Big changes every where

I did a lot to the yard to prepare for the roofers and moved a lot of plants away from the house to try and save them. I took all of the iris and other tender plants from in front of my porch to the side yard where they should have been safe. I also got a few new colors of iris from a friend and found some plants that are new to the yard that self seeded from some where.

New Iris (Recurring Delight) in my border with all the iris I moved from in front of my porch.

This was the mess the roofers made to my neighbors yard. I cleaned some of it up then made them clean the rest. I then went out with my shop Vac and cleaned all the broken shards of slate out of her lawn.

This is my front hand railing that the roofers tore out of the cement. I have asked them what they intend to do about repairing the broken steps concrete and railing. So far I am still waiting for a response.

More mess left in neighbors yard.

My Certified Wildlife Habitat sign has arrived and is put up proudly at the front of my border.

Wild strawberries taste great.

Back end of the border.

Back yard has run out of planting space till the roof project is done and stuff can get moved back against the house.

Another picture of the new iris

New roof and Masonry repairs.

I have not had enough time lately to post here because I have been getting a lot of work done on the house. I am frustrated with the roofers because they are not even trying to watch out for my landscaping and plants. I put my sign up for my Certified Wildlife Habitat and have been trying to protect my plants and yard from the workers doing my roof.

This was work I had done to the back of my house. The brick was all pulling away from the house because of the rotted out box gutters and downspout. The masonry contractor put new brick in instead of re using the old brick.

The new brick does not match and the grout lines are a lot thicker than the rest of the house. Even though it does not match it still looks better than it did, and I am not afraid of the brick falling through the lower roof.

Another look at the new brick.

Old roof coming off. The old roof was slate but I can not afford to replace with slate so I went with a dimensional asphalt shingle.  

End of day one the two deteriorating chimneys are gone and new roofing deck is put over where they used to be.

New roof from front of house. Next project is going to be soffit , fascia, and siding on dormers and front bay window.

Upper roof and back lower roof are done, tomorrow they will finish the front porch.

So much is going on.

This is my favorite time of year because my yard is exploding with blooms of color and there is so much activity.

Pink Bachelor  Button. This is an annual that self seeded from last year.

This Rose is so cool it opens Yellow with red stripes and eventually turns an intense coppery red. 

 Variegated Weigelia. This year it is full of flowers that start out white and turn pink.

 Peach Iris. I have several different varieties and colors and most are in full bloom right now.

 Yellow Iris.

 White Salvia and ox eye daisy.

 Oriental Poppy. These are everywhere in my yard and an old time favorite.

 Old Fashioned single Peony. This opens about a month and a half before most other peonies.

A favorite re blooming Iris 

 This is a Late blooming lilac. Almost all of my other lilacs have bloomed and are gone but this one has not opened up all the way yet. I also think it is a re bloomer.

 A grouping of Iris in front of my porch. I will have to divide these again and move some around.

 This orange Iris is one of the most intense colors in my yard right now.

 More Iris in front of my porch.

Been moving a lot of plants away from the house before roofers come to start work.

 Orange and yellow Iris.

 Dark red and white Iris. The white re blooms in the fall.

 Amethyst and Ice Centaurea. A newer variety of an old fashioned perennial.

 Centaurea also called Mountain Bluet.

 Rhododendron.

 Re blooming Iris.

 White Iris.

 Pink Knockout Rose.

 Iris and Poppies.

 Japanese Iris.

 Dark Red Iris.

The last of my Beauty of Moscow Lilac.

Silene virginica - Fire Pink, Scarlet Catchfly.

This is a native wildflower that I bought at the Urban Gardener on the North Side a few years ago. It is Silene virginica - Fire Pink, Scarlet Catchfly. The flowers may be small but the color really grabs your eye. It is blooming right now.

This is another Native Plant called Carolina Sweet shrub or Carolina Sweet Bush. I almost pulled it as a weed till I noticed it had little dark red flowers on it.

My Certified Wildlife Habitat Sunday, May 09, 2015

Sunday, May 09, 2015

  This was my Back yard last summer in June

 Another view of back yard

Recycled arbor that a friend was throwing away

 Front yard with new Japanese Flowering Cherry.

Another view of the front yard.

Side yard as you enter the back yard.

As you can see from the pictures it is now much greener and looks a lot nicer. With in the next month it will be in full bloom with bee balm, day lilies, and all kinds of perennials making a show throughout the rest of the growing season. I will be adding some butterfly houses, a bat house, bird houses, a water fall and some bee houses. I have some of these already but now that I am a certified wildlife habitat I want to add more so I can attract and help make every thing safer and greener. I have eliminated having a lawn and concentrate on plants needed by birds and butterflies for their migration and for raising their young. Some of the plants that help with this include milk weed, butterfly weed, Chicory, Queen Ann's Lace, jack in the pulpit, Lupine, and many other flowering plants to provide food and nectar.