dirtdobber's Blog

Babies in the Garden!
May 20, 2008 | 1:21 PM PST
I think I saw babies in the garden!  Really!  I saw some little, itty ,bitty, bitty, bitty peppers!  And I also saw some teeny, weeny, tee tiny squash!!  I had to stop jumping up and down long enough to come inside and let ya'll know!  This is huge, really huge.  I'm thinking, I may get totally addicted to this gardening thing. This is fun!!!!!  Ya"ll have a good day and ......get in that dirt!! Trish

Ramblings of plantings
May 18, 2008 | 8:10 AM PST

I've done a bit of piddling in the yard lately.  I have planted 5 hostas in a front flower bed.  They are varieties that are a bluish color.  I planted a white clematis near the birdbath under a tree in the same bed.  The zinnia seeds have come up in my little seed starter kit.  I also planted some directly in the ground in a new bed up by the street.  For many years I couldn't stand Zinnias...don't know why. Now I have come to like them for some reason.  I planted near the street so my neighbors could see the colorful blooms. They seem to say "Have a nice day...and don't take life so seriously!".

My morning glories are coming on up and attaching to the fence.  My memory garden is perking up considerably after all the rain we have had.  We dug up a small magnolia tree several months ago from a site they are developing around here.  I can't figure out if it is putting out a bloom or new growth, but something is coming out and I'm excited about it.  I've moved a few cannas to a sunnier site but they still look pathetic to me. And I didn't think you could kill the things! 

My impatiens are mounding up so nicely! They are such "happy" flowers!  My veggies are coming along I guess, but I am such a novice at vegetable gardening that I don't trust myself.  I had to spray insecticidal soap on my peas due to aphids...darn bugs!  My daylilies are an explosion of sun kisses. Tons of them. The foxglove is blooming...and the iris foliage is always there to show off its swordlike fans.

The birds are having the time of their lives!  We have added a bird feeder and they are excited about it.  The sunflower seeds are still the biggest hit.

Well, today hubby and I are going to create a new bed near the curb ...for everyone's driving pleasure.  We will use some of the rock he gave me for mother'sday.  I just have to decide what to plant.  I want to leave room for annuals to change out with the seasons.  That's what has the color for the neighbors to enjoy.

Well, better get going. I STILL have not mastered the art of posting pics on my blog or else I would let you have a tour of everything.  I'm still working on it though.

Ya'll have a great day...and get in that dirt!!  Trish

What a weekend!
May 13, 2008 | 12:19 PM PST

Oh my gosh!  What a weekend!  We had family here for Mother's Day.  Son #3 had everyone over for dinner Friday night.  I babysat  #1 son's baby girl all day Saturday while he and his wife went to a race. They told us they would be very late getting in, so when we put the baby to bed, we took her up to our room.  At 5am, my husband woke me up to tell me "the sirens" were going off.  We jumped into action, and carried the little baby bed downstairs. We were ready to go to the central room of the house, which is the bathroom.  The rain was unbelievable!  And the lightening!  I have another son that works night shift on the police dpt.  I called to see that he was ok.  He was, but he said the entire city was black. He said the only light he could see was the lightening. (I wanted him to tell his boss that his mama said he had to come home, but he didn't think that would go over too well).  By the time the sun came up the devastation was obvious.  I have never seen anything like it except on tv.  Places that have "always been" just simply are not there anymore.  Entire communities basically destroyed!  But in our city, thank God ,there was no loss of life ,and that is the most important blessing in all of this.

Our home didn't have any damage...only no electricity. And that is back on now.  And my garden took a hit.  Not terribly bad, but it gullied out some places.  I tried to go out and repair the damage.  Some of the mounds and hills were eroded away so I tried to put the dirt back in place around their little "bottoms".  It is amazing what wind and water can do.  But again I am just so thankful we were all safe.

With no electricity yesterday, I had no way to wash or vacuum(oh darn), so I puttered in the yard.  I transplanted some cannas to a sunnier spot.  I planted a Japanese Maple tree.  I also added some rosemary to my herb garden.  And guess what Hubby got me for Mother's Day!?!   Two tons of rock!!!!!!  I can't tell you how thrilled I was.  I have been going to the woods looking for rocks...one rock at a time.  These are so pretty.  I want to make a rock wall and border a few places with them.  I just can't wait to get started, but half the fun is in the planning?  right?

Well, I hope you guys had a nice weekend and also a safe one.  Hope to get back on track with my blogs and pictures!  Ya'll have a great day, and get in that dirt!!! Trish

A good yesterday
May 1, 2008 | 5:56 AM PST

Well, it looks like the veggies are ok. Now I just need to thin them out.  I have so enjoyed fooling around with this vegetable garden.  I have really been missing out on a lot all these years that I had no room.  My next job is to thin out the little plants.  I have so much to learn. I have already started a list of things that I would do differently next year...but I guess that is what it is all about.

Yesterday, after I sprinkled down the garden like Bill told me to do, I had a bit of a work day.  I can't imagine how some of this stuff has jumped to the forefront over the winter, but  honeysuckle is everywhere in our beds.  There is another heart shaped vine with thorns that is also having a good time. I pulled and clipped and hauled off tons of this stuff.  I put some mulch on my little herb garden.  At the end of the day I cut grass. I love to do that...maybe because I can ride?  Anyway it got dark on me, so I need to finish that up today.

I did take a break though to take a picture of the baby birds in their nest. I couldn't wait to share it with you all. When I got out here the mama was sitting on the nest. She flew off and there they were! Just as I had my camera set, they flew out too! I had no idea they were big enough for that. I managed to get a shot of one baby on the ground, but it's not very good.

Today I have a few more fun things planned. I'm headed out to the garden center. Just to browse and maybe pick up a few things. I planted a clematis a few days ago and I need some sort of trellis. A friend gave me some volunteer coreopsis plants that I want to get in the ground today. I've added several things to my perennial bed and it has been fun checking them out everyday. The foxglove is particularly happy. It is beautiful. My morning glories are coming up, but they need to be thinned out today.

What I am the most excited about is what my husband brought me. Remember I am making the memory bed of my mother and mother in law's plants. Well, when I was growing up, there was the biggest oak tree on the property you have ever seen. A bad storm brought down some of the large limbs. Some as big as a tree themselves. They have been cut up and hauled off months ago. I made the remark one day to my husband that I would love to have had one of those "chunks of tree" to put in my garden. Do you know that sweet man went over to my mom's place and found one that didn't  get hauled off. He came home from work with that, a stepping stone from my mom's yard and a little rabbit and frog that she had practically buried in some daylilies. I was so excited. I still don't know how he lifted that log!  I guess after 35 yrs of marriage a man gets to know you pretty well. I was absolutely thrilled! The bed is coming along. I have a lot more work to do, but it is so pleasurable for me. I love working on this project.

I have rambled enough. I need to get on with my day and so do ya'll. Have a good one. And, get in that dirt!  Trish