MY GARDEN JOURNEY

Cultivating my green thumb one plant at a time

Sunday 9/14. Brought home 4 lavender for $19.98, 2 gardenia for 19.98 each, 10 liriope for $2.35 each, 2 yellow mum and 2 red mum for 10.98 each, 4 aster for $4.98 each, 4 vinca for 7.98 each

I removed the top soil including as many weeds as I could be bothered to remove.

I wasn't able to dig down deep so I basically placed the plants down and pulled soil around them. I bought a bag of miracle grow in ground soil and covered the ground with a thin layer of that as well. probably too thin, then I mulched a thin layer. the bag says 3 inches for best results, I put maybe 1 inch at most. I'll have to weed like a hawk for a while I think

I finished planting just in time for 3 hours of rain which was convenient, except the mulch said not to water for 24 hours

A huge note for the future is practicing getting proportions right. the plants are soooo small in comparison to the trees surrounding, which of course they are but i should have chosen larger plants for sure. it looks a little ridiculous, but for now i really dont mind. im so proud of the composition and how it looks so far that im happy with it.

today there was forecasted rain arounf 7 pm but it never rained so i'm glad i watered all the plants

i placed the mums in their pots on either side of the front door and a bunch of mosquitos flew out when i watered them

i planted one of the gardenias in what i thought was the perfect spot but when i went out to water the plants i discovered something had dug it up and the roots were sitting out exposed. the plant was half dried up. the one in the pot still looked perfectly fine. I moved the one that got dug up and thoroughly watered it. i hope it survives but it looked to dried up and i have no idea how long it was exposed like that

Monday 9/15. I watered the plants on the back patio today as well, the plant in the blue pot needs a touch up, and the decorative plant in the front yard as well. Idk what to replace those things with

next i def have to rip up all that spinach taking over the raised beds

i also have to water the flowers in the hanging basket on the shed

Tuesday 9/16. the gardenia leaves have not fully recovered. they look more dry than the potted one. i watered both around lunch today, as well as the orchid on the tree. i put the red mums into the taller black pots and i like how they look.

Wednesday 9/17 light drizzle, didn't water.

Thursday 9/18 watered in the morning. some of the aster are turning brown. the vinca looks good but the stems are falling over a ltitle. the liriope looks good, the tips aren't browning for most of them. the gardenia that got dug up is looking much better, both gardenias are shooting off leaf or flower buds. the mums are blooming slowly, the yellow more than the red.