Blooms on a Budget

 My first introduction to the terrace garden was during my interview with Mike and Andy. We visited a few courtyards including the terrace outside of Gwynedd dining and talked about what could be done. The terrace does have plants but many are high maintenance and not too exciting- drift roses, boxwoods, daylilies.  This garden gets loads of sun and has potential to become a beautiful, floriferous garden. However, renovating the garden was not in the cards for this year but I still felt a little something could be done. 

The garden in the Fall when I started

A quick fix to add color and a view that wasn't a line of boxwoods was an annual seed mix. I ordered the Orange Sherbert Flower Seed mix from Eden Brothers which contains Zinnias, Cosmos, Coreopsis, California poppies and Daisies in shades of pink and orange. As someone who grew cut flowers for years I love Zinnias and Cosmos in the garden. They are easy to grow, great cuts and attract loads of pollinators. Plus Orange Sherbert sounded cute - have I told you how much I love when plants have food names?? It brings me such joy for some odd reason. A 'Blue Muffin' Viburnum?? I'm buying ten. Baptisia 'Lemon Meringue' - say no more I'm already in love!

You're outta here boxwoods!

Mike and Andy cut down all the boxwoods as they were completely infested and why even keep boxwoods anymore? The blight will eventually catch them and in the meantime the pests make it so spraying has to be done often. If a plant is prone to disease or insects and needs to be sprayed a lot it's not worth having in my opinion. Once the boxwoods were gone (see ya!) we put down some compost,  I seeded the mix and we topped with PennMulch to retain moisture. PennMulch is recycled newspaper and fertilizer often used over grass seed but covering with light straw works as well. The PennMulch did an amazing job at retaining moisture for the seeds to germinate and develop quickly. 

Seeded area with PennMulch on top

I continued to add to the terrace as the mix grew in. Tomatoes and basil grown by the one and only Nancy Steinberg are in pots and beds along with loads of annuals I grew with the grow light setup Nancy gave me - Nancy is the gift that keeps on giving apparently :)  Zucchini and Butternut, Calendula, Poppies, Sweet Peas, Fennel, Parsley, and Dill all started from seed are growing well up on the terrace! A pot sits at the bottom of the stairs  ( a pot that was headed for the trash) with Cardinal Climber, Basil and Dianthus that were all gifted to me by a client. This entire project at most cost around $100.  

The little guys emerging 

Shades of green fill the bed

Tomato, squash, calendula and basil 

A sweet pea started from seed bloomed earlier in the season

Cardinal Climber

Right now it's looking very vibrant out there! The mix grew in wonderfully

and pink Zinnias dot the area with Cosmos, Poppies and Coreopsis mixed in. It may just be some annuals but it is satisfying to me that those dining in Gwynedd House can look out and see color, bees and butterflies - and me probably sweating my butt off watering but I'm happy to do it! Today I saw a Monarch fluttering around and loads of bees buzzing about the flowers. It was a quick and affordable way to add a little bit of happiness to the garden. I do hope to add perennials and do a complete redesign of the garden. I would love to see more people out there enjoying it! 

An empty spot now filled

Spot the Monarch! 

Hey there butternut

I love Calendula! It will bloom into Fall. 

Something other than just mulch to look at! 

This pot was free :) Annuals like phlox, butternut and calendula were started from seed. The Alyssum and Salvia were being thrown away at a garden center. A frugal as heck pot that still looks good!

Gardening doesn't have to be super expensive. Seeds are affordable (sometimes even free) and easy to start especially if you just throw a mix down - it can even be a native wildflower mix in the Fall or early Spring. I often find the garden shop next to my apartment purging plants and will scoop them up right away. Plus the wonderful thing about gardeners is we love to share! Befriend a gardener and free plants may be coming your way.

 Happy July - let's all do a rain dance and get through this heat! 

California poppy blooming now