Garden Progress

There are some mega differences in gardening in Virginia vs. Louisiana.
Virginia has it all locked up in the low sweat and human to bug ratio categories.
Louisiana is the clear winner when it comes to ease of digging holes (no rocks)
and overwintering ability.

Gardening books, garden tours and countless trips to nearby nurseries,
are helping me get a firmer grip on the plant varieties that do well here.
I've filed many, if not most, of the standard stalwarts
of my previous Deep South gardening
away as tropical memories.

The only plant that I can't get out of my mind is Camellias.....
I may have to try and baby one (or two) along
even though it'll likely be a Sisyphean task.

Though it's far from finished,
here's photo evidence
of the reason for my lack of fingernails and Joe's "tractor tan."

Before shot taken in May:
These are the shrubs and Japanese Maple that we installed in late fall.

After:  With the addition of edging,
plants and a few loads of soil and compost....
we've got a garden!

Before:  The main front bed in May...
Edging just going in
Shrubs and trees from the late fall coming back to life
and all pretty scraggly looking....

 One of SEVEN truck loads of soil and compost
that we added....
shovel by shovel!
(We had to lift many of the previously installed plants so they didn't smother!)

 We're both pretty proud of our dry stack stone wall.
Our first attempt at stonework!

 We quickly realized that
 this was about the upper limit on  rocks
that we were capable of hauling and moving!

And Ta-DA....
AFTER:
Parking bay all tidy and inviting...

Color!

 It's beginning to look like a home
and not just a house!