Autumn...cleanup time!

You know how toward the end of the season it seems like the weeds take over?  Well, they certainly did in my garden this year.  Today I witnessed that as I began to cleanup the spent perennials and discovered the vast number of weeds that had crept in.  I pulled, dug and raked to get the ground ready for next year.

I have finished my course in Gardening and Landscaping, so I've begun to work toward a bigger plan for my new garden.  You might remember that I started a fern corner, I guess that was the first step.  Now, since I have some ideas about the rest of the back yard, I've dug up some Mondara that was taking over a rock garden area.  It always looked like a weed, and I was tempted to cut it down and then it would bloom this red fluffy star-type of flower.  It wasn't real showy, so I decided to dig it all up.  I suppose there will be a few that I missed that will come up next spring, but then I can see them and dig them up too. 

I've planted Pampas grass as my first permanent plant for the new garden. (Except for the ferns :) It seems that everyone says that they don't make it through the winter here, they're not hardy enough.  However, there are several stands of the white-plumed grass growing near Polk City!  So, we'll see.

I have an order in for some other plants to put around my mailbox....ones that will be better than the foxtails that are growing there now.  I'll be sure to take pictures next spring to update everyone!

I will be posting more often now, as I add plants and ideas to my garden.  I've been a little lax, but I'll be better, I promise!