New Blooms

We gave in to mother nature this weekend.


Our front island has needed a little dose of color and substance for a while.  Every year, we plant something and then it usually dies.  To our credit, we planted mostly annuals last year for a temporary splash of color.  Now, our dogwood, rhododendron, azaleas, and dianthus on the other hand .... well, no excuse...


So this weekend, we made use of our spare time and planted speedwell, purple queen, and lilies.  A little color, a little dimension.  All kinda purple.  

And here's where we gave in.  Our house came with grungy pine straw beds.  I kinda hated them.  Yes, I realize pine needles = mulch here in Georgia, but they were just so run down I had to get rid of them.  Many hours of raking and running away from bugs later, the beds were cleaned out, and fresh black mulch laid down.  The black mulch made it look sharp and clean.


The only problem is, there are 76 pine trees in our backyard.  Literally.  And while we had all but two pines cut down from our front yard two years ago, those two that remain are apparently the most prolific producers of needles ever.  Because within a week, little brown lines marred our nice black mulch.  It only got worse in the fall - and by then, the mulch had faded to a dull gray anyway.  


So as pretty as black mulch is, it just won't work for our southern yard.  We gave in and put pine straw down again.  Now falling needles will only help build it up, not ruin it.  Besides, it only took three bales of straw to do the whole front (instead of 15 bags of mulch).  It's a lot cheaper to freshen that stuff each season.