dirtdobber's Blog

Saturday again!
May 30, 2009 | 7:04 AM PST

Yaah!! It's Saturday! As I was sitting here with my usual coffe visiting GG this morning, my doorbell rang. I almost didn't answer b/c I'm still in my Sat morning attire...pajamas. I put my coffee down and reluctantly went to the door. Surprise! My neighbor from across the street(the flower professional) was standing there all sweaty and grimey. She had brought me an entire bucket of daisies!!! Oh joy!! She said her husband was weeding today and I might want to come over and glean what he leaves behind. Said he gets crazy sometimes when he weeds. Said I may get some black eyed susans in the mix. They have acres of just gorgeous gardens! I'm pinching myself to see if I'm dreaming. I can't wait to get out and plant my new "gifts"!

I have some spearmint that a coworker gave me the other day that smells divine! Just a glorious aroma! I can't figure out where to plant it though, b/c I know it is so invasive. I will plant some in pots, but I would almost like to plant some where it would be cut by the lawnmower from time to time...just for the scent of it.

My newest bed has been an exciting adventure on a daily basis. We are having a time with our camera and computer. I'm trying to get pictures to post...they are coming. I promise! But, anyway, I had brought some agapanthus from my previous home. They had always been in a shady spot...therefore they had just been sitting there meditating for about 7 years. Now, each one has a long stalk with a bud on the end!! I can't wait for them to open! I suspect those little purple flowers have been dying to get out...don't you? The hot pink cleomes are so pretty. They are just branching out and getting so full. I'm sure all the rain has helped. The purple lantana is blooming. The daylilies are popping out. The gerberas are coming up and I'm sure they would be a nice addition to the color if the varmints would leave them alone. Something is lopping off the tops of them. And the knockouts are knocking me out with their color! Oh, How I love a garden!

Hope you all have a fabulous weekend in the garden. Ya'll have a great day...and get in that dirt!!!! Trish 

Saturday morning!
May 23, 2009 | 8:58 AM PST

I've had another great Saturday morning with my coffee and the computer, browsing GG. Hubby works on Saturday, and there is no rush to be anywhere. I love wandering through the photos and blogs. Some I have seen before, but I always find pleasure in the "green things".

Speaking of green, everything here is nice and green from all the rain we have had. The garden looks great, but I would love to go out in it without sloshing mud everywhere! OK, that was an exaggeration, but I'd love to see a little sun peek through this weekend.

I planted a rose cutting that I had been given from a friend a couple of months ago. So far, so good! And the rose bush I bought at Lowes has a bloom! Can't wait. Never have done much with roses. My knockouts are looking great. I didn't expect them to do so well b/c the deer had some nice snacks on them over the winter. I started a new perennial bed last year that is filling out nicely. I have some herbs, daylilies, clematis, butterfly bush, african daisy, agapanthus,cleome, broom plant, iris, gerbera daisy, snapdragons,lantana, and then my knockouts. It's a pretty large bed. By next year it should be just gorgeous! I love coming home from work and touring the yard to see what everything is doing. I just don't know how anybody can NOT love gardening!

Hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day weekend! And please remember our veterans that gave so much for us and also their families that sacrificed too. I love our military people. I'm proud to be an American! Ya'll have a great day...and get in that dirt!!! Trish

Harvesting the garden
May 19, 2009 | 5:56 AM PST

We had collards!....straight out of the garden. Yummm! . I picked the 1st pepper yesterday and also ate a small radish. This is fun! I also salvaged some broken limbs from the woods and made stakes with string for my purple hulls and sugar snaps to grow on. I had just played around with some seeds in the early spring. That resulted in a few teeny tomato seedlings. I set those out into the garden also along with some basil seedlings. They may not "do", but it is fun to watch. For the first time, I planted sunflower seeds at the back side of the garden. They are growing! Can't wait to see them bloom! I have a new compost pile that I get just about as much of a kick out of fooling with as the veggies. I spotted probably 10-12 tomatoes shining through the bushy tomato plants. We have had just about the perfect amount of rain this year, and I think that has resulted in a much healthier garden than last year. They are predicting bucketfuls of rain this upcoming weekend though. And after having plenty last weekend, I would like to see some dry days. Well, better go. As a working girl, I have to pack a lot into my days off.  I'll catch you up on my flower garden in the next blog.   Ya'll have a great day!....and get in that dirt!!!  Trish

Garden sites
May 5, 2009 | 6:53 AM PST

So, I was just fiddlin' around on the computer this morning and saw this ad.  Clicked it because it had a gardening picture. Low and behold, it was a site much like GG (or so I thought).  I signed up b/c I just can't get enough.  Well about all it did was make me appreciate GG that much more. After I signed up, I wanted to edit something...too bad, so sad. I couldn't make it change for anything. Then I thought, ok, I'll ask the moderator or some of the "powers that be" what's going on. NOT. I couldn't find anything like that! This site has a chat page, but for the life of me, I couldn't figure it out. I mean how hard does it have to be?! Grrrr! Anyway, it's just as well. You guys are the best...and I felt like a fish out of water over there anyway! Ya'll have a great day......and get in that dirt!!!!!   Trish

May Days
May 4, 2009 | 8:22 AM PST

Happy May to all of my GG friends! It's been a while since I've written, but I have been sooo busy! Mostly in the garden! The veggie garden is in and looking good. I have sugar snaps, butter beans, purple hulls, squash, cucs, tomatoes, radishes, cabbage, and even broccoli. A little late for that I guess. I also planted potatoes for the first time. I know it's not exactly the right time of year, but I wanted to see what would happen. (isn't that what gardening is all about?)

Yesterday, we took our 2 grandsons to the air show. Oh how proud I was of our country as I watched those fighter jets do their thing!! I told my husband I may have to just stand up and salute! They were fabulous! On the way home, I told the boys that their sunflower seeds that we planted last week were up and growing. Their little eyes just lit up! Well, you know what a Grandmama does when she sees that....she just wants more! So I told them we would go buy dirt after the show and plant a whole bunch of them. And yes I got the excited response I was looking for! Well , we got the dirt home and decided to do a whole garden just for them. I had a little patch that I had started as a little compost pile. We cleaned it up, put down a couple of bags of dirt and got to work. We planted the sunflower seeds along the back border. They chose squash, butter beans and sugar snaps. We already had a little strawberry plant that was still there from last year. They want to add a few more of those. Then with the help of their Pops, we got out the lawnmower with the wagon attached to it to haul rocks to border the bed. They both "drove" the thing and that was probably the highlight. We then watered, and of course, just as if God knew what we needed it began to rain. I can't wait to watch the garden growing with them. Now I ask you...is there anything better than that day? 

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