A Sentiment

God knew what He was doing when He sent a gentle breeze and brought a lovely butterfly to set my heart at ease. The happiness of your friendship and the gentleness of your words have touched my life in special ways and now I feel assured. Thank you for your loyalty and for reading everyday. I only hope you find things to make a happy day.

Friday, May 7, 2010

Planting Flowers at the Grotto

The stones at the Grotto will be colored this weekend....the last thing before planting the gardens. I have been planning on what to plant at the Grotto. It's been relatively easy. We will do the landscaping on Tuesday. The first thing was to kill the grass where the gardens will be. The ground will be rototilled and enriched with black dirt, mulch and some other good things. Then the planting can begin. When you approach the Grotto there is an area behind the benches that will be planted. My idea was to plant Wave Petunias. Then a man from building and grounds committee suggested Spirea bushes. We wanted to keep it easy to care for, but he said no problem the grounds people would do that. So we will have Spirea planted across this area with Wave Petunias in between.

On either side of the walls we will plant three, pink, double Knockout Rose bushes. We wanted yellow roses (Sonja's favorite) but found that they weren't as hardy as the pink ones. So my color scheme changed.


I selected two dwarf Norway Spruces...one for either side. They should look really nice with the pink roses.


Not thinking about the full sun, I ordered some hostas. I wanted ones that would stay small and not lop over the edging (to make mowing easy) I selected these Amber Tiara hostas. They will stay small and I thought that the bright green would make a nice contrast with the dark Spruces.
I think that I may have made a mistake in thinking that hostas would do well here. I know that these chartreuse colored ones are the best for a sunny spot as long as they are watered. I have some in full sun, but another variety. I'll have to be there with a hose...all summer I fear. This garden will have to have a lot of care this first summer until things get established. I only hope that the hostas will work...I do love them.

Then next to the Grotto and behind a little bit we will plant two Chanticleer Pear Trees. They don't get really big and bloom with white blossoms in the Spring. A good choice for our area. We have seen them all over our neighborhood, since we selected these. A mulch will be put down...one that matches the mulch used at our Church in other places. I think that a nice mulch shows off the plants so nicely.


Well, we are getting into the final phase of our Grotto building. Tuesday morning these plants will be planted and my life will take on a new job..... tending this garden for the rest of the summer. God willing...it will be beautiful.
Balisha



7 comments:

Lona said...

What a wonderful job your hubby and the fellas did on the grotto. It is just beautiful with the benches. Your plantings will make it a wonderful place.

Anonymous said...

I'm sure it will be amazing and I look forward to following your progress with it. What a wonderful spot to sit and reflect.

Noelle Johnson said...

What beautiful plant choices. I do love the Wave Petunias. They grow here from fall to spring. Please post pictures of the finished project :-)

Anonymous said...

The grotto is already beautiful and I know it will be even more so after you get finished with it. I think you made great choices. I can't wait to see it finished and all planted. Have a wonderful Mother's Day.

Balisha said...

Thankyou all for your very nice comments. Joe has worked hard on this project and now it's my turn.With a freeze warning tonight, we may have to wait on the petunias. Have a great Mother's Day.
Balisha

Anonymous said...

Greetings, Balisha. Thank you so much for visiting Appalachian Dream. Your blog is lovely! We're just back from a weekend trip, and it's late...I'll look forward to stopping by to visit at length in the next day or two. What an incredibly special project: a grotto. Blessings!

Anonymous said...

What a pretty area this will be with all the plants you have selected to plant. :)