Mary, Mary Quite Contrary

One of the joys of being a homeowner is gardening. It's nice being able to plant pretty flowers, herbs and vegetables and taking pride in your yard. I had no idea, though, that having a few nice plants would take quite as much care as it does.

Last spring, I was shocked at how many plants were already at our house. First, I had planted some tulip bulbs the previous fall. All of the tulips came up, although some were mowed down by a wayward rabbit. I love, love, love tulips. So, my goal is to have tons of them. I planted more this year and the house had a few already planted. I don't, however, have any idea about the maintenance of tulip bulbs. Are you supposed to dig them up and split them in the fall? Or can you just leave them planted in the ground?

Our house also, randomly, had a bunch of raspberry bushes. When Mike moved in, they were totally overgrown in one area, so we hacked them all down. I don't think this was the right move, though, because we didn't get many raspberries last year and they were all very sour. I didn't touch them this fall, so I'm hoping they will be sweeter this year.

I was pleasantly surprised to find two peony bushes and multiple lilies already planted around the house. The peonies need cages this year, though, because last year they flopped over and died right after they bloomed. The lilies were gorgeous with bright pinks, reds and yellows. I'm worried that they won't come back as healthy this year because I stopped watering them in late summer and I didn't cut anything back.

We also found a terrible fern and hosta garden on the side of our house that was completely overgrown. We dug all the plants up and instead planted a small vegetable garden of hot and sweet peppers. We got a lot of jalapenos and banana peppers. However, the sweet bell peppers never flowered. I might try the same thing this year. I also want to try a cherry tomato plant, but I think I will put that in a pot because our soil isn't very good.

I'm hoping this year to be a bit more attentive to our plants. I want to add some new things to the garden now that I know what's already there. I am so excited to see if my tulips come back.