It's been a long time

It's been a long time since my last post and lots of things have happened.  Spring is not just around the corner for us but the winter has been very mild so far this year.  I'll be back tomorrow with some pictures and comments, I hope.

Yellow Iris are Blooming

It was chilly out on the Hill this morning but we did not have frost. A couple of people in the office said that they had to scrap ice from windshields. Last weekend I had a load of landscape gravel delivered and, with some helping hands I have begun to create a drystream bed. We got this much of it done when the heavens opened up and rain came down in buckets. Hopefully will get back out there by Friday.

This bed of Iris was here when I arrived. It had some type of tree growing in the center along with a thicket of blackberry briers around and in it. The tree we took down and the briers I have tried to remove. One thing I have found is that deer do not care for Iris or Jonquils.
Standing on the walk that leads to the Wash House and looking up gives one the idea of just how steep my Hill really is. The bed of Iris that is faintly visible in the upper left corner is the one in the picture above.

Iris are Blooming

Went for a short this evening about seven o'clock and when I came back I snapped a few pictures. This is absolutely one of my favorites. I have no idea how old these are because several years ago when I was down at my farm I dug up a few and planted them in a bed. Well, as Iris will do, they quickly multiplied so last spring I relocated them to their present home. I did this in the spring after they were almost ready to bloom. I must admit I did not expect them to bloom but it did not slow them down at all. This year they are really going to be beautiful.

The one below is a rebloomer. It bloomed last spring and then in the late fall. Actually it was still blooming so late in the fall that I cut off the last buds and brought them inside so they would not freeze. Not only was it a heavy bloomer but it more than doubled in clump size.

I particularly like the way it looks growing among the rocks. Gives it more of a naturalized setting.
If you look closely you will see that the delphinium is getting ready to put on it's show but it will still be longer before the first flowers open.

"Tomorrow is Another Day"

Rain and thunderstorms were suppose to move through last evening but all we got was the rain and much cooler temperature. At five thirty this morning it is 51 degrees and the high is suppose to be only in the mid-sixties as opposed to the 80s we've had in the past few days. Would be great weather to work in the garden but both my grandkids are with me today so gardening will wait until another day. The oldest one is 12 and lives on a small farm so he enjoys coming to my house and just hanging out without any chores to do. The youngest has just turned 3 so she likes Dora, Little Bear and Hello Kitty. I need a break from gardening and outside work so this will be a wonderful weekend to just relax and play with the kidos. This is one of my favorite hydrangea. It blooms on both old and new wood and so far has proved to be a rather heavy bloomer. I have two of them and last fall collected enough flower heads to make several large bouquets which dried nicely and are still very showy.
The August Lily is up and surrounded by violets. Flower pots are awaiting new tenants which requires a decision on my part. Oh, well, as Scarlett said "tomorrow is another day". I will consider all these problems at a later date.

Gnarley Mulberry

This distorted piece of nature amazes me each time I see it. Just off my front porch (that is not my house in the picture) it grows close to the property line. This is not an upclose picture but it is so twisted and gnarled I wonder how it got into such a shape. Each summer it will have a few mulberries but they soon disappear thanks to the birds. If I were a "little person" beneath this would be the perfect place to sit and play. I've thought about putting a tiny house beneath it for the leprechauns and other wee folk. Prehaps if I do they will tend my gardens - pull weeds, mulch the beds, keep all the other things under control. I'm not sure what type of fern this it but it stayed green all winter. There are a couple of other types that did not survive. I would like to find more of these to put beneath the Hickory tree tree. So many things will not grow where the nuts and leaves contiminate the ground. This is one huge tree. I'm not exactly sure where my property line is but there is a survey in the near future. If it's on my property I will very seriously considering having it removed because of the close proximity to my house and if it is not I may have a talk with my neighbor about both of us having it removed. Several of the big trees on our hill have been struk by lighting. When it took out my 200 plus year old Oak it was quite a jolt, to say the least.

High A Top the Chimney

Early in the morning one never knows what will be seen at my house!
I looked up and this is what I saw perched on one of the chimneys. He seems to be there surveying his kingdom. I have a rather aggressive mockingbird who resides nearby and this could be one and the same.

The deer is one of several that was in the backyard. They are not as skiddish as one might expect them to be around people. Indeed, they often seem to pose for pictures.

I found these lovelies peeking through a crack in the walk. They are such a deep blue they seemed quite unique.

Time for a second cup of coffee.

Trillium & Bluebells

When I discovered that the trillium was back again I was delighted. Each year I keep a close watch until it reappears. This one has a special meaning for me since it came from my Mother's garden. It has bloomed since I made this picture but because it is so NOT in the shade I am going to move a protion of it to a less sunny location.The bluebells were nodding in the breeze and so the picture is not the best but these little guys are real troopers. Coming back year after year and spreading wider each time. Now that I have some of the wooded area cleaned I am going to start putting in some woodland flowers and some ferns. Still battling the Japanese honeysuckle and green briers but I have made some progress in reclaiming the area.

The yard man has not been by as yet so if you look closely you can see a trio of dandelions along with the bluebells.

Rain, Storms and More Rain

At about midnight the rain came in sheets and the weather forecasters kept showing more heavy storms moving into the area but by 1:45 a.m. there was not much going on. Seems that the major storms skirted us. When I went to bed about 2:30 it was still raining steadily but there had been none of the cloud to ground lighting the forecasters kept insisting we were going to see. Today it's still overcast, gray and gloomy. The temperature is several degrees cooler than it has been and may go down to the high 30s tonight but daytime temperatures are in the 60s. A good time to plant trees and shrubs.

Before

Above and below you can see what I did Tuesday evening after getting home from work. There is a "before" and "after". Once I finishing weeding I will put down some fresh mulch. Back in the woods there are several white dogwood and some redbud trees. Think I'm going to purchase some white and pink dogwoods to put out closer to the house.

After

The "after" was the result of lots of weed pulling. I have this horrid grass/weed in the yard this year that I have no idea what it is. It just seems to have taken over the yard since last fall. I'm hoping that by next year I have things better under control and won't have so much work to do.