Entering The Planning Stage

 

I have had a vision for a Native Plant Garden in the City Park.  Murph puts my vision to paper.

Mark joins for the financial aspect of the project.

Then we map it out with rebar.

Then there is a discussion bout a gate and where it will go and which way it would open.

Still Chugging Along In The Weeds

 Trying my best to get this bed looking like someone cares what it looks like.  In my mind it is beautiful.  I worked today until I made myself sick.  It was s dang hot!  I literally had to come in and take a break and Mark had to get cold rags for me.  Thinking I was on the verge of heat stroke or heart attack.  Mark was ready to call the squad.  

I know, I know!!

I took the bed frame off the barn to get the weeds and leaves from behind it.  Now I can't get it back on.  That's a project for another day.  The I will plant the Dutchman's pipe on it and more than likely hosta on either side behind the stella doras.

Cleaned out this little bed on Mr John's side.  I.m thinking a mixture of Native plant seeds will go in there in the fall.

My little round helper. Three grey headed coneflowers will go beside Ollie.  They grow pretty tall I think and they will fill in that spot nicely.

I found a peony and transplanted it up to the front of the bed with two others.

My plan may change when I do a little more research on the height and diameter of the new plants we bought to go in here.

Another Field Trip With Pappy

 So there is one final area that needs to be tweaked and turned into a really nice FLOWER garden.  We call it the City Park.  Somehow one of us got it into our little heads that it would be a  perfect place for a Native Plant Garden for the flowers that growing Ohio.  I took a class on that topic a few months ago from the Cincinnati Nature Center.  So off we go across town and out a little dirt road to Keystone Flora.

5045 Wooden Shoe Hollow

Cincinnati, OH

When we drove up I knew I was going to love it just by the looks of the place, and how about that road name.

Pouring the rain.

If you zoom in your can see Steve, the owner.  Nice, very knowledgeable man.  I liked his hat.  He even went inside to get me an umbrella.

It finally stopped raining and we got to walk the grounds and listen to Steve tell us interesting facts about each and every plant.  It was amazing.  He would say the Latin name and Mark would say the common name.  Mark should be a Master Gardener, seriously.

I want to say that this is a grey headed coneflower.

Dutchman's Pipe

Poppy

And here is the start of the Native Plant City Park!

We got...

Bergamont...beebalm

Blazing star Spicata

Blue Indigo or we call it False Indigo

Dutchman's Pipe

Gray headed coneflowers

Great Blue Lobelia

Lace leaf Coreopsis

Milkweed butterfly

Orange coneflower

GreatBlue Lobelia

Rose Mallow

Rattlesnake Master

Culver's Root

I have been researching and there are 8 pages of Native Plants.  We have some in the yard already that will be transplanted as soon as we get a fence up so the three plant smasher/root digger-uppers can't get to them.