My Spring into Summer Gardening!

I started cleaning my garden beds when I got distracted with all of the invasive plants that I found, some I suppose I brought into my garden and they spread beyond belief and some maybe the birds dropped seeds.  I had to remove them to make room for my new flowers and herbs I planned to use this year.

Well, this job has turned into a much bigger project than I ever anticipated. I have pulled plants, removed leaves, re-planted a few, and planted a few new ones.

I am still working on some areas!  My findings have been incredible, I have surprised myself with the work involved.

I found a lot of very TALL plants that were choking out anything else to take root so I  started pulling.

Piles of pulled flowers and leaves for mulch!  I asked around on "Hometalk" what my findings were and I always get wonderful answers there.

One plant I pulled was called "Jewelweed" and it is still everywhere even though I have pulled tons of it. It creeps into the tiniest places and is even under the front deck area where the ferns grow. It is good to have on hand for "itch" I learned so I put some into a tire I had in the back yard to try and keep it contained.

Another is "Hawkweed" and I have not done much with it yet. Then we have the daisies, I cannot pull them as it is my favorite flower but I have small daisy like flowers on 5-6 ' stems invading the gardens so they will have to go into another place... I will assume they are just spring bloomers but I want the roots gone from my growing gardens. They are beautiful tiny white flowers and also another breed is pink/purple teeny tiny  flowers with spiky flower heads. They are alike but for color.

When I got to the driveway garden I found all of this spreading ivy that was covering all of my edging and even growing into the woods as ground cover. I had planted Ferns, Hosta, Daylilies, Bee Balm, etc there and it was choking it all out so I started pulling. Long runners came up and I filled a 30 gallon trash bag with them.  Then I had to find out what it was  so I asked on "Hometalk" and in the meantime did an internet search for "Swedish lvy" looking ground cover" and I found it really is "Swedish Ivy," It does spread along the ground but unlike ivy it does not climb high. So, I quit bagging it and put into into bins of water. I finished a small basket I had saved a tiny 6 inch pot in my attic over the winter with and made another new one but there is so much I could buy all the pots at a Big Box store and still never use it all, so I decided to share it in My Etsy Supplies shop " ByLightOfMoon".  I hope to share it with many folks who can use it for containers, baskets, ground cover if contained, etc.

I also mowed the yard and find it difficult to mow on a slope we have in front of our cabin, the lawnmower gets away from me and mowed down a beautiful blooming plant I still have yet to ID.

 I was sick so I decided to put moss there and remove all the growing grass. Now, I do this by hand with a hoe  like hand device. I hit stones form our driveway gravel and the area got larger and larger. I also wanted to get the grass away from a small garden I planted at the bridge entrance to make it easier to mow with the grass not in the rock surround. 

My Roses are doing very well and I am taking cutting for my potpourri makings! 

I am also drying

the larger daisies!

Here is the garden enlargement I have been working on in the process:

When I first started digging I found these stones, I was facinated by the beautiful red colors! But, I dudg them out...

We still have the fountain to put together , it had been on porch last year but  it is going to the yard this year.

This photo is looking down from our porch over the garden, the red rail was there to keep the dirt from draining into the gully ( we have no gutters) when I first moved here and the garden only went that far., This is the hill the grass was hard to mow and the mower would get away from me.
 I filled the space in with moss collected from the forest!

Existing garden below, succulents overflowing!

More to pull below 

 Garden almost done, planted with small cuttings, it will grow!The rocks/stones are what I dug out of the hole.

This is also funny, I was taking a before photo of my fairy garden that I was re-doing with some new items I got in Alabama at Jo Ann's.  I had just sat them there till I also unpacked some other items I have for it. 

I reached down to move this dish and like to scared myself to death, this frog was in the bowl and had been on  my porch last year I believe!

I am trying to seed some sunflowers and I believe where I had them sitting in the yard, the bunny or my cat has been nibbling! 

To get away from my garden, I have to show you a place I visited. I had seen the Gardens of Rhododendrons were in bloom in Hiawassee, GA. I got there a little late and most of the blooming was over but I got a nice walk and a few nice pictures. 

The Indian Tree there, we also have one I have a photo of in my shop too.

As i was leaving  I could not believe my eyes, so cute, A Snow White and her Dwarfs! 

So, please visit my Etsy Shop " ByLightOfMoon" and get you some nice Swedish Ivy to plant yourself in your baskets, containers, or for on your garden ( but, keep it contained. )

I also have many photographs of the surrounding countryside and a beautiful  flowers, plus nature's findings and curiosities! 

Smiles, Cyndi