THE GARDEN

Garden Projects

A year-by-year record of the work, plans, experiments, successes, failures, and changes that shape the garden at Root & Brass.

GARDEN YEAR

2026

What I Did

September 7, 2026 · Complete

Labor Day

I completely cleaned out my front entry garden. Removed all the ground cover and Iris Bulbs. Leaving only clean dirt, two burning bushes, a honeysuckle, spring bulbs and one blanket flower I will divide next spring.

Goals for the Year

Garden Journal

NEXT SEASON

2028

A new garden year will begin. Plans will be added as the season takes shape.

GARDEN YEAR

2027

What I Did

The year’s completed work will be recorded here.

Goals for the Year

  • Weed and clean out the soil in the snack garden.
  • Dig up and replant the raspberries without grass in their roots.
  • Add appropriate companion flowers in the snack garden.
  • Line the snack garden with a weed barrier.

Garden Journal

Planning Notes · 2027

The Garden This Month

Add notes about what is blooming, what changed, what worked, what did not, and anything worth remembering from the garden this month.

GARDEN YEAR

2026

What I Did

  • Moved and split a lilac bush into three plants early this spring, planted them along Pine Avenue, and mulched the area.
  • Moved several Cheyenne privets to give them more breathing room and create a wider spread.
  • Extended the southwest garden into a larger area.
  • Moved the peonies from beneath a house window to the southwest garden, where Charlie is less likely to lie on or dig around them.
  • Planted cornflowers in the southwest garden.
  • Added a Strawberry lilac to the corner of the southwest garden; it should become the largest of the group.

Goals for the Year

  • Focus on the garden’s overall beauty and health.
  • Remove the pine tree.
  • Protect the trees.
  • Investigate the well.

Garden Journal

August 2026

The Garden in August

August is always the hardest. The water cannot keep up; everything is dry and windblown. At this point, I am watering simply to keep things alive and focusing on the planters and the plants that need strength going into winter. Two weeks ago, after noticing several weeks of new growth on the hydrangeas in my tall black planters, I deadheaded the old flowers. The new growth leapt forward and is beginning to produce another round of blooms. I am excited by the response, although I do not expect the same result every year.

July 2026

What is Growing in July

What is growing, you ask? Everything! I harvested honeysuckle, my calendula has a bloom, marigolds grown from seed are beginning to flower, and the Cheyenne privets were full earlier this month. Surprisingly, almost everything is still doing well and the lawn remains green. I changed my watering routine this year to a deep watering about once a week. The deer did browse a few things this month, including a hosta and my middle maple tree. I need to protect those trees soon.

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