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Deuce Cities Henhouse

My May Garden

Flower Pots

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
Friendthrens. I tell ya, the only downside to having a cabin is not being able to give respect due to the gardens. They are thriving this year, but they are in desp need of some cleaning up. I have to actually schedule time in my calendar to hang out with them. I wouldn’t change a thing, but I do miss toiling over them, and I hope I still get a chance to this summer.

As you might remember, I think it was only 6 short weeks ago that MPLS was covered under 18″ of snow. Last week it was tipping the scales at 100º, go fig. No matter what, I still love gardening and I still very much enjoy doing these monthly recaps. If you’re a gardener, I can’t encourage you enough to take monthly photos of your garden, year after year. There is so much you forget, and there is so much growth to see. It can be hard to realize the changes if you’re not documenting as you go.

 

Flower Boxes

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
Ever since Prince left us, I have felt compelled and very happy with my purple window boxes and planters. When it comes to annual flower color combos, I think purple, white and green foliage might be my fav. What about you guys, do you have a go to color combo?

 

Foundation Garden

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
This winter was a weird one. Not only did we have an early frost, we had the late snow, and I think I lost a lot of perennials because of it. Near the steps I lost a bunch of the perennial sedum you see down towards the border of the garden. Luckily, it regenerates like a weed, so I’m not worried about replacing it. The blue hosta are finally starting to reach full maturity this year, I’m looking forward to the color and texture they’ll add to this space.

 

Boulevard of Broken Dreams

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
This garden looks lush but that is just a lie, it needs tons TLC. This boulevard garden has a hard go of it, and easily looks disheveled. In May the boulevard maples flower and drop a bunch of green tiny petals, then the weeds come and are relentless, and then at the beginning of June the maples drop their helicopters. There is no point in even touching this garden until the last helicopter falls. Don’t worry though, this garden will be getting a new thick bed of mulch and a couple replacement plants for ones that we lost this year – this winter was a tough one.

 

WIP Side Garden

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
Because there is basically no point in me trying to maintain a veggie garden when so many days are spent at the cabin, I decided to convert the side raised bed veggie garden into a mounded and bordered perennial garden. I think it will be really pretty once I can set aside the time it needs. I’ve already pre-purchased a new Peegee Hydrangea tree, a new-to-me kind of salvia, purple phlox, and a clematis that has tiny white blooms. The hard part is working the mounds and getting rid of old roots and weeds from the veggie garden. Especially when my back is still recovering from the One Room Challenge. There will be a post coming soon once the garden bed is complete.

 

Solomon’s Seal

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
I finally have a grove of Solomon’s Seal. I love when you get perennials to the point where you are ready to split them up and share them with friends, fam and neighbors.

 

Blue Hosta

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
Look at this guy, I wish I could heart eye cat emoji r n.

 

Pagoda Dogwood

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
Remember? You probably don’t, or shouldn’t, because that would mean that you just know too much about my garden. I planted this Pagoda Dogwood last year after my soil killed two Japanese maples via fungus. I was happy to have him blooming again this year. Dogwoods are typically more fugally resistant, so I was happy to see that the rumors were true.

 

Garden View

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
My grass is tall. It needs to be mowed! I love my electric e-cycler lawnmower from Toro. I highly recommend anyone with a city lot to consider one. Howevs, I was a bad lawn mower owner last year and I let the charger sit all winter in a pile of sidewalk salt and it corroded. Thus, my grass is growing long AF as I eagerly wait for my new charger to arrive. I love mowing my lawn.

 

Climbing Rose

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
One of my new gardening goals that I set two years ago was to have my climbing rose, climb the fence towards the rose I planted on the other side and create a killer backdrop to the patio seating area. This rose is prolific in its growth, and I very much need to make a date with it to train all the new stems to the fence.

 

Ferns & Hosta

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
Probably one of my most favorite garden combos, ferns and hosta.

 

Heuchera & Lamium
My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse

 

Bleeding Heart

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
My boys’ favorite plant in the garden.

 

Spring Garden

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
A view from the back of our garage garden. This used to be the ugliest garden of them all. It is made up completely of plants propagated from other parts of the garden, nothing is store bought here, except for the plants in the urn. Years of patience have lead to this.

 

Iris

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
The older I get the more I love Iris.

 

Iris in the sun
My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse

 

Sun garden

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
The sun garden on the tall side of the fence is getting very large. Everything needs to be divided, but who has time? I don’t even need to mulch this one anymore because the soil can’t be seen.

 

Dogwood

My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse
I always get asked about what kind of tree/bush this is. The answer is that I can only kind of explain it to you. It’s a Dogwood, and when we moved in, it was pruned completely flat to the ground. I had no idea what to do with it the first few years, so I’d let it go and then I’d try and trim it into reasonable looking hedges. After starting to understand that it just loved growing, I let it go, but I continued to trim all the suckers and ugly branches twice every summer. Now we have these two very beautiful dogwoods that flower twice a year and help to disguise the ugly siding on our garage.

 

Ruby Tears Crab Apple
My May Garden // Deuce Cities Henhouse

 

May Garden Posts – By Year

14 comments
in gardening, Month-to-Month
14 comments… add one
  • Okay, now I need to visit YOU again! This is too pretty.

  • Libby Baur June 4, 2018

    I love these updates, especially since I live locally. Purples, blues and greens are definitely my favorite color tones, my neighbors and I also noted that we all sadly lost some nice perennials to that epic winter season, and your tips about options for the fungus resistant dogwood, etc. are super helpful.

  • Kim June 4, 2018

    I too live in Minnesota, but south of you. Just wondering what kind of climbing rose bush you have? I really want to plant one to climb the trellis on my deck but have waffles on what to plant. Thanks!

  • C.B. June 5, 2018

    Damn, that garden is lush AF! Looks great. I was reading through the post and kept thinking I should comment that you need some bleeding hearts and pop, there they were! I remember my mother’s old house had a wonderful garden with bleeding hearts all over and it was just absolutely gorgeous. She’s always had a touch with gardens…..I should ask for some tips when I finally get a house with enough space for it. When I was a teenager she used to create a colour theme for the garden and it changed every year! Sadly, I don’t have that drive (I’m good with plants though….don’t know why I don’t have the motivation to garden).

  • lydia June 5, 2018

    your gardens always look so great! love seeing how far it’s all come, it gives me some hope for my yard! can you tell me what kind of fern is in your “ferns & hosta” pic?

  • Vanessa June 5, 2018

    Purple for Prince! I am pretty big on purple, I will have to tell people it’s for him.

  • Rebekah June 5, 2018

    I’m jealous of the shade. I need to plant some new trees so I may enjoy hostas, ferns, and bleeding hearts. Just lovely.

  • Caroline June 5, 2018

    For a neglected garden, that looks pretty damn amazing! May I ask what are the orangey-pinky leaves under the Pagoda Dogwood? My mum and I have been poring over the pictures, identifying and discussing what would do well here in Nelson, in the southern (colder) island of New Zealand. I’ve just bought my first house here, after moving down from the warmer north and I have to learn to garden all over again. We don’t get snow, but I will be dealing with frost and a longer winter

    • MEL June 14, 2018

      looks like heucherra/coral bells

  • Caroline June 5, 2018

    For a neglected garden, that looks pretty damn amazing! May I ask what are the orangey-pinky leaves under the Pagoda Dogwood? My mum and I have been poring over the pictures, identifying and discussing what would do well here in Nelson, in the southern (colder) island of New Zealand. I’ve just bought my first house here, after moving down from the warmer north and I have to learn to garden all over again. We don’t get snow, but I will be dealing with frost and a longer winter

  • Bridget Wall June 9, 2018

    I just moved to a new place this year, and am having quite the time figuring out what it what, what is where. Kind of a fun challenge, though!

  • Kellie July 1, 2018

    Where did you get the great sign in your window?

  • Jaclyn Leigh Zachgo September 21, 2018

    I am absolutely in love with your fence! Do you mind sharing where you got it or if it is a project you did yourself.

  • Rashmi July 12, 2020

    I wanted the know the size of fencing boards you have, please also let me know weather you used pine or cedar, love your fence!! I am planning on doing the bottom part of my deck (deck shirting)
    Thank you

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