soaphouse's Blog

Treats in the Mail!
Jan 22, 2008 | 2:18 PM PST
Tags: sunflower , seeds , gourd , nemophila , sweet pea , moonflower vine , moon , alyssum , bells of ireland , nasturtium

I suppose the best part of winter gardening is getting all those catolog orders in the mail! I thought my new arbor was going to be awaiting me when I got home from work today...it was not. :( But, I was greeted by my Burpee seed order! YEAH! Most of these seeds will be used in my new sunny bed by the back porch. Here is a break down of my goodies:

Sunflower: Honeybear (gets 5-6 feet tall)

Sunflower: Sun 'n Sun Hybrid Mix (includes 10 different varieties of colors and sizes reaching heights of 4-6 feet.

Nasturtium: Alaska mix (contains a mix of gold, red and yellow all with variegated foliage)

Bells of Ireland

Moonflower Vine

Sweet Pea: Sweet Dreams Mix

Gourd: Small Fancy, Mixed Varieties (I will grow these on the new arbor that I am awaiting in the mail)

Nemophila: Baby Blue Eyes (aka california blue bells) will use this as an annual ground cover in my shady bed

Alyssum: Royal Carpet (packet contains 1000 seeds, so I may be able to use this in several spots)

...and the freebie pack of seeds is a Sunflower: Burpee's Summer Cutting Mix :)

Also, the yard trash pick up came, so after work tomorrow I can spend more time dragging creek brush to the curb. My hubby said he will get back there with his new chain saw this weekend and help really clean out some of the remaining big stuff! YEAH!

Thanks for the Advice!
Jan 10, 2008 | 3:43 PM PST
Tags: sculpture , garden art , gazing ball , christmas , clematis , sweet pea

Thank you for the advice and ideas on what to do in the blank spot by my window seat. I decided to do a sculpture (the final product came from chatting about it with my Mother In Law). I didn't want to do another vine on a trellis because I thought that would be too symmetrical and matchy matchy. I love the idea of doing something fragrant...but the window on the window seat doesn't open...so it wouldn't get appreciated. The other thing I was really leaning towards was a nice evergreen, but I was worried how well it would do right up against the house. And, to get the instant gratification that I wanted, I would have to spend a small fortune to get a good size plant. So, a sculpture it is!

I took advantage of the after Christmas sales. The tall pole has a large Christmas ornament on top and all 3 have little christmas balls wired around them. The other 2 balls are "gazing" balls that I got at Old TIme Pottery for super cheap. The pipes are from the plumbing section at Home Depot. I think they pull in the iron on our shutter hardware in nicely.

I really am very happy with how they turned out! It will be fun to see how they weather. I also think I will get a clematis to grow up them. Or, I may do an annual sweet pea vine. And, the best part about going with a sculpture....no pruning or weeding. And, its drought tolerant! LOL!