befores and currents

I know I've been absent for a while now but I figured I wouldn't bore everyone with more of my gardening adventures. Actually, it's more like hacking away at our little jungle than gardening. Our privet hedge is a bit of a lost cause at the moment. We can't reach the top even with a ladder. It just bloomed so we can't chop at it for at least another month. It needs some renovation and a proper cut - it has a few bald spots and it's too top heavy.
Fernando going for the gold in Olympic gardening:

We have done a few things around the house but alas I have no photos at the moment. You'll just have to settle for more photos of stuff growing. Like my beans that went from this:

To this:

Yes - actual beans are growing on those stalks! I even ate the largest one and it was pretty tasty!

My Mom dug a few ferns up from a friend's yard for me. I had a harrowing experience when I picked them up involving a giant spider that had been hiding in the ferns running around the car while I was driving home from my mother's house. After eyeing the spider on the back seat (and Fernando missed swatting it, sending it running into the seat creases,) I actually drove back to my Mom's, took the ferns out of the car and drove home in a state of panic with Fernando manning a rolled up Elle Decor at the ready. When she brought them over for me the following weekend they were all shriveled up and brown. We planted them anyway, hoping that they would come back and luckily they've started to green up nicely. I also received a peony for my birthday that we planted in the center. I'm hoping it grows larger and hides some of that old pipe. It hasn't flowered yet and I'm thinking I'll have to do something to make it bloom next year. Research.

We hung two of the MYNTA planters from IKEA between the lattice on the sides of the front porch. I planted some lobelia inside but it's not doing too well. I'll probably switch it out for something else in a few weeks.

I started a little patch of garden up the side of the house. Currently there are a few sunflowers (more to come) and zucchini plants and one Moon and Stars watermelon plant. If these take off we'll have to walk up that path very carefully. I'm not that good with plant placement. I bought a few strawberry plants to add to this patch too as soon as it stops raining.

My window boxes went from this:

To this:

Close-up before:

Close-up current:

Even more blooms opened up today - I guess all of that rain is paying off. There is still so much to do in the front I'm hoping we get a few sunny days to work on it. I want to remove a huge yew growing in the center of the front yard. It's so random, large and mishapen - we certainly don't need it. Maybe add a brick path going up to the side of the house and some perrenial plantings around the path... more soon.