Mid Summer Farmhouse Junk Garden Update
I’ve never been an avid gardener, but this year I felt the desire to really try my hand at flower gardening.
So this is an update on my junk garden – what grew well, what didn’t, and what I’d do differently.
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First up, my rusty bike flower basket makeover.
I had forgotten to seal the wood after stenciling the old farmhouse wood crate, and it had become very faded.
I used the small Fresh Flowers stencil and white outdoor paint to stencil a new design on it, then filled it with violas. The violas looked gorgeous until we went to California last month for my son’s wedding, but I forgot to ask the gal who took care of our pets to water the plants, and the violas have been struggling to survive ever since.
The hens and chicks in my ladder plant stand multiplied like crazy, though. The one in the largest funnel grew so tall that it toppled right out of the funnel!
Here’s how they looked when first planted.
And here’s how they look now. Seriously! Those hens had a lot of chicks!
My husband overhauled the area in front of the guest house and I planted a small raised flower bed with some savaged junk for garden art.
Here’s how the area looked when I first planted it in the spring.
And here’s how it looks now.
Last year I had snapdragons in the farmhouse window flower box. This year I planted carnations in it.
The carnations didn’t survive while we were gone, neither did the violas in the hanging bucket, so I replanted both of them with vinca (which I got on clearance for $1!). I’m feeding them Super Bloom so they’ll bloom throughout the rest of summer.
Beneath the window I planted black-eyed Susan, strawberry seduction yarrow, and marigolds left over from my clementine crate centerpiece. The black-eyed Susan has done really well. The ground was full of earthworms, so we knew it was a great place to plant.
The marigolds and strawberry seduction yarrow grew well also.
I plan to cut some of the yarrow for a flower arrangements when it gets closer to fall.
I planted osteospermum inside my antique mop bucket, but after the first wave of blooms, it hasn’t given many more blooms, so I’ll pick something else to plant for fall.
Here’s where a lack of communication came into play …
Did you notice the tall multi-color gladiolus? After I had planted the entire garden and placed a large lava rock to support the hanging planter, my husband asked, “Did you know I planted those bulbs already?”
What??
I had no idea where all the bulbs were, and I wasn’t about to dig up everything I had just planted, so I left everything where it was. They grew under the lava rock and squished up against the guest house, but oh well! They are gorgeous.
There are a bunch more gladiolus by the succulent ladder plant stand that he swears he didn’t plant, but unless bulbs can fly, I know he did!
Out by the driveway, I planted Martha Washington geraniums in the Repurposed House Numbers Sign Hanging Planter I made last year.
They didn’t completely die, but never really rebounded either, so I’m going to wait until more fall annuals are available to replant it.
All in all, I feel like my first serious flower garden was a blooming success. 🙂
I love my farmhouse junk garden and I’m already looking forward to planting another garden next year. I have a new spot all picked out!
I’m working on one final project for this year’s farmhouse junk garden, so I’ll show you that as soon as it’s done.
I’d love to hear what flowers you planted this year and what did well for you! Please let me know in the comments below!
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Vaya con Dios,
