Syble's Garden

It's been a long time

2012-02-06T15:38:00.000-05:00

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

2010-04-28T23:53:00.001-04:00

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

2010-04-21T21:19:00.014-04:00

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"

2010-04-16T16:08:00.010-04:00

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

2010-04-15T17:30:00.002-04:00

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

2010-04-14T05:30:00.001-04:00

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

2010-04-12T21:27:00.008-04:00

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

2010-04-08T12:18:00.014-04:00

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.

Shrubs and Trees and All Things Green

2010-04-04T16:35:00.000-04:00

Beautiful Easter day here. Everyone got together at my sister's and a wonderful time was had by all. I baked one of my "famous" hams and was going to make deviled eggs. The eggs are something I always make for family get togethers. My youngest son, his wife and my oldest nephew just expect to have the eggs. Well, guess what?! Yesterday I forgot to make them. Needless to say they were disappointed. I promised to do better next time. :)
My Egyptian walking onions are doing great. I think they are most interesting plants. I like the way the sets form at the top of the stalk and that these are edible when they are small. My mother and grandmother always refered to these as "7 year" onions. Supposedly they would come back for 7 years before they had to be replaced.

Saturday after a couple of rather heavy down pours the sun came out. I went out, pulled weeds and put down a bunch of mulch, trimmed and mulched some more. I think I'm gonna buy stock in the company I get the mulch from. The guy next door who owns the florist/nursery probably considers me one of his best customers since I go thru a skid of the stuff every year. Not sure what's on the agenda for today. Probably going to put the clump river birch in out front and clean out around the blueberry bushes.

One of my friends told me the other day that she has some gooseberry bushes that have starts and she will bring me some of those. I love gooseberry pies.

Peeking throught the Mulch

2010-04-02T19:40:00.000-04:00

If you look closely at the picture above you can see, between the liripoe and the base of the birdbath, the phlox that are poking their heads up through the mulch. Its so good to The Naked Ladies are up in profusion. I hate these things! The more I try to dig them out the more they seem to multipy. I really think they are determined to drive me insane.However, these beautiful little hyacinths are totally different. I'm not sure where my mother got these but I managed to salvage a few when the house was sold. I have another clump about this size. When these little blue flowers poke their heads up I feel that winter is surely ending.

The temperature here has been in the 80s for a couple of days and in the 50s at night. I put in some lettuce seed last weekend and now have lots of tiny plants.

A Return to the Garden

2010-03-31T13:24:00.009-04:00

Now that the weather is a bit warmer and the days longer I'm back in the garden. I take a look around and wonder where on earth I'm going to find the time to get all the things done that must be done. Yesterday I worked several hours after arriving home from the office. I put in the hollies that will replace my deceased japonicas. Now I still have have a false cypress to plant and a clump birch for the front lawn.

I also trimmed back some of the liriope and pulled up landscape fabric that I put down several years ago. That was a BIG mistake to use. I think I could hear the soil breath as I pulled it out. I have found that layers of newspaper beneath the mulch works so much better keeping weeds and grass down and is far better for the soil. The area at the right is where I was working and this is my "helper". He seems to have adopted us as his family.

This little japonica has survived a couple of winters and I love the blooms. I have two that are struggling so I plan on relocating and trying to salvage them.

Spring is Approaching!

2010-03-01T08:58:00.007-05:00

It's quite chilly here on the Hill this morning, gray and very wintry looking, but there are signs that spring is approaching. There are robins and blue jays everywhere. Jonquils have poked their heads up but my crocus did not return. I will talk with my neighbor soon and have them drop a skid of mulch when he gets his order in for the greenhouse. I will go out the next warm day and begin spring cleanup of the beds.

I have decided that I am going to use a holly as the shrub near my front porch. After having so much trouble with the other things I've put in the past two springs I am very hopeful that this will be the end of redoing the landscape out there.

I have a few small trees that need to be removed farther back in the yard but with most of the vines and tangled briers gone they will be easy to take out with a small saw. I will add a good deal more grassy area when I get this accomplished. When I get to this point I am taking a few days vacation so that I can really get it finished. IF I had a fire pit I sure could get burn a lot of limbs and such. HUMMMM! A fire pit! Maybe that another project to add to the never ending list.

Dreaming of Warm Days

2010-01-26T13:43:00.007-05:00

It's cold here today. It's gonna get colder before the week is over but last week gardening catalogues arrived in the mail. Things look a bit bleak in my garden at this time but soon, very soon there will be crocus peeking thru and the cold will give way to warmer days and more daylight hours. This spring, I hope to get in lots of herbs and some vegetables. Just as soon as the weather warms I'm putting in raised beds. Had plans to do it all last spring but just never got around to doing so. Not sure how much I will harvest or how much the critters will devour but we shall see. There was a fairly good size herd of deer in the woods the other day and a couple of them were down close to the house because they left tracks in the snow. Nothing else looks like "deer tracks in the snow".

Looking out the kitchen window late the other afternoon I saw the fox. She was on the hill behind the house looking as if she were surveying her "kingdom". This time of year we often here them barking but January thru March is mating season for the red fox. They can have up to 12 pups but I've only seen this one with two. They are really neat animals.

Their only real enemies are cars and humans but distemper, rabies and mange may also cause them concerns. Once trapped for their fur and killed by farmers because of their attacks on poultry the red fox took a heavy "beating? Now with no more bounty payments for their fur and most poultry farms more or less "safety proof" from predators the red fox is expanding. The Coyote seems to be one of their biggest competitors and like the fox it is expanding it's field. So far we have neither seen nor heard Coyotes for that I am very thankful.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-07T10:43:00.006-05:00

It's been well over a month since I've posted but I had three weeks away from the University and I really enjoyed the winter holidays. Came back to work Monday and found that the venelation work being done on our building had left us without heat in some of the rooms. Brrrrrr! Was almost in the thirties in some of the offices. On Tuesday everyone came in bundled up and still complaining but by Wednesday when the students returned we had some My kids and grandkids came for Christmas on December 24 and we had a wonderful time then on Sunday after Christmas they all came back to my house along with my sister and her family. As for all the holidays everyone ate too much.

Other excitement in my life - my car, which my daughter was driving and my grandson was a passesnger, was totaled when someone ran a red light, hit another van and then both hit my car. The driver that caused all the problem then got out of his van and fled the scene. The police did get him about two block away. No one got injured so that was good.

This is my new vehicle. Guess one might consider it an unexpected Christmas present to myself.

It is snowing steadily here this morning. According to the weather we are only suppose to have 1-2 inches today and then thru Saturday it could be up to 4 inches. Around here that's enough to cause problems.

Late Thanksgiving

2009-11-28T05:31:00.007-05:00

Here on the Hill at five in the morning, it's thirty-two degrees but feels like it is in the twenties. Those that know predict that by afternoon it will have warmed into the high fifties. Personally I have my doubts on that. I will be happy just to have it a little warmer.

There's not much going on in the garden, that's for sure. Late yesterday afternoon I found a blackeyed Susan, close to the house and well protected, with bright yellow flowers.

Tomorrow the family will all be here for dinner. I did not do Thanksgiving on Thursday because the kids all have other places they need to go on that day and it's just easier if we do it on another day. Work was generous this year-we were off, not only Thursday and Friday, for the holiday but also Wednesday. I had already taken Monday as a vacation day. Wednesday I painted the wall of the stairs and about half the foyer so on Monday, if all goes as planned, I will finish painting up there. Since I've moved into this house people who just come to expect me to have some project in process when they arrive. The coming week contractors will be working here so amid my Christmas decorations will be ladders, etc. Even my young grandchildren have learned to avoid the ladders and such. (Sigh) One day it will all be finished and I can just sit back and enjoy it. Then what will I find to have "in process"? I've renovated and remodeled houses most of my life so I just don't know what to do if I don't have something in process.

Changing Weather, Holiday Cactus, Reblooming Iris

2009-11-23T08:30:00.006-05:00

Out on the Hill this morning it was really quite nice for this time in Novemeber - somewhere in the upper forties. The wind was still but there seems to be a chance of some rain moving into our area along with some much cooler air and there was the mention of a snow flake or two on Thursday. Brrrrrrrr!

Saturday was a gorgeous day which I spent cleaning up the flower beds. The lawn guy picked up leaves and cleaned out the gutters on Thursday so on Saturday I did the flower beds-Last and final cleanup until spring, I hope.

Last evening I went out and cut all of my reblooming Iris. I wanted to bring them in before the weather changed and there are still several unopened buds on them that I hope. My Thanksgiving/Christmas cactus are blooming also. I hope the blooms are all open on the Sunday after Thanksgiving since that is when all my family is coming for dinner.

I did my menu last evening so I have to go to the grocery later this week.

So What IF IT's Friday the 13th

2009-11-13T15:54:00.003-05:00

Saturday morning the crew all showed up at my house to help clean up the back section of my yard and load all the limbs, brush and whatever else I had cut earlier in the summer, into the dumpster that I had rented. There were stacks of cinder blocks from the foundation of an old building that burned long before I bought the property and other old junk that someone had piled at the edge of the woods and over time had become overgrown with vines. The guys pulled out a couple of small metal tanks and then another two and another two (six in all). We discovered that they were not tanks but old water heaters and they were all stacked on top of a cistern. In the spring I will see if I can get someone to come take down the few small trees that grow along the back of the yard and a very dilapidated old building that seems to be defying gravity in the fact it's still standing. All the stuff below was gone when they finished. WoooHooo!

I have to get out and make some more pics of the cleanup area. Maybe this weekend.

Sunrise on the hill

2009-11-12T09:26:00.001-05:00

This is a view from my driveway at about 7:20 this morning. Sunrise out there is almost always breathtaking.

This one is taken about five minutes after the above picture. Amazing how fast the view can change.

It was a chilly thirty eight degrees this morning but the afternoon has been in the sixties. We are looking forward to a beautiful weekend.

Fall Cleanup and Found Things

2009-11-04T10:29:00.004-05:00

It's in the low forties here this morning, gray and drizzly, but not a bad November day. The weather person was talking about it going to be cold but for me when the temp get up in the fifties it's not really a cold day. It appears that we will have clouds all day but...we are, after all, approaching winter.

We were talking the other day about how the winters have changed over the years. As a child I well remember my Dad picking corn in October and it being very cold, bitter even. Thanksgiving Day was a day for hunting rabbits and quail and invariably there would be snow on the ground. These are all memories that go along with the ones of going to my grandparents house for Thanksgiving dinner. Good memories of times spent with folks who are mostly all now gone.

Hopefully over the next couple of afternoons I will be able to get some more fall cleanup done. I have help coming Saturday to really do some major cleanup around the property such as getting rid of limbs and things that I've discovered as I clear away the undergrowth. I keep thinking that maybe I'll find a pot of money buried somewhere up there but so far I've only found an old bathroom sink, a stack of very old cinder blocks, a tub of glass window panes (the tub of window panes was tucked away under a large lilac bush). There was an old plow who's wooden frame was decayed, a hay fork and some other things I can't identify, not sure I'd want to know what some of them were. We will see if I find anything of interest up there this weekend.

Colours of Autumn

2009-10-30T09:30:00.011-04:00

Out on the Hill the flowers are really winding down. I need to harvest some of the sage.

The reblooming Iris just keeps on blooming. I'm really surprised at this one but for sure I'm getting more.

We had temps in the mid-thirties one night. The banana plants just could not deal with that. Guess this is a week-end chore that I will have to get done - Dig them up and store them in the cellar until next spring. My neighbor at the florist has some that he just leaves in the ground to overwinter. A little mulch and they come back in force the next spring. I inherited this one when my Dad died a couple of years ago. This thing has probably been in my family for close to fifty yeas. I just feel I'm obligated to keep it going, IF I can.

Trees are really beautiful this year. It's suppose to rain tonight so that will probably bring a lot of them down.

I made the above picture in the morning and

About twenty-fours later I made the following one.

Yep! the leaves changed overnight.

Take a look at that beautiful blue sky!

Saturday Morning Ramble

2009-10-15T09:55:00.006-04:00

At six- thirty here on the hill it's a chilly forty one degrees but it feels more like low thirties. It's a dreary and morning here on the hill with the high to be only fifty today. I have been forced to turn on some heat here in the house. I had hoped to get more of the brush and yuck cleared from the edge of the woods this fall but now I don't know if I will get that done until the spring. The leaves are turning and we have lots of reds and yellows in the woods behind the house. On the drive home from work yesterday some of the streets that are lined with the huge old trees were really beautiful arrayed in their reds, yellows, gold and green. I have some banana plants growing that I will need to dig up and take to the cellar in the next few days. I tried mulching one of them a few years back and leaving it to over winter outside. It did not survive and since these have been in my family for forty plus years I just kinda feel like it's my job to keep one around as long as I can.

Along with the gardens and the renovation of my log home I have gone back to my first love which is sewing. I hope to soon have some of my repurposed deimn jackets and other items on Etsy. Right now, as my grandmother would have told me, I have too many irons in the fire, but things will all work out and it will all get done, eventually. Adding to the chaos contractors will probably be at the house one or two days next week. Over time one learns to live around them and you soon become on a first name basis with them. They bring me pumpkins and other decorations for my front porch and have taught me how to chink the logs in a two hundred year old house. All these things sometime make life a little hetic but it also keeps thing interesting and the garden is where I go "to stop and smell the roses". It's the place of peace and quiet in a hetic life.

Snake Picture

2009-10-14T09:59:00.005-04:00

Compliments of: www.montgomerycountymd.gov/.../herps/snakes.asp

I found a picture and a name for the Snake. Known as a Worm Snake. I've never heard of one but he is aptly named. Guess I should have left him alone and been thankful that he might have been one reason I have very few slugs. That statement, so far, has been true.

I did find a toad in the Blackeyed Susans the other day. First one I had seen on the hill. I will have to post pictures of the "craw dad" holes that I find but thus far I have not seen the creature venture forth from his hole. If one were to step into those holes they could break an ankle or leg.

Fall Cleanup - Surprise Visitor

2009-10-13T18:45:00.002-04:00

I haven't been around lately but have been really busy inside. Did manage to get out and do a little fall cleanup Saturday afternoon. While I was pulling weeds I found what I thought was a huge night crawler. This big old worm is very common in my flowers. I only had a glimpse of one end as he wriggled beneath some weeds. I grapped an end and pulled. He was quiet strong so I pulled harder only to have him get away from me. By now, it's a matter of getting him. I wanted a picture. Well, there is no picture and there was no night crawler. When I finally yanked him from under some weeds that I had pulled earlierI discovered he was a baby snake. Needless to say he is no more. I have no idea what he was but he was about eight inches long, kinda taupe or light brown in colour with a white underside. When I finished with him there could be no pictures to post. I'm not afraid of snakes, in fact, I have a resident black snake that sometimes lives in my cellar and he is welcome so long as I don't find mice around the place, but I don't like to have the unknown kind slitthering around my flower beds. If he was a "good" snake then I am sorry I smashed him, If he was a "bad" snake then, Oh well! I'm aware that if you find one small one there are usually more. I tried to look him up on line but didn't find him. There were no markings at all on him.

In all that excitement I did discover that I have a balloon flower blooming. I will try to post a picture and more later this evening. Also, my reblooming iris is still blooming. The temperature has been down in the forties here at night but tops out at around sixty in the daytime.

Monsoon Season? Reblooming Iris!

2009-09-21T10:33:00.011-04:00

Out on the hill it looks like fall but the afternoon temps have been in the 80s. We've gone from no rain to somewhat of a monsoon it seems. From the looks of the weather map it's going to be rain and thunderstorms all the way thru Saturday. This morning it rained on me all the way in to work and for about an hour after I arrived. At this point it has stopped but there's suppoe=se to be more waiting in the wings, I believe. My garden surely will enjoy the moisture and so will the weeds.

I purchased some reblooming iris a year or so ago and this spring they bloomed. On Sunday as I was leaving the house something caught my eye and guess what? This beautiful iris was fully opened. I had not even noticed it was going to bloom. I purchased several but for health reasons did not get them all in the ground and this is the only one that seems to have survived. I most certainly am going to order more of the reblooming varieties. I've been shopping the cataloges for others. This morning there were 2 more blooms but it was raining and I didn't get pictures.

Winerberry? Wildflower?

2009-09-15T22:25:00.003-04:00

My japonicas and one of my pencil hollies seem to be trying to give up the ghost. I'm thinking that they needed more water than they have been getting. We have had very little rain since August 4th. Since I am on a hill and the water drains quickly I am going to put in soaker hoses, hopefully this fall. I've been considering adding a timer but have not yet decided for sure about this. I have not grown japonicas before and if they are this temperamental I'm not sure I will grow them again.

Here on the hill not alot of things are in bloom. The sages and catmint are very robust in aroma and size. Coreopsis have continued to bloom and are still flowering beautifully. I gathered my hydrangea blooms yesterday and made bouquets for the sunporch and on each side of the colonnade. They are one of my best flowers and I like the fact that I can collect them to make arrangements that will last all season. In the spring I will add 4 or 5 more plants along the French Drain.

Coreopsis

A the edge of the woods near the end of my drive, in one of the few areas that we have managed to somewhat reclaim from mother nature's take over with unwanted growth, I noticed a shrub that is simply loaded with red berries. I was on my way to work so it was not a good day to go climbing thru weeds and brush but that is just what I did. I'm not sure if this is a winterberry but it may be. Whatever it is the berries are stunning. At the base of the same small bank I discovered beautiful yellow flowers that are some type of wildflower. I am posting pictures of both the flower and the shrub. If anyone can identify either please do so.

Sage & Catmint and some others

Winterberry? Maybe? No? Yes?

Unknown flower

Fall is Definitely in the Air

2009-09-14T21:58:00.002-04:00

The past few mornings when I have stepped outside there has been the feel of change in the air and fog hangs over the land that spreads out below my hill. Behind the house the trees have reds and yellows in their leaves. The burning bushes will soon lose all their green. This one changes from day to day.

Below the touch-me-nots have lost their seeds and leaves will soon be gone.

And as if that is not proof enough take a look at the poke weed. Picture is not very good but you can see the clusters of berries and the faded leaves.

Yes, autumn is arriving here in Kentucky! There is a crispness in the early morning air but by afternoon it's back in the 80s. On Saturday I pulled weeds and did a little clean up and for that I have a good case of Poison Ivy.

Back to The Garden - Soon Very Soon

2009-09-03T07:00:00.003-04:00

I've had lots of things going on at my house and not necessarily in the garden. I have been painting and cleaning and now it's time to get ready to go back out and do some late summer garden work very soon. I have mulch that needs to be put down around shrubs and lots of clean up is going to start. With cool weather just around the corner I will be doing some more work at the woods' edge - trying to get rid of poison ivy, grapevines and honeysuckle. I so want to get some of that yard reclaimed and put in some ferns and flowering shrubs. Hopefully, in the next day or so I will have some pictures to post.

For some reason one of my japonicas that I planted this spring and that had been doing great has some dead branches. I can't figure out why. Hopefully, it will recover. I do know that we could sure use some rain. Haven't had much rain since the downpour that caused the flood on August 4th.

This and That and Some More

2009-08-17T06:30:00.006-04:00

This morning I went out to make some pictures. I did discover that if your camera is anywhere close to the AC vent and you take it outside in the 70F degree heat the lense will fog, therefore, some of my pictures are not all that good. I had to snap a picture, wipe off the lense and try for another one. Didn't always work. I missed a shot of a redthroated hummingbird. He was buzzing around the Hollyhocks and Lavender but before I could get a focus on him he was gone.

The stonecrop is beginning to look like autum is somewhere in the wings waiting.

I love the silvery colour of sage and the spiderwort has bloomed again.

The Purple Heart (Tradescantia pallida) was just a tiny sprig when I put it out this spring. It seems to enjoy full sun. I only recently discovered that it and spiderwort of of the same family.

Not sure the name of this little lilly. My mother had this for many years after a neighbor gave her a start. She always called it her "little pink lily". My sister gave me a pot of it last fall since I had lost all of mine several years ago and it has bloomed all summer if I give it a drink everyday.

My cypress vine has taken over the stump and is trying to cover everything on the ground. The hummingbirds love it. I hate to cut it back but I think I am going to have to rescue some of the plants

There were lots of honey bees around the cleomes this morning but you can't see them in the pictures.

I'm not sure planting them around the mailbox was such a good idea but they sure seem to like it there.

Someone was Hungry

2009-08-16T23:34:00.003-04:00

My sweetpotato was doing fine and when I came home about six o'clock it had all it's leaves and vines. About 2 hours later when I went outside this is what I found. Apparently the groundhog was very hungry. I saw him just the other day as he was scurring across the yard. He is very well fed. About a week ago he dined on one of my large dahlias that was just getting ready to bloom. Considering the fact that he appears (from his rotund size) to have a large appetite I consider myself lucky that he has not done more damage.

Flowers, flowers and more

2009-08-12T22:00:00.005-04:00

This is the only one that came back. I bought some more this year so hopefully next spring will bring many more.

Crocosmeia

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we seek to...
Cypress vine. Hummingbirds love it.

One of my most liked flowers - the hydrangea

These blackeyed Susans were a wonderful surprise when they appeared.

Touch-me-nots have always been favorities of my kids and grandkids. The seed pods are wonderful entertainment.

These bees were busy collecting pollen from this large sunflower.

2009-08-11T23:30:00.003-04:00

Here are a few pictures of the new garden I have been working on. It is just outside my back door and is doing beautifully. By next year everything should really have filled in and look very nice.

Right side of path with lavender and daisies.

Left side with coreopsis anddelphinium/larkspurs.

The eggplant has really not done very well so I relocated it here.

"Water, Water Everywhere & Not A Drop To Drink"

2009-08-10T20:30:00.011-04:00

Samuel Taylor Coleridge's The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is one of my favorite classic tales and on August 5th the "Water, water everywhere..." described the scene outside my office building.

I was on vacation for a week which was really great. On Monday August 4th I came back to work. That was just a regular workday.

Then came Tuesday, August 5th. The two pictures below show the stree in front of my office building about an hour after I arrived.

As I was driving in there was this black cloud that was directly in front of me. It was black and there was a green look to it - as a child I was taught that if the cloud looked "green" it almost always meant that there was going to be hail involved. Anyway, still a good distance from work I considered going back home because there was this "feeling". Next time I will head my "feeling". I arrived at the office at 8:20 am. Within minutes it was almost as dark as night outside and I could hear hail hitting the windows. Then came the rain - 6.5 (16.5 centimeters)inches of rain in about an hour. We watched it flood the street in front of the building and then it blew the covers off the sewers and it was like a huge wave that moved higher and higher until it was up over the parking meters.

My car, along with many more was in the way of this wave of sewage, and needless to say flooded. By the time I realized the water wasn't going to stop before it got into the parking lot I couldn't get to the car to move it. Well anyway my car made national news on the weather channel.

The fire department had to bring in boats to evacuate some of the people. My sister and daughter had to be evacuated to the second floor of the building next door, then after is stopped raining and the water began to go down the grounds people took them out to a local business so that they could get a ride home.

Needless to say, my car has been totaled.

Digging in Rocks and Dirt

2009-07-19T09:39:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a beautiful day and for mid-July here in Kentucky it was about 10 degrees cooler than normal. The high was only 70F. Actually we broke the record of the coolest July I8 which was set (I believe in 1948) of 71F. I worked outside all day, dug out some of the pavement and put in the larkspurs, I need to find more if the markets still have them for sale. The ones I put in have already finished blooming and look a bit ratty but that's OK. I also added the sand and stepping stones for a path thru this garden. The other side of the path will be herbs since this plot is just outside the back door and very convenient to the kitchen. In the center of the herb portion I want to install some type of ornament, perhaps an old hand pump once used to pump water from the well. I have seen these used as fountains but I'm not going this route. Water features are just too much trouble for me.

Hopeful

2009-07-10T14:48:00.005-04:00

I've been a bit out of touch these last few days. Have been working on my house. It's suppose to be quite hot here tomorrow but I have tons of things that need to be done outside. Guess I'll be up early and out before it gets in the upper nineties. Gardening in that heat is not my cup of tea. I want to get beds made for the larkspurs but that may not all happen. We will hope for the best. Next week we are suppose to have off and on rain several days so that would be good it I could get the plants in the ground

Objects are Closer Than...

2009-07-01T10:45:00.001-04:00

Let me introduce Mr. Doodles. I walk out to the car, purse over my shoulder, lunch and briefcase in one hand, a cup of coffee and some papers in the other along with the car keys. After some juggling I reach to open the door and out of nowhere this thing flies in my face. I duck and yell, spill my coffee (luckily not on myself) and try to wave away whatever it is. Then I realize it's a BIRD. He hops onto the windshield and glares at me. My mirror, where he was perched is covered in doodle and all the way down my door. If I open the door will he fly into the car? I put down my lunch and brief case and fling the papers at him, but he just darts over to the other side mirror and looks at himself. Quickly I open the door and toss my things inside. As I close the door he's back and in my face. It's like he's saying "Lady, this is my perch. You deal with it." I go around get in on the driver side. He's still sitting on the passenger side mirror looking at himself. It's like "OK, Bird, Let's see how you like the carwash." He flies off before I pull out of my drive. When I came home from work I tied a plastic bag over the mirrors. Hopefull this will keep Mr. Doodles from doodling on my car again. I'm thinking he is twitterpatted (Remember in Bambi, Owl tells Bambi, Thumper and Flower that the birds were twitterpatted?) with the reflection of himself. Anyone know what type of bird he might be? I know that it would be hard to tell from the angle of the first picture so here's a better view.

Lemon Lily

2009-06-29T15:13:00.002-04:00

I've been reading about a lemon lily. Just curious if this is what I have. The yellow is such a clear beautiful color.

Another Suprise

2009-06-29T07:00:00.002-04:00

This has been an interesting weekend at my place. Yesterday I went out to begin removing some blacktop so that I could put in a flower bed near the house. I pried up a small piece and something looked strange, then I removed another small piece and another. There was nothing beneath the blacktop except A Hole! A very Black Hole. What have I found? Is this where some former owner, who didn't beieve in banks, has buried their fortune? ( I have found all types of interesting items but as yet no money) Some Indian hide-away, the land was once part of the Iroquois Indian Reservation, I've been told? No! Nothing so exciting. Just one of the 3 cisterns on the place that former owner told me had been filled in years ago.

I called my contractor and he tells me that it has to be filled in with sand. It seems the larkspurs and coreopsis will have to wait a few days before they get planted.

2009-06-25T15:19:00.008-04:00

Purple Lily with visitors.

Yellow Lilies. These are beautiful. Such a clear pretty colour.

The tomatoes are getting ripe. Found this one turning last evening. Now if the "critters" just leave them alone.

I've never grown eggplant with any success but this one has several blooms. I will wait and see if the fruit arrives in due time.

And the cucumbers are doing great. This is only two of the ones that I have.

Resident Groundhog

2009-06-23T09:09:00.000-04:00

I saw my little buddy this morning. I had been concerned he was no longer around until I spotted him a few days ago. Today he came ambling down the hill to the ditch and scurried along. Looking a lot like a miniture bear as his short little legs carried him along. I was watching for him to get closer but he disappeared. I have a French drain that runs across my back yard and in a couple of places where there are walkways concrete slabs cover the drain and in a couple of places I have placed decorative wrought iron covers that help keep trash out of the drain and prevent someone from stepping in it. Well this drain is the perfect underground highway for Mr. Groundhog, especially the covered area. After he disappeared I continued to watch for him and then I spotted him. Wish I could have gotten a picture but I was too slow, or he was too quick, whichever I missed a great picture. He had his head poked up between one of the iron grates and the concrete slap that crosses the drain. I must admit he was quite silly looking and worth a good laugh.

Not Garden Related but...

2009-06-22T14:18:00.003-04:00

With temps in the 90s I've kinda moved inside to work for a few days. Saturday I did some more work on my sunporch. Got half the windows painted and the lower half of one wall. About a week ago the contractor finished cleaning and rechinking the log wall portion and I got the insulation and wood up under all the windows so I had to get going on the paint. It's going to be one of my favorite places to spend time. The view of my gardens and woods is great and when it rains on the metal roof it's such a wonderful place to relax. Hopefully, this afternoon I can finish painting the windows and then there is an old cabinet I want to remove. The ceiling is going to be a real pain to paint beause it hasn't been done in years.

"Wigglies"

2009-06-14T22:56:00.006-04:00

Just one of my many wiggly friends. I have found nightcrawlers that make this little guy look tiny. Nevertheless they are both welcome in my gardens.

Lilies and More

2009-06-10T08:00:00.002-04:00

Lilies are Blooming! This one is my favorite.

It's been in the family for many years. Someone gave my mother a "start" many (probably more than 50) years ago. Now my sister and I both have a pot of them. I have no clue as to what type they are. The kettle on the right was one my grandmother kept on her wood burning kitchen stove to have hot water.

This White one was bloomed yesterday afternoon.

Pink, Pink and

More pink. It had a bloom open this morning. Not a stargazer!

This peachy one was given to me by one of my daughter-in-law a few years ago. I now have more than one clump.

Gardening Versus House Cleaning

2009-06-08T14:00:00.004-04:00

I worked in the garden for several hours Saturday afternoon. The temperature was near ninety. YUCK! I dragged out the tiller and prepared some of the walks to put in flowers along the edge. Tilled up a couple of beds and put in clomes in one of them and purple coneflowers in another. Hopefully, this afternoon I can get the liriope in along the walk. I haven't been outside since coming to the office earlier but they tell me it's hot and muggy and feels like rain. If it's too nasty outside I will be working inside on my sun porch. On second thought, that may very well be what I do this afternoon instead of gardening.

The guys are suppose to be coming sometime this week to take down a couple of trees in my front yard and I have the contractor coming to do some work on the house either this week or next. Life is never dull at my place although my pocket is often empty.

Banana Peels for Roses

2009-06-02T09:45:00.003-04:00

This morning I fed my roses. Yep, gave 'em banana peels. I've read all kinds of things about feeding banana peels to your roses. Chop, bake, puree, make an emulsion, burry the thing, but all you really need to do is toss the peel close to the bush and stand back. Sometimes I think people just want to make work for themselves. The peels decompose quickly and my roses really love the potassium. The entire flower garden will benefit from peels and if you use a lot of bananas as I do they are a cheap fertlizer.

Wandering about the Yard

2009-05-29T09:55:00.051-04:00

Let's wander around my yard for a bit. Maybe something will be of interest.

This stump was a huge catalpa tree beside the walk from my driveway. The center was totally gone when the tree was cut and now with dirt in the center it makes for a great "holding pot".

If you look closely on the left side of this picture you will see my birdbath which I may have rambled about before. This is one of my most unique pieces. Made from concrete the bowl is about 2 inches thick with an outside that resembles the bark of a tree and it sits on what appears to be a concrete tree log. Another intersesting tidbit is that the bowl has a 1 inch diameter hole directly in the bottom. You plug up the hole and it holds water. I will try to post a full picture of it maybe.

This is the start of my shade garden. There was nothing growing here when I arrived except several years worth of leaves and layers of hickory nuts. Yes, I have an Old House - built in the mid-eighteen hundreds, mostly from hickory and ash logs from trees that grew on or near the site of the house and that were hewn with a broad ax -maybe I will write more about the house at a later date. Pretty neat.

The perfect front porch on which to while away the hours on a lazy afternoon. There is a swing, not seen in the picture, where my grand daughter loves to spend her time.

The cinder block has been moved.

Interesting reading.

2009-05-28T22:56:00.006-04:00

I stumbled onto this website by way of several different blogs but this guy is great. It was his The 10 Tenets of Renegade Gardening that caught my attention but then I found lots of stuff of interest.

Plants on Steroids

2009-05-27T22:40:00.016-04:00

Picture does not do this hen & chicks justice because it's about the size of a saucer.

The dragonsnaps seem to like were they landed. When my grandson was about four years old that was what he called snapdragons and around here that name stuck.

Moved the coralbells and astilbes this afternoon to the shade garden. The ferns are doing good. I was really concerned that they might have problems since there have been so many hickory nuts and leaves left on the ground. I suppose the tree is so large it pulls alot of moisture from the ground but when I was diggng over there it was really dry considering it's rained almost every day. The leaves apparently act like and umbrella.

Pokeweed

2009-05-26T09:31:00.008-04:00

I just read an interesting article on pokeweed . I always have a bumper crop of this stuff regardless of what I do. I have had it grow until the stalk was well over 1.5 inches in diameter. I remember that my grandmother always said to boil three times, draining the water off each time, and then bacon grease was added along with some salt and it was cooked again. Supposedly the bacon grease would take care of any remaining poison. Seems quite "risky" to me.

Roadside lilies & spiderwort

2009-05-25T07:04:00.007-04:00

It's very overcast this morning but no rain as yet. Hopefully it will come later today. I have this huge clump of roadside lilies that have the perfect home down by the road. Only thing is the ground is so hard to dig I need some rain. Also, there are some extra spiderwort I want to put there. These two are tough enough to survive the poor soil, hide the storm drain and help filter the water.

More Rain on the Way

2009-05-24T23:59:00.008-04:00

Supposedly it will rain most of this week. I have a bunch of free plants that I need to get in the ground so if it is cloudy and we do get rain I'll be gardening not working in the house as I had planned, like cleaning the sunporch and painting. Those plants that have no permanent home, at this time, I will put in a holding bed. One of the things I really need to get done tomorrow is move my astibles. Since the walnut trees were removed there is very little shade and the astibles seem to be very unhappy - "Fear not, little Astilbes, I have the perfect spot over with the ferns."

Jurasic Park - Maybe

2009-05-21T14:31:00.015-04:00

It's sunny and 85 degrees and I'm heading out to cut undergrowth, brush and whatever else is growing on my hill. If I do a little at a time eventually it will be gone. Sometimes I wonder "What's gonna crawl out of here." It's kinda like living on the edge of Jurasic Park. It is a jungle but at least I don't have carnivous plants or dinasours---I hope . "Did you hear that noise?"

Mr. Squirrel and Me

2009-05-19T12:33:00.003-04:00

It's a beautiful day and I wanna to go play outside. I was doing OK until I had to walk across campus earlier and then I didn't want to come back inside. We have lots of squirrels here on campus and they are all well-fed. If you decide to have lunch sitting outside on a bench you better hope there's enough food for the squirrels. I'm sitting on the end of the bench and have my sandwich in hand. Mr. White Squirrel comes over to join me and promply hops up on the other end of the bench. This bench is maybe 36 inches long. Well here we sit, Me and Mr. Squirrel. I have my sandwich and in a baggie beside me I have an apple that has been sliced. He looks at me, this rodent with the bushy tail, flicks that same bushy tail, and moves over closer to the bag with the apple. I pick up the baggie and he barks at me and is no longer sitting down but seems to be in attack mode. It's like, "You WILL share that with me or I will have a bite of YOU." Have you ever looked into the eyes of angry squirrel that is less than a foot away from you? I gave him a slice of apple then headed back inside where it was safe. Wouldn't have surprised me to see him sitting outside the door banging on it with those tiny little feet with the long, long toenails.

Ligularia

2009-05-18T21:32:00.005-04:00

Yesterday I found this really interesting plant and I did something, that in my opinion, no gardener should ever do. I purchased a plant I knew absolutely nothing about. I bought a Little Lantern Ligularia. The one big complaint I may have with it is that slugs apparently like it - I hate slugs, that's why I don't grow hostas. A couple of hostas were on the property when I moved here and so far "slimeys" have not been a problem. Guess I will just save all my egg shells and crush them.

Problem Plants

2009-05-14T15:41:00.015-04:00

I have just been doing some reading and research on Problem Plants and found this really great info. So many of these plants are sold under different names from those I/we associate with them. Most of the plants mentioned at this link are problem plants here in Kentucky. I am a firm believer that gardners need to do a little research before they purchase any plant with which they are not familar. I am in a never ending battle with invasive plants. It's easy to dig a hole, plop in a plant that has a beautiful flower only to find that by the next year your garden has been over run by the "pretty one". While checking out some plant names I found a picture of a Thornapple. Thinking it looked familiar but never having heard it referred to by that name I checked it out. Growing up on a farm we referred to it by less attractive names - jimson weed, stinkweed, locoweed & devil's trumpet are a few of the mentionable ones. It is considered an unsual poison plant because more humans are affected than animals. All parts are poisonous. A picture to help identify the plant. Take care if you have this in your garden.

Mother's Day

2009-05-11T17:00:00.008-04:00

Mother's day brought calls from my out of town sons and my daughter treated me to lunch then she and I spent the afternoon sitting on the front porch. Looking out over my front yard as the twilight settled in brought to mind and old song:

Mockingbird Hill

When it's late in the evening I climb up the hill
And survey all my kingdom while everything's still
Only me and the sky and an old whippoorwill
Singin' songs in the twilight on Mockingbird Hill.

Looking up the hill from my back yard. The fire wood is awaiting transport to my son's home.

Front Landscaping

2009-05-08T10:14:00.008-04:00

Well I did it again! Went shopping at Lowes Garden Center and pratically melted my credit card. It burned my hand when I put it back in my purse. I found these beautiful Lily-of-the-Valley shrubs and in a nice size with a decent price so I bought five of them. I have a couple of mountain laurel already then I bought 2

Blooming Iris

2009-05-06T10:34:00.007-04:00

The iris which I moved a few days ago never even knew it had a new home. Look at the blooms! I didn't realize that the blooms would not show very well against the aged latice. Oh well, isn't moving things around part of gardening? It sure is for me. I'm thinking that the yellow iris would really show up against this background and it has really more than doubled since last year.

More Flowers

2009-05-05T12:41:00.009-04:00

One of these days my acre and half may become over run with flowers and trees and shrubs but for now I seem to be making slow progress. I was out digging again yesterday evening after work. My Iris are blooming and they are beautiful. This is the first year the reblooming ones have flowered. I'm curious to see how they perform. The blooms on my regular Iris are huge. I have yellow, lavender and blue all in the same bed and although there is only one blue it really shines.

Moving Iris & Spiderwort

2009-05-04T13:58:00.006-04:00

It's been fun around here the past few days. Trying to dodge rain drops/showers/ downpours and get more flowers planted. It's great weather to transplant flowers IF one doesn't mind being wet. A few days ago the tree guys came and cut down the two walnut trees that were in my back yard but before they came I had a large bed of Iris that I had to move. Dug them up, tossed them into the garden cart then replanted them in a bed near my side porch. They never knew they were moved and now all of them will be bloomed in a couple of days. I also dug up a big clump of spiderwort. Some of it I have back in the ground but I still have this huge clump that I need to put somewhere. It's blooming in the pot that I tossed it into.

Patience Needed - HURRY!

2009-05-01T09:01:00.006-04:00

Aye! Yi! Yi!. It's that time of year again -- Derby. Friday is the Oaks and then Saturday the Derby. People from everwhere desend on Louisville and it's not pretty. I just stay home and don't go out anywhere. Every year I promise myself that I will take a vacation day on Friday but every year I forget until it's too late. So today I ran the gauntlet of trying to dodge people crossing the street, waving signs at me "Park here", "Parking, $20 all day". These crazy people don't just stand on the curb they jump out into the street and after a while you wonder how many you are gonna pick off before you've driven about 4 blocks. You need quick reflexes and 360 degree vision to avoid hitting someone. The old request, "God grant me patience but HURRY!" takes on it's true meaning at this time.

More Ferns

2009-04-30T00:29:00.009-04:00

This is a not so good picture of my side yard but it does prove that "the sun does not shine here". Since this picture was made I have cut back the shrubs but the hickory tree still has the drooping limbs. It seems to have been a neglected area for a long time. buying flowers. I purchased some Kimberly ferns. It was a shot in the dark because I had never heard of them. So I buy them take them home and put them in the ground then check them out to see what info I can find. Yeah, the backward way to do things I know, but what can I say. I did discover they are native to Australia, I think, and that in Florida they have become very invasive. Seems zone 6 may keep them from becoming anything like that. I surely don't need any more invasive weeds.

When I first bought this property I brought a ton of heirloom Iris with me, planted them here in side yard after I raked up years of hickory leaves and nuts only to have ever one of the Iris just disappear. Months later I discovered that logs of my house had been treated with creasode and I suppose it had leached into the ground.

Trees Gone

2009-04-26T12:46:00.006-04:00

The walnut trees are gone! Yipee! Can't say that I'll miss the occasional skating when you step on one of the giant marble-like nuts, nor trying to get to the back door when one leaves the house before dark with every good intention of returning while it is still light, only to get detained and we won't mention that it's hazerdous to your head - like playing Russian Roulette when they start to fall from the trees. If you've never been bonged on the head by a falling walnut you have no idea how much fun that can be. Talk about seeing stars and having a goose egg the size of a baseball on your nogging.

Ferns -- Roses

2009-04-24T15:18:00.009-04:00

A stop at the grocery store yielded not only necessary supplies, but two beautiful Boston ferns for my front proch. I'm thinking perhaps a couple more may be in my future but we shall see. After getting the ferns placed on the porch and the groceries "put away" I collected my two roses and a rose of Sharon shrub, my shovel and off I went up the hillside to plant all of the above. It has rained so much the last few days that things were very wet. Hopefully that has helped the plants because today has been sunny with the temp in the mid-eighties. Gonna go home and put down mulch this afternoon. The weekend is suppose to be really nice so if things go well I will be gardening most of the weekend. Maybe I'll post a picture later.

Can You Name these Creatures?

2009-04-21T15:55:00.004-04:00

These odd creatures are growning at my house. Can you name them? This answer that may suprise you or then again it may not. I found it to be interesting.

Gardeing? Not Today

2009-04-19T12:25:00.005-04:00

These two Knockout roses (two of the pruchases I made yesterday but forgot to list) for a specific spot in my yard but it's gray, gloomy and rainy here today so I'll have to wait to get them in the ground. The good thing is - IF I look out on my patio these cheery plants brighten the day. The rain is good for all the things I got planted yesterday and it gives me an excuse to take a break to recover from my manual labor. Much needed break, that's for sure.

Saturday, Errands

2009-04-18T13:00:00.005-04:00

Saturday, early morning. It's off to do a few errands, one of which is to wash my dirty car. I get this done without a long wait and then as I'm driving along I remember I need to stop by Lowe's Garden Center to pick up some potting soil. It's never a good thing for me to stop by anywhere there are plants. As I meander along throught the isles I find the tomatoes, dill, rosemary and the blueberry bushes that I had been intending to purchase but could never find the right variety. There they were on the shelf all fresh and potted - Lets see, I needed ten of those - I am going to blend them into the landscape design. Oh! and then I found the Japonicas: Flaming Star which is a dwarf and Valley Rose which can reach a height of five feet. I have a home for the Flaming Star but not sure about the Valley Rose. My last discovery before I get to the bag of potting soil, which I originally stopped to buy, is a Clump River Birch. There is the perfect spot for it in my side yard.

My poor clean car, not to mention my smoking credit card. Let's see, how do I stuff all these plants into the back of a Ford Escape?

Trillium Bloom

2009-04-13T12:01:00.004-04:00

One has a bloom. WooooHoooo! Not a good picture but nevertheless it's bloomed.
Since these are shade plants when they have finished blooming I will find a shady spot for them and at the same time remove the amaryllis. I'm really delighted to have these little flowers.

Purple Trillium

2009-04-12T10:09:00.014-04:00

Look what I found the other day! I'm so happy that they came to live in my garden. You have to look closely to find them in among the lilies, but the speckled leaves are there. Last year before we sold Dad's house I moved bunches of his flowers. Mom dug these many years ago from the woods and they have grown in that flower garden since, multipling slowly. After they have bloomed, I will move them to a more shaded area with the bluebells. The unusual flowers bloom here in Kentucky from late Arpil to mid-May or maybe a little later. I'm not sure these will bloom this year since I have read that they need to be several years old before they will flower. We will see. It is said that they can live to be 25 years old or longer. So far the deer have not bothered these but in my research of this plant I found that in heavily browsed areas the plants will die out.

Rain Showers

2009-04-10T05:00:00.008-04:00

I've been trying to work between rain showers for the past few days, getting a little done each day. The plants seem to love it. Everything I've put in the ground looks nice and none have wilted, even slightly. The nights have been rather cool and the daytime temps in the sixties giving everything a good chance to become acclimated to their new surroundings.

Freeze Warning!

2009-04-08T12:24:00.008-04:00

Flowers all survived the freeze warning that we had for Monday and Tuesday night. Everything still looking good. It's suppose to rain the rest of the week but I'm hoping to get out and do a little work in between showers. I've never built raised beds but I'm going to try a couple this spring. I have been looking at them and they don't seem to be difficult. Since I'm fairly good with hammer and nail and IF I can squeeze a few extra hours of the day...

Bluebells aka Cowslips

2009-04-07T14:40:00.006-04:00

Virginia Bluebells, Cowslip are native here in Kentucky and are very reliable if planted in shade with soil that is high in orgainc matter. They are one of my favorite flowers but they die back in the summer and should always be planted with perennial that fill in once the blooms and leaves are gone.

Snow Tonight? Maybe.

2009-04-06T19:43:00.009-04:00

Well the white stuff is still in our forcast. They say it will get to thirty-two in the downtown area and colder in outlying areas. My place is snugged into the east side of a hill and the mirco-climate here is usually warmer than the open areas. Aside from that the ground is warm so I'm not really expecting anything to freeze. I keep telling myself that the warm weather will soon be here.

I'm not the only thing around my house who is waiting for spring.

Yep, she's twenty pounds of calico cat that doesn't know she's a cat.

Wisteria Blooms

2009-04-05T16:01:00.002-04:00

This picture is from last year but yesterday afternoon I saw that my wisteria has buds. I have discovered that the more I cut it back the more it blooms. I was told that they had to be old before blooming. I'm not sure how old but this one is about seven years and it has bloomed since it was about three. In the spring of 2008 it bloomed heavily. I cut it back severely in the fall and a friend told me that was one of the reasons it bloomed so much. The blooms are large and beautiful-not at all skimpy.

Bluebells and Quince

2009-04-04T23:04:00.011-04:00

It was only forty degrees Fahrenheit here this morning but with the sun out it quickly warmed. About nine I went out to work in the garden. Still needed a sweatshirt but it didn't take long for the temp to reach the sixties. I spent a good portion of the day digging out weeds and spreading mulch. Did a lot of manual labor but didn't get as much done as I had hoped I would. I did acquire one very angry sunburn. My mind wanted to do more but my body said, "I quit".

It will be a few days before I can get back to moving the rest of the peonies and putting down more mulch. According to the weather report tomorrow will bring rain and possibly severe storms and Monday we may have snow showers. Brrrr Can you believe it? Guess that's just part of living in the Ohio Valley.

I did get two pretty pictures this afternoon. Check out the blue sky behind the quince.

Plants before Snow Comes.

2009-04-03T19:20:00.010-04:00

Today they are forcasting rain for this afternoon and a chance for severe thunderstorms then snow for Monday evening/night. It's seventy-one degrees F here this afternoon. Kinda hard to think the temperature will drop that much. This afternoon I moved a forsythia that was ancient and put in some Johnny-Jump-Ups. Mom really liked this little perennial. It is a perennial here in my zone six area. I snapped a picture of some jonquils in the back yard. They remind me of soilders marching down the hill. I say down the hill because, as my daughter pointed out, they all face down the hill.

Resident Ground Hog

2009-03-31T13:35:00.012-04:00

My resident groundhog is just too funny, even when I find him sitting up nibbling on my plants. He loves daisies and coneflowers. In the spring he’s not so rotund but before the summer is gone you really can’t tell if he’s running on those short little legs or just rolling along. Because I have a French drain that runs across the back yard and there are small “bridges” where the walks cross it he has a series of man-made tunnels that he can maneuver through. I come home from work to see a dark shadow scurrying up the ditch to duck under the bridge. He’s fat and sassy and on the move and all’s right in our little part of the world.

2009-03-29T10:42:00.003-04:00

Yesterday was a beautiful afternoon. I got home from work in time to go play in the garden for a couple of hours. Lots of things are up including weeds. Hopefully mulch will arrive before this weekend. The peonies are all up! I was really concerned that they wouldn't come back since they were all cut down early last summer but only a couple of them didn't make it. I want to get mulch down around everything before the yard people start coming this spring.

We were blowing bubbles this week end and look. The hosta made a perfect "holder".

McAlpine Gates on the Ohio River

2009-03-28T08:38:00.002-04:00

These gates are on the Ohio River at Louisville, Kentucky, and control the waters above the McAlpine Locks. It's really neat to watch the waters when the gates are first opened. Lots of people like to fish a little farther down the river. The force of the water that these gates control has always facinated me.

Saturday Afternoon

2009-03-28T08:35:00.003-04:00

Just a Saturday afternoon fishing trip. He had no idea his picture was taken or that he would become part of someone's blog. It would be interesting to know if he would recognize himself. I just talked about people fishing below the McAlpine Gates and wanted to show one of them. This was made minutes before the picture of the Gates and only a short distance down river.

How Old Are We?

2009-03-22T12:20:00.008-04:00

I was out for a Sunday afternoon drive through this little town I found a unique and interesting sight. I like all the contrast and different textures used to fuse these buildings together. The yard was small but would have been beautiful with heirloom style flowers. At my house it's hard to decide where I will spend my time - outside in the garden or working on the house which I am renovating/restoring. In the spring the garden usually wins. Contractor gets to work on the house.

Spring in the Country

2009-03-20T15:35:00.007-04:00

When spring arrives I realize just how much I miss my farm down in south central Kentucky. It's where I grew up and spent the first twenty plus years of my life. I've spent many hot summer days sitting under this big old Osage Orange dreaming of "big city" living. Now, I come home from work to my acre and half of "Heaven on Earth" and do all the things I didn't like to do when I was younger - Dig in the dirt, pull weeds, plant vegetables, grow herbs.

A laid back country life ain't so bad after all.

Small town or Big City?

2009-03-15T15:14:00.006-04:00

It's amazing the wonderful pictures you can get when you just hold your camera out the window and click. Looks like a small town instead of a metropolitian area, doesn't it?

The Bradford pears were in full bloom giving the usually busy street an air of serenity.

Storm Brewing

2009-03-14T14:35:00.003-04:00

Looking out across the water and watching the clouds as a storm brews is an awsome thing. This one had spots of sky, white cumulus clouds and the heavy, dark gray that I believe are nimbus with streaks of light. As a child I heard those streaks refered to as "the sun drawing water". The storm arrived, not many minutes after the picture was taken, bringing wind, rain, and thunder.

A Mighty Oak & A Mighter Power

2009-03-12T13:55:00.020-04:00

I sat across the street from my drive one summer afternoon and admired this mighty Oak. It was fully clothed in green leaves at that time and was beautiful. I made a comment that it was one of the prettiest trees I had ever seen. Well, a few evenings later, during a thunderstorm a bolt of lighting ended its long life. It split the tree, dropping a huge branch across my drive and the next day when I checked it out there were big chunks of bark that had been splintered off. Looking at the huge old tree and the damage that had been done in a split second of time was a very thought provoking moment. The might powers of nature can make us realize just how small and insigificant we really are. I had hoped it would recover but not so.

Violet

2009-03-11T13:05:00.006-04:00

Growing beside the dandelion (look in the upper left corner and you can see it's leaves) is a beautiful violet. They contrast beautifully but both are so invasive.

Pretty but Evil

2009-03-11T12:27:00.002-04:00

This pretty little yellow flower can cause so much trouble. It is just plain evil in my opinion. Of course, that's not saying much. I have enough of them I could pick them for dandoline greens and have a pot ful.

Suprise Greeting Across My Drive

2009-03-10T11:25:00.004-04:00

When you come home and turn into your drive you don't expect to see this across your drive. It hadn't even stormed, just a few rain drops but apparently this big old tree was just tired. Truthfully, I did not realize it had so much dead wood. As it went down it took a smaller tree out. Check out the picture of the face on the right side of the blog. That came from the smaller tree that fell. These are my "Wood Sprites".

Mother Nature's Vengenance

2009-03-08T08:18:00.012-04:00

OK, so I’ve dug and pulled and cut and pulled some more and I finally found that there is a bit of terra firma down below all this tangled mess. I have managed to identify winter creeper, poison ivy, Japanese honeysuckle, grape vines and that wonder thing called a green brier (I’m not sure if I found it or it found me, whichever, it did leave it’s mark as did the poison ivy). The poison ivy has a trunk on it that is probably over an inch in diameter and the grapevines you could swing from. The honeysuckle and winter creeper – well, what can I say other than they seem to have been in some kind of contest with each other and everything else. I really wonder how many years it’s been since anyone cleaned up this area. I have made a slight change but there’s lots more to be done. As I was told, “Rome was not built in a day”.

I knew it! There really is ground underneath the tangle.

Old Goat

2009-03-05T10:26:00.005-05:00

I would like to interdouce Billy, The Old Goat. His thought seemed to be "Don't even think you're gonna take my picture". If he could have gotten through the fence he would have eaten the camera after he knocked down the photographer. He's one nasty old goat but he is also good for a laugh or two if you keep him on the other side of the fence. He will chase you up a tree and then wait and wait and wait below for you to pick off leaves and feed him. Yep he is trully an "Old Goat".

Two of Nature's Own

2009-03-03T12:42:00.009-05:00

These two deer are only part of the small herd that often visit my backyard, especially when there are apples on the big, old tree far back in the yard. I have a menagerie of animals that often visit. There's a fox who lives nearby and will sometimes bring her pups for a visit, a racoon with his little masked face and a big, fat groundhog. Oh, there is also a resident black snake who helps the cat keep away mice. Stay turned for more about these visitors.

There is Always Beauty in Nature

2009-03-02T07:57:00.008-05:00

A picture from last summer

When I saw these nodding in the breeze they reminded me that as a child I would pick a handful from this same field and take them to the house for a bouquet.

Hey it actually works! I'm blogging! I'm blogging! I can't play video games, ask my grandson, but I found all the right buttons on the keyboard and clicked on all the right things to make the blog go "public" and I am a successful gardner (at least, I am in my opinion).

It Worked!

2009-03-01T09:30:00.017-05:00

I've never been one not to try something new so when someone mentioned blogging my interest was piqued. “Blogging?” said I. “What is blogging?” So when it was explained to me that it was a journal of ones life I realized that the whole world would surely be interested; that they would wait anxiously for forthcoming postings chronicling all the brilliant, intelligent and exciting things I had to say and all the astounding things I have done as I have muddled my way through all these years, decades even. (Yeah right!)

Today let me share one of those astounding things.

The crocus are blooming!

It's a definite sign that spring is just around the corner. Its very cold here today but these little flowers don't seem to mind at all. Can't say I feel that way. Brrrrrrr! I see Spring peeking around the a corner. I also noticed that the chives are peeking through.

One more sign -- Bells of Ireland!