Gardening Tips for the Clueless

Four years ago The Accountant and I were tossing up whether to buy or build a house. One of the reasons we decided to buy a house, was that it would come with established gardens which would be a bonus for us because we aren’t great gardeners. Subsequently we bought a newly built house with no gardens. Hardly any lawn for that matter. Humph.

So, slowly but surely we have getting the yard in order. As you can see from the front or our house, it has gardens, but it doesn’t look like the house of mad keen gardeners, hopefully it’s apparant that at least we try!

This may take a few posts, but I’ll take you for a tour around our yard. I’ll show you the good the bad and the ugly! Are you ready?

The driveway. My multi-talented Accountant put up our black fence. (Measured very exactly) I had a bit of dirt in between the driveway and the fence, so I planted liriopes in that gap. Mainly because they were said to have purple hycianth like flowers. They do fill the space nicely and look lovely and green, but in the last three years they have only flowered once.

Garden next to the front door. I love the big cycad. It was from my grandfather’s house, so has a sentimental component too. Unfortunately we have a dog. He is not helpful in the garden at all. He digs. This is one of his favourite spots. Therefore, this spot is often in disarray. Truly unfortunate for an entry garden. The clivias are very hardy plants, and most have survived many transplants, however, probably could be repositioned, but I don’t have the heart to move them until after they flower, which they haven’t done since they’ve been in that spot.

The other side of the entry. The dogs absolute favourite digging spot. I have recently planted all the plants except the cordyline. The dog has already killed several. He likes to dig a hole and sit and wait for us to get home. He doesn’t listen when I suggest digging a hole near his kennel.

The entry.

I might have to get a better picture. This was taken in the wrong light. It was early in the morning and I was outside with The Baby trying to distract him from waking the rest of the household. I love the blue pot planters. They were a gift from my mother. I also love the pink cordylines that I recently found. You can’t tell they are pink. They make a great contrast. I bought one plant, then realised it would be great in that pot. Sadly the pots had been empty for well over a year since the last cordyline was transplanted to the front garden. The first plant was starting to look scrappy, but was still bigger than the other plant by the time I finally got back to buy a second plant. Hopefully they will start looking more similar sometime soon. Fingers crossed!