Garden Craft Projects

Early last summer I posted about how Eric and I had snuck in to the vacant lot next door to us and lopped some saplings so we could use the wood in craft projects and, in essence, keep the spirit of the little thicket even though the thicket itself would be gone.

I never got around to showing you what we had done with some of the wood, so I thought I'd share a couple of photos with you.

Remember the old grill that we repurposed to a planter last summer?  Well I thought it might be nice to add a trellis of some sort to it.  So I used some of the saplings to build a rustic trellis.

At first, we had the planter by the dining room, but the plants in it really suffered when the sun came round to that side of the house.  So I moved it back against the bedroom window, where it gets more shade, so the plants aren't getting cooked every afternoon.  I think they like it much better.

The other little project completed so far is this macrame owl.  I was big into macrame back in the 70's and when we went back to England on vacation in May, I noticed mum still had the little brown owl towel holder I had made her.  

I also remembered a larger owl I had made that she used to have hanging outside.  I decided I had to make one of those for our patio.

Here he is.  The two branches are cut from one of the saplings from the thicket next door and he came out exactly the way I hoped he would.  Pretty good since I was going from a 40 yr old memory and didn't have a pattern! He's hanging over the outside light on the patio, out of the rain.

We've got plenty of wood left and my husband plans to make a platform bird feeder for me, similar to one my dad has in his garden. 

He hasn't given me a project completion date yet.... 


Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

The New Island Bed

 If you were to believe my husband's Facebook posts regarding our fledgling island bed in the back garden, you would think that I had stood over him with a whip as he lugged 500 two-ton rocks round to the back garden, and then filled the resulting bed with enough dirt to fill the Grand Canyon.


Luckily we share the same sense of humor!

In reality, we purchased 30 shoebox-sized blocks from Lowe's, each weighing maybe 15 lbs. So yes, there was a little muscle involved, but it felt good to be outside and doing something during the Thanksgiving week.


The plan was to create an island bed connecting the two tree saplings we have planted. 


We started out by laying a soaker hose to get the basic shape. Then, since we were going to be using the "lasagna method" we cut and laid out sheets of brown paper over the existing grass.


Then we started laying the stones out, following the shape we had chosen with the soaker hose.

We soaked the paper down and laid bricks in strategic places to keep the paper from blowing away before we were finished, then we left it for a few days.


We finished up the basic bed yesterday, by purchasing 12 bags of Organic Choice garden soil, again from Lowe's. This was what my husband referred to as  "enough dirt to fill the Grand Canyon." Wouldn't he have been shocked if I had had a truck load of dirt delivered and dumped on the driveway, as I briefly considered doing!


Of course, 12 bags is just the start.  We brought them in, opened them and spread the soil over the paper in the bed and soaked everything down again.


Here's what the bed looks like now.

 During the course of the winter, we'll bring in some more soil, add some compost from our composter and add a layer of mulch.  The plan is to build up the center of the bed, while not burying the trees already in the ground at each end of the bed.


By spring it should be ready for planting.


After we had finished up with the soil and gone in for a shower, I discovered a little extra bonus that I hadn't thought about before:

We'll have a lovely view of the bed from our bedroom window.

The cats should enjoy it too, as they sit on the little window shelf we put in for them, and watch the birds and butterflies.

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Finally Taking Shape

Eric and I got back from our trip to Indiana late on Thursday night. We're glad we were able to get up there for his mom's memorial service. Per her wishes, it was a quiet and simple service and I'm sure she would have approved.

When we got back, I gazed around the garden and, seeing it with new eyes, I realized that it's starting to become the Green and Serene retreat that I envisioned when I moved in here almost 2 years ago.

Left to right along the wall -- Southern Wax Myrtle, Rose of Sharon, Flame Acanthus, unknown grape vine (was labelled Mars, but now we're not so sure) and Vitex. There are some Pentas in front of the Flame Acanthus and some lilies and other things coming up too.

The Vitex is a magnet for bees and butterflies.

I love the network of shadows our pine tree casts across the garden. Left to right in this pic -- the "no scent" Star Jasmine, with the scented Star Jasmine next to it.  By the garden flag is a volunteer sunflower and an Achillea "Debutante". The Crepe (or is it Crape?) Myrtle in the middle is in bloom now, but wasn't when I took this photo last week. On the right, two tropical milkweeds are blooming like crazy and even have seed pods on them, so I'll have more next year. And finally, some Salvia "Hot Trumpets" seem to like their little corner.

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

It's Azalea Trail Time

I love this time of year -- the days are starting to get a little longer, the weather is beginning to get warmer, spring is in the air!  And it's time for the annual Azalea Trail Home and Garden tour, organized by the River Oaks Garden Club.

This year, the Azalea Trail takes places from 11 am to 6 pm on March 5, 6 and 7.  The tour locations for this year include the famous Bayou Bend, former home of Miss Ima Hogg, and six other locations.  You can get more information, and a map of the locations, at the link above.

It's been years since I have followed the Azalea Trail, but the weekend weather forecast is optimistic and I think it will be nice way to introduce my husband to his adopted hometown.

Tickets are $20 for all seven locations or $5 single site admission. Tickets may be purchased in advance from the River Oaks Garden Club, The Arbor Gate in Tomball, and a variety of other locations listed on the link above.

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Sunshine on my Shoulder

Last week, when I was planting the hollies in the front bed, I mentioned in my blog that I wanted to introduce some color into the bed by planting more daylilies and some perennials.

Since it was so lovely and sunny this weekend, I was eager to get out and plant a little sunshine of my own.

I've already got several daylilies in the bed. Unfortunately I have no idea which they are, having lost the piece of paper on which I had all the varieties marked out on paper.  I do know, however, they are mostly reds and yellows, so when selecting some varieties to plant this weekend, I opted for the sunny hues of El Desperado and Strawberry Fields Forever. 

The Little Path to Nowhere, that I put in that bed at the beginning of February, is working out even better than I could have hoped. It made it so much easier to have stepping stones that I could stand/kneal on while planting the bulbs.

When I was done planting, I turned my attention to the back yard, where I had noticed patches of green where there shouldn't be any...

Even as recently as last year, I would have gone after them with Round Up (in fact, I did).

But I'm making efforts to use less chemicals in the garden, and maintain a healthier environment.  So instead, I used a little hand tool that popped them right out.

And since I was on a roll, I looked around the back garden with a critical eye and decided it was time to relocate some plants.

When we planted the grape vine last year, my husband told me that one he had in his garden in California was a bush type.  Not knowing any better, we expected this one to be a bush type also, but it very quickly proved that wasn't the case and within a couple of months, it was crowding out the purple fountain grass.

Since I had already decided to remove the (apparently dead) oleander from its spot next to the utility boxes, today seemed as good a day as any to get that chore done and make a new spot for the fountain grass at the same time.

I hope it likes its new home and that it rewards me by putting up new growth in a month or so.

On the other side of the utility boxes, the other (dead) oleander posed more of a challenge to remove.  As you can see from the photo below, I apparently planted it right on top of the telephone cable last year!

I got it out using hand tools, cutting the roots one at a time, and lifting it carefully out of the ground.  I found the phone line too, so I was careful not to damage it. 

I think that area is now calling out for a large container with plants in -- I won't be planting in the ground there again!

All in all, a very productive weekend and, as always, my feathered friends were keeping me company.

Words and photographs by Jayne Wilson, Green and Serene, Jayne's Country Garden.

Starting Over

The title of this post has a double meaning.  First, it refers to the fact that, although I have been maintaining a blog, Green and Serene, on HoustonGrows.com, the Houston Chronicle gardening community, I'm starting it up here on Blogger.com as well. 


Secondly, it refers to the fact that I am, once again, starting a new garden from scratch.


My husband and I moved to a new home in a new subdivision last summer. I knew the one thing I was going to miss most was the lovely cottage garden I had created at my previous house.  I really got emotional about leaving it behind but tried to look on the positive side.  

Our new home offers new opportunities to create a peaceful retreat for the two of us, where we can relax and I can enjoy my gardening. We selected the lot carefully, and chose this one because of the tree in the back garden.  I've never had a mature tree in my garden before!

When we moved in during the summer of 2008, there wasn't much there but a vast expanse of lawn, but eventually, I want to plant a multi-level shrubbery across the back wall and some island beds, to create a habitat for the many birds we get here.

Even though we've barely started, one of our favorite weekend pastimes is to sit in the shade on the patio and watch the birds, squirrels and butterflies as they go about their business.

My blog will document our progress, and also show you some of our regular feathered and furry visitors.