I have spent the past couple weeks looking around the area for peonies – at a lot of different locations. I had a very difficult time finding them, and I actually broke down and went to Greenview. Greenview is incredibly over-priced, and honestly, I haven’t had much luck with their plants. However, since they were the only place around that actually had them, I bought two for the side yard. If they were anywhere else, I would have gotten four, but it made my eye twitch to pay that much for a peony when they line driveways all over town. I should have just dressed in black, grabbed a spade, and went on a field trip.
Anyway, we planted peonies, a hydrangea, hosta, a dwarf lilac, and some irises, then mulched and lined the beds with red bricks on both sides of the house, both sides of the driveway, and under the window in the front. Plus, I moved the three hosta that were on the side of the house to the front since the other hosta are doing so well there. We planted some impatients in a pot for one side and put a bird bath on the other. Bird baths aren’t the greatest thing to have around here since Illinois is so high on the West Nile list, and I realize I’m probably paranoid about it, but it will get dumped frequently none-the-less. Poor birds aren’t going to have much of a bath.
I feel a bit better knowing my yard looks better than it had previously. I bought the house four years ago, and even though I’ve done a lot to the yard, I’ve never felt it was good enough. I still don’t feel it’s good enough, but it’s getting there. I would feel even better if my neighbor’s gutters didn’t empty into, and flood, my side yard.
