Gardening Update for May ~ Weeding & Mulching

It’s time for another monthly garden update!  Okay, it’s a week early, but let me explain!  I had it stuck in my brain that the garden update was on the 2nd Wednesday of the month.  It wasn’t until this morning that I realized it’s supposed to happen on the 3rd Wednesday of the month.  Y’all, it’s not like I don’t look at this blog stuff everyday & could have easily checked the date. ? Anyway, since I put off my next DIY project to do some garden weeding & mulching, the update is happening today!  There’s a plethora of pictures to look at, so get ready for some garden goodness!

Disclaimer:  This post contains affiliate links which means I may receive a small commission if you buy something through my link or ad.  This does not change your cost it just helps keep this blog running.  Thanks for your support!  See Privacy Policy & Affiliate Deals page for more information.

Back & Side Garden Update

As it happens in most gardens, there have been some changes to the refreshed side garden.  I added a re-potted mum saved from my fall front porch.  I had to move the potted peppers because they outgrew the pots!

Look at those Indigo Rose tomatoes!  The just need to get a rose blush & then I can try them – yum!  All the seeds finally came up in the top pots – parsley & basil.  I swapped the peppers with two of the dianthus from the back garden.  One of my cucumbers is doing great & the others not so much!

I accidentally stepped on my larger aloe plant, but he’s still hanging on!  See the little baby one behind him?  And finally a close up of the re-potted mum.  Kinda one sided right now!

I moved the peppers that were too big for their pots to the back side garden.  They have much more room to grow now!

I added a little garden art I “rediscovered” on the back porch.  My step daughter gave this to me one year for Mothers’s day (I think!).  It just needs a plant in its little pot!

Check out all the little peppers growing!

My Goliath tomato plant on the other side of the steps has 3 little tomatoes growing!  There are blooms on the Dianthus & mums in that bed too.  The tiny side shoot I took off the Goliath tomato has doubled in size!  So I’m glad I decided to separate them. ?

I cleared out the mulch under the roses & planted some lettuce seeds.  The roses also got a much needed trim!

That pot holds an offshoot of one of my roses.  It was in the middle, so I don’t know if it’s red or pink!  Most of the leaves fell off & I didn’t know if it would make it.  Now it has new leaf buds all over.  Yay!

Front Bed Cleanup

My front beds mostly needed some weed clean up & fresh mulch.  I might add some new plants here and there throughout the season.

Remember the really large lily at the back corner of the house?

Well, these are her babies!  About 2, maybe 3, years ago I had to separate the larger lily & now my front bed is almost filled in with the transplants.  I will have to divide the large one again this fall – anyone need some lilies? ?

I planted two kinds of thyme in the front space to help fill in.  I’m also letting clover grow for ground cover and purple flowers.

On the far right at the corner are smaller day lilies.  I transplanted a couple of them many years back from my larger garden & they just keep multiplying!

There are also strawberries planted in a basket frame at that end.  In the first picture you can see they were doing great, then the leaves fell off!  The leaves are growing back now, so maybe I’ll get a strawberry or two.

All About Some Trees

I cleared some vines & weeds around several trees & large bushes in the front yard.  Below is one of my mystery trees!  I have no idea what it is, but it makes beautiful pink flowers.  {before cleanup, after cleanup, flower buds}

The second tree is just about my most favorite tree in the yard!  It is very shaggy-like because the limbs grow up & kind of flop back down.  There are millions of tiny white flowers on it right now & if you give it a good shake, it’s like falling snow!

If anyone knows what either of these tress are, please share!  I’d really like to know!

This next tree is between my house & the neighbors.  It’s called an Indian Bean Tree {Catalpa bignonioides} & yes, it does grow beans!  You can’t eat them, but it’s certainly an interesting tree.  The flowers are beautiful & I hope to get some seeds from it this fall, so I can have one in my yard.

Flowering Bushes

My gardenia was overgrown with vines!  You can see them a little in the first picture.  I cleaned her up & was rewarded a few days later with fresh blooms. ?

There are many azaleas on our property which have yet to bloom.  I thought one of the larger ones had died last summer during a drought.  I cut down all the old limbs & could see it’s making a come back!

All the old growth has been cleared out of the lantanas & I’ve started adding mulch along the sides.  The white & purple ones are blooming.  I have a yellow one too, but I may have cut it a little too far back with the lawn mower!  It’s fine, just a little smaller.  ?

The wild blackberries are ready to pick, just watch out for the prickles.  I picked a bowl full before I took this picture – go to get them before the birds eat them all!  My thornless blackberry is blooming too.  It doesn’t make as many berries, but they are larger.

Two of my blueberry bushes have blueberries & I think the other two have died.  Not sure why!  These bushes never have more than a couple of blueberries growing.  I also have to race the birds to eat any!

Random Stuff

I spotted a mushroom while walking the dog!  I’d like to grow edible mushrooms one day, but I’m not sure if this mushroom is edible!  These purple flowers grow in the front of my yard where it’s very shady.  I think it’s some kind of viola, but it only has 3 petals.  Another mystery!

I don’t think I will see an actual pomegranate this year, which makes me sad.  ?  All but two of the blooms have fallen off & deer have been nibbling on them.  At least I got to see some blooms finally & I may need to fence it off next year.  I rediscovered this old metal when cleaning up around our little shed.  It reminds me of film & I’m getting some DIY ideas!

This last picture is of the evil little stickers in my yard!  They especially like to grow by my back entry in the path with take to the vehicles.  My dogs will tiptoe through the area to avoid getting them in their feet.  If I wear clogs or sandals outside, they get in my feet!  I must find a way to eliminate them from my yard – evil little buggers!

Okay, that’s the garden, yard, & almost all of the outdoors updated!  Hopefully I will have made some progress on my larger garden before the next update.  See y’all later!