen here, something has eaten small holes into some of the leaves. I don’t know whether this is a disease, fungus, insects or what. Is this a big problem? Can I do something to eliminate it?
I also have, sitting on my porch looking reproachfully at me every time I waltz by, four blueberry bushes and four grapevines to plant. Along with four orphaned tomatoes that no one has adopted yet.
I’m posting this in hopes it will shame me into planting the darn things.
I am enjoying gardening more than I ever thought I would. I hate being dirty and I’m terrified of bugs, yet here I am on my knees in the dirt, pulling weeds away from my baby plants and swatting at bees. I guess I am my mother’s daughter after all.
I bought some white Echinacea, some Gaillardia, some pretty Cinquefoil, and some daylilies to fill up the back garden, and some herbs for a window box by the deck. I also planted herb seeds willy-nilly in that box and I’ve got what looks like basil and parsley sprouting, but not much else. I’ve got oregano, rosemary, basil, and sage already settled. I can’t seem to grow thyme, though - I keep killing it.
My tulips and other spring bulbs are all done, and my azaleas and rhododendrons are in full bloom. I am astonished at how well the rhodos are doing, because they were hidden by weeds and baby trees under the big pines for years before we got here and made them some room. I didn’t know they were there until the landscaping guys came to clear the underbrush and I spotted rhododendron leaves after a small tree came down. I tagged them all so the guys would leave them in place. They’re woody and spindly, but the flowers are wonderful. I’ve also discovered a patch of beautiful irises, some rust-colored and some white, in an overgrown and poison-ivied area of the yard, so I will be moving them somewhere more suitable soon.
My tomatoes are doing well in their pots on the deck - when I come back from vacation next week I will get a spot ready for them in the garden.
Ah, yes, papergirl, you sound very much like me. I’ve expanded the beds under the crabapples in front of my house from maybe 10-foot circles to pretty much the entire front lawn. There’s a strip of lawn between the beds that come up to the house (also expanded) and the beds under the trees, but that’s it. The tree lawn has now been planted except for an area that’s maybe 6 feet by 8 feet or so. I’m working on getting the entire area between my house and the neighbor’s house planted, and then it’s on to the back yard. I’ll leave some lawn there, but more as a path than as actual lawn. Just replaced my mower, this time with a push mower because I really can’t justify any kind of motor. 
Antigen, thyme is rather picky. It needs really good drainage and quite a bit of sun. I have lots of spots where it’s unhappy (I’ve planted it several times), and a couple where it’s thrived.
My treelawn is looking really pretty right now. I have several types of nepeta (catmint) that are about to bloom. A new sage that I bought last year (Eveline), bachelor’s buttons, Bachelor’s Buttons (centaurea) that I don’t remember planting, and a bunch of dianthus, among other plants. Daylily foliage is starting to fill out and my earliest-blooming ones (Sark-eyed Stella, I think) have some buds that are getting quite full. I’m all excited that my baptisia actually came back, too. Hostas are doing great, too.
So, in general, the garden is making me smile. A lot.
I’ve taken some pics, but haven’t had time to upload them yet.
That’s funny - thyme is like a weed here. It apparently loves our conditions.
I got my first vegetable garden in today! I made a new bed for an ornamental veggie bed - we’ll see how that goes. I planted two types of sunflowers in the middle with peas around them (so the peas can grow up the sunflower stems), peas, purple beans, and sweetpeas along the back (the wall of the garage), potatoes next to the sunflowers, and beets, carrots, and leaf lettuce all around the edges. I have another bed that I’m covering with compost, then I’ll plant it with more vegetables about two weeks from now.
I started trying to work in our garden but the soil is so thick and compacted from all the rain I gave up in favour of mowing the jungle down (I swear, it just suddenly sprung up like that!)
It was crazy how thick it was back there, almost up to my knees in places! Yeek.
All of my tomato seedlings which I placed outside have now grown much larger, and the one which was damaged by the colder weather (which I was sure was going to die) has now grown huge. I’m very pleased with the resilience of these plants.
We went away from Monday to Thursday, and when we left it was okay, and when we got back, it was unbelievably overgrown! I spent a couple of hours mowing and pulling dandelions yesterday.
My tomatoes have been struggling all spring - I think it’s just not hot enough for them yet. I think when we finally get into some proper weeks of heat (and warmer nights) they’ll perk up.
This has not been the most favorable spring in Jackmannii-Land.
April was incredibly soggy; the first half of May not much better. There was a miraculous week-long dry and warm stretch just before we left on a trip, giving me time to plant most of the subtropical garden. As of our departure it was back to rain and unseasonable cold (highs the early part of the week only about 50). As soon as we got back on Friday the rain moved out and it has been sunny and hot (up into the low 90s) the past couple of days. Many of the plants set out in mid-May are looking gassed, but hopefully they’ll perk up soon.
At least the plumerias and Brugmansias appear pleased to be out in warm and humid weather.
It sounds like spring has been weird all over. I’m still hesitating to plant my flower bed in the front yard, because temperatures are still getting so close to freezing every night. We’re a week past the usual date when you should be free to plant outside here. I guess it’s more of a guideline than a rule - I’ll just keep holding onto my shorts.
It looks like I lost a tomato (started from seed) in the recent floods*. I still have a half-dozen or so, though.
*Not actually floods, just huge quantities of rain that caused standing water in the garden.
Your vegetable garden sounds amazing, Cat Whisperer.
And yay for surviving tomatoes, Argent Towers!
We’ve had rain pretty much since early April and then, all of a sudden, intense heat. My brother and I spent quite a while weeding on Saturday (the only day it was really tolerable). I’ve planted just about everything. I have a few more perennials to put in (a few hostas, coneflowers, and daylilies), but other than that, I’m about done, I think.
I’ve already had my first few daylilies bloom, coreopsis has started to bloom and some beautiful scarlet geum. Also, several perennial salvias have bloomed and are almost ready to be cut back. And the nepetas (I have 3 or 4 varieties) have started to bloom as well. Oh, and the Siberian irises that I put in last year did pretty well. One needs to be moved, I think - it barely bloomed and is definitely not thriving - but the other 4 seem quite happy where they are.
Wish it would cool off a bit so that I can finish planting and clearing stuff out.
Unusually wet and cool here too. We all race out to cut the grass between storms because we don’t dare try to wait for the grass to dry enough for proper cut. It doesn’t happen this year. I’ve got most of my pots planted but have been waiting to get some new stuff in the ground. I’m still waiting.
At least my strawberries and onion chives are doing well.
First planting of corn, beans and squash is in the ground. Tomato plants are in their tubs. First major weeding is completed. I think I’ve sweated out about five gallons of fluid this past weekend and drank most all of it back. My “toxins” are kaput.
I’m almost looking forward to going back to work tomorrow so I can stay inside in the A/C.
Thanks - we’ll see how it turns out. I might find out that there’s a reason that vegetables are only planted in rows. 
Got about half the garden weeded this weekend. The radishes are still going gangbusters, and the Other Half is still eating them as fast as I pull them out of the ground.
Had to thin out the turnips and beets, so I combined the greens from those with some radish tops and we had the mixed greens along with chicken and rice for dinner. Yay garden produce!
Have to thin the spinach out next, and some of the lettuce.
For some inexplicable reason my bok choi grew to about inches tall then decided to go to seed. 
The peas are not progressing as fast as I had hoped, the onions and carrots seem to be doing alright, and most of the kale, chard, and herbs I started indoors up and died this last week. Oh, well. Still have time to replant, though.
I think the corn is up, but sprouting corn looks remarkably the same as the stray grass that likes to invade my garden, so I’ll have to wait a week or two longer before weeding over there.
Still need to plant beans, squash, sunflowers, and likely something else I’ve forgotten at the moment.
I planted the bed we made last fall today - took all day, but I think it’s going to look really good when it fills in. Here are some pictures -
An overview.
North end close-up.
Middle of the bed close-up.
South end of bed close-up.
Another overview of the bed.
I planted a Wedgewood Blue lilac, yarrow, iris, double red peonies, white asiatic lilies, lady’s mantle, two different day lilies (one orange and one burgundy), burgundy blanket flower, cranesbill, two types of sedum, some red dianthus, some Snow In Summer (Cerastium tomentosum), some dwarf perennial potentillas, golden Creeping Jenny, a yellow ice plant, and a new variety of viola. I’ll probably be re-visiting the bed next summer or the summer after that and see if I’ve missed a colour or texture.
ETA: Forgot to mention, the bed is entirely composed of drought-tolerant, hardy plants. I shouldn’t have to do anything with them once they’re established except clean up in summer and water a little if a drought goes on too long.