Que sad music...the knock out roses finally bit the dust.

They were beautiful little additions to the side yard when I first planted them....

I walked around the yard and took a few pictures a few months ago and they looked halfway decent then!

I built this flower bed and planted the knock out roses because it is an area of the yard I rarely tend to...

Rarely...as a result they were looking REALLY pathetic!

Two bushes died last year so I removed them and planted another. This year the another died and two were near death.

In their defense, knock out roses tend to stop blooming in the heat of the summer...but they obviously had other issues!

So this past weekend we decided to pull them all out...except for the one little bush I planted last year. It may eventually get transplanted when it is cooler if I decide to go another direction with this bed.

I'm not sure what caused their demise. Age, disease, neglect...maybe a combination of all. I did throw a little fertilizer down on them occasionally but I can honestly say I probably didn't tend to them like I should have...a weed eater is probably not the proper tool to use to prune rose bushes.

Knock out roses don't make the best "cut flowers." Cute in a little ironstone creamer...but certainly not something you plant for the purpose of creating indoor arrangements....

Que sera...

I think I will leave the bed "vacant" for the time being...let it winter just incase it is harboring disease or fungus.

Besides, I can't decide what I want to plant in their place and honestly, it is really too hot to plant right now.

I would love to plant hydrangeas but evidently they don't take well to direct afternoon sun...and that is exactly what this bed gets...hot afternoon sun. Curses. I like crepe myrtles but they get very full and bushy and are probably not ideal for a narrow bed against a fence.

When planning your plantings pay attention to what sunlight and care the plants will need. Do your research!

Maybe I will just resort to more potted plants...those tend to do well but they certainly can't be neglected this time of year. Right now I am watering every day.

I will leave you with a few pictures of areas of the yard I don't neglect...

After YEARS of struggling to landscape this front bed, I finally resorted to flagstone and potted annuals..I love it!

Hostas are a super simple perennial that require little maintenance! They can easily be split every spring which explains why I have TONS of them in my yard! I have even started planting some in containers!

Planting in containers has become my "thang." I'll scatter a few annuals around in the ground, but just about all annuals go in containers these days!

Make your yard an extension of your home...

BTW, last year I shared here the new fescue sod...I thought the "difference" between the fescue and bermuda would bug the heck out of me...not so much! I see the difference...but I can live with it! As you can see, it made it through the winter and that is a good thing!

Until next week....

As I mention here (when I ranted about my neighbor's trees!) my yard is an extension of my home.

I obsess when it is time to replace a rug or flooring...I cruise the internet, pin every room that catches my eye on Pinterest, and spend months bringing home hardwood and tile samples! (Stay tuned for the drama of the new couch selection!)

But what about our yards...does your yard need "new flooring?" Mine sure as heck did!

It's not like I have ignored it....I have resodded this area at least 5 times in the last 17 years...most recently just last year. But it never thrived because I kept putting down the wrong sod...Bermuda and Zoysia...both of which need sun and this area of my yard did not get enough.

I resisted putting down the sod I KNEW I needed...Fescue. Silly reason actually. Most of my yard gets tons of sun and the Bermuda has thrived. Bermuda goes dormant in the winter and turns brown. Fescue does not...it pretty much stays green year round. The thought of having two different types of grass was more than my OCD could tolerate.

The fact is, after years of failure, there really was no other option...dirt or grass. No brainer really, but the grass I WANTED to grown wasn't going to survive the shade! Want in one hand, poo in the other.

Fescue it is...and it made a HUGE difference.

Just showing off some of my pretty potted plants!

The MAJOR upside to sod is instant gratification. A day of hard labor and you have a beautiful yard that will not wash away!

Sod vs. seed. In my opinion, the difference financially is really minimal longterm. Yes, the upfront cost of sod may seem substantial. I probably spent $600 on 4 1/2 pallets of sod and some top soil.

You have to top seed with straw. You will have to hope and pray you don't get a heavy rain that will wash away the seed (we have had more than a few of those in the last month!)...and of course there are always the birds who find it very tasty! Yes, you have to water sod, but you will water much more to establish seed and even then you might have a tough time nurturing it through the hot dry months of the summer! Seeding in the spring just does not give new grass time to get a good root system before the heat of summer!

In my opinion, sod is the only way to go if you have the ability to put it down yourself...and trust me, it takes very little "skill!" Just a strong back and clothes you don't mind getting dirty (REAL dirty!)

By the end of a back breaking day I had a beautiful new "rug" for my yard...and hopefully THIS time it will survive!