Frost Warnings in Ohio - Protect Your Garden

 I mean I've only lived in Ohio for a gazillion years so I'm aware we have frost warnings late in April and sometimes in May. But I planted a new succulent garden anyway.

The last two nights I've been covering the garden with a sheet, so they don't freeze. You can see from a previous post that my garden is on the small side, so it doesn't take a lot. One sheet covers it.

But still. I mean I had to remove my decor so the sheet wouldn't ruin them plus I needed the sheet to lay on the succulents.

The good news is, as of this morning they look fine. The bad news is there are two more frost warnings this week.

Whatever!

New Succulent Rock Garden

 

I am upgrading my rock garden this year but put that off temporarily when I decided to add a succulent rock garden just outside my picture window.

You can't see it but I have some chairs out front and sometimes sit out there and watch the traffic. I was also having some issues with butterfly bushes growing in my backyard so last year I did a rock garden in the front yard and am expanding it this year.

I started growing succulents a couple years ago and they are so easy. My grandson brought me over some to plant in the rock garden and I decided they needed their own space.

I loosened the dirt and then picked up a couple bags of raised garden soil and poured it. Succulents like to be planted in loose and well-draining soil. 

I'll take some new pictures later when they are growing and give you an update.

California Poppy in Ohio?

 Yep. My grandson was messing around last year with his indoor greenhouse. He planted lots of different seeds just to see what he could grow.

My wife was from California and one of her favorite flowers was the California Poppy. 

Of course.

We never tried to grow any because we just didn't think we could in this weather. Turns out we were wrong. Unfortunately, she didn't live to see it, but I plan to attempt to grow some this summer, now that we know I can.

I put it in this pot and had it outside in front of my new butterfly garden. The plan this year is to extend the garden and have a number of the poppy's in it.

Beautiful Old Japanese Maple

 This Japanese Maple is forty-five plus years old. My sister-in-law was here one year and tore out my old shrubs. I wasn't happy about it at the time and my wife knew it. But after tearing out the shrubs she planted a tiny Japanese Maple.

It didn't do a lot for some time, as this variety was slow growing, but eventually it became a centerpiece in our front yard. We both swore every year in the spring that it was dead, but it would always come back. The last day I saw my wife alive I was pushing her in her wheelchair to the car to take her to the airport so she could visit her family in California. She looked at the tree and told me it was definitely dead.

Unfortunately, she never saw it bloom again. And it has kept on blooming and growing year after year. 

My neighbor has a yard that could definitely go on Better Homes and Gardens. She is shocked by the way it grows. She asked what I did to to it. Nothing. Seriously. I have never pruned it or fertilized it or anything. I pull the weeds around it and mulch every few years.

That's it.

My grandson and I just bought 2 different varieties for out back. One is by our largest pond and one I currently have growing in a pot by the deck pond. I have a picture in another post.

The new ones are doing pretty good after 2 years. In about a month, we'll be planting and cleaning up if this Ohio weather cooperates. I'll get some new pictures when things bloom again.