witt's Blog

We had no big celebration, no barbeque, no party. Hubby regaled me with some stories about his time in the military that I hadn't ever hear before. I thought that I had heard them all, at least twice. He served both in the army and in the air force so there are a lot of stories. We laughed till we cried at some of his adventures and just plain cried at others. It was just the two of us yesterday and today. I thank God everyday for allowing him to return home safely, for he has made my life complete. Even though he is now paying the price for his time in the Pacific, he has never once complained about anything. You bet your life that I will kiss a vet today and pray to the heavenly Father for the safety of the rest of them.

God bless the USA!

Today I went back at it. I wish that I had thought to get a before picture, but my mind was on getting the job done. I moved along a bit quicker today. It wasn't very hot. I got the broken cilantro plants removed. I hated that because they were seeding up! At least I have some that did not get broken by the fierce winds.

I found two volunteer impatiens in there. I don't know how they will fare, but I'm going to leave them. Maybe I'll remember to give them water when the weather gets hot. Ordinarily, everything fends for itself. I accidentally pulled up a few perennial petunias, so I planted them on the edge of The Poison Garden. I gave them a drink and hope they will take off. They were tiny.

I had to trim back a lemon balm that has gotten way too happy, and a petunia that was encroaching on the first step of the walk from The Patio Garden, making it impossible to go from the sidewalk into the yard without stepping on one or the other. I put the petunias in a vase on the porch. Perhaps they will root. I've done it before.

The squirrels won't stay out of the hay in the First Natural Bed, so I had to pull a lot of grass and mess out of that. I'm sure the hay would work great as mulch if it didn't constantly get removed by you-know-who.

One of the pink arrowhead vines died that I was trying to root in water. I took the rest of them and planted them in soil. Maybe they won't root in water. Oh, I'm so hoping that I can propagate this plant. I love it so!

My dwarf palm (Neanthe bella) is not looking too well. I took it out onto the porch. I'm hoping that it will be lighter and that will perk it up. I don't want to lose that!

I must say that I got a lot done when a shower came along and told me to take a break. As we were porch-sitting, enjoyed the sounds of the rare rain, there came a turtle (terrapin, tortoise, whatever they are) across the driveway. I don't know where it had been, but I'm glad that I didn't come across him while I was pullin' the thick creeping jenny. It was a big ole feller! He dashed, as best as a turtle can dash over to the Poison Garden. He slowly edged along until he could head off into the woods. The rain didn't last too long, and it amounted to only 1/10th, but it sure was better than nothing.

Well, since you asked. . . The Great Wall of Willie is what I named the rock wall the Hubby made years ago. We have an over-abundance of rocks around the place, so he just started stacking them. Lo and behold, before you knew it, we had this wall. I dubbed it the Great Wall of Willie because that's his middle name. I have a propensity to alliterate. I can't begin to tell you how many times it has fallen over in places. I'm just praying that it doesn't fall over and destroy the iris.

Here's The Beach before:

See all the sweet annies?

Here's The Beach after:

Those things that look like weeds are just shadows from a tree. It's not quite pristine, but it'll do for now. I'm sure that I'll have to work on it some more and add more rock screen after a good rain, but it sure looks a heck of a sight better.

After I finished, I did a walkabout. I was amazed at all the color since we got a bit of real rain. The pink spirea and the pink yarrow have burst forth. The serissas everywhere are loaded with their pink blossoms. The hot pink perennial petunias are showing out almost everywhere. Some of the transplants are still a mite small. That tiny caladium sprout has put forth a nice leaf in The Back Flower Bed. I was happy to see that! The ones in the Herb Garden are looking good, too.

The little spirea that I discovered in a pot under two feet of leaves and transplanted by the inukshuk is actually blooming.

The Patio Garden is so full that you can't even see the stones. There is much work to be done in there. I have many broken cilantro plants that just couldn't take the wind. I'll have to pull those. There still should be plenty for seeds. The mondo grass between the stepping stones seems to be doing fine. I need to put a few more spigs to make it look fuller.

The calla lily came up in The Poison Garden. Just one! One is better than none.

I don't know if I'll get much more work done out in the yard today, but as Scarlett said, Tomorrow is another day.

Hubby and I were porch-sitting in the afternoon the other day when I spied the scarlet tanager sitting on the fence at the Gourd Garden. What a gorgeous sight. He sat there and let me eye him through the binocs for a few minutes and then flew off into an oak tree on an exposed limb where again I could spy on him. Usually they stay in the top of the trees and you can't see them. Very illusive. The next day, same thing. This time he was in an oak on the opposite side of the yard. After my bird-watching, I decided to plant the two caladiums. I think there might be enough shade for them to survive now. The problem was finding a spot that didn't have volunteer impatiens. When I took the common one out of its pot, it fell apart into three pieces. I put two in the Herb Garden and the little one in the Back Flower Bed where it will get morning sun. I hope that it won't be too hot there before the sun passes that bed by. I put the gorgeous caladium near the porch steps. While we were shopping, I checked out the flowers again. I didn't see much, but I did get a tradescantia pallida (purple heart). I have been trying to get a piece from a friend for ages, so I just bought my own. It's old-timey and I wanted it, so I got it. I planted that in the Hibiscus Garden. I'm not sure that I like it there, though. I went about strawing the Herb Garden as best I could avoiding the little impatiens.

Another day while porch-sitting, I looked at the new Southern Living and got a good idea from it. There was a pic with what looked like mondo grass between the stepping stones. It never said that was what it was, but it sure looked like it. I started fixing a place by one stepping stone to put the mondo grass. It wasn't too hard to dig. It surprised me. I thought that it would be like cement, but I guess it hasn't had a chance to dry out completely. I worked in some chicken dirt. Then I went under the gardenia in the Poison Garden and got a bunch of sprigs and planted them. I don't know how long it will take for it to spread and thicken up. I decided to only do one stone right now.

Next, I went to The Beach and started pulling sweet annies and weeds out of it. I got eaten up by a pesky mosquito. I had to douse myself in OFF! I started back at it. Well, wouldn't you know it--fire ants. Dang! I can't get anything done for the varmints. Hubby treated the whole thing again. I finally decided to just leave that alone for now. I hope they will be all dead by the time I get back to it. I want to get it back to the way it was, white and pristine.

I sank a pot of echevaria in the Rock Garden. It isn't completely hidden, but it'll do. I may put in some straw later and see how that looks.

While I was taking a break on the porch, I heard a rustling underneath. My first thought was SNAKE. I've had them come up to "visit" me there a few times. I got up to check before he had a chance to "visit." You won't believe what popped out its furry face. Yep, Sid the Squirrel. When he saw me, he took off to the woods! He'd better be glad he did!

I brought out two of my snake plants to put on the porch. I think that I have enough shade up there for them now. The trouble is, the house looks bare without them. I guess I got used to seeing them in the house. I also didn't like the way the pot looked with the pothos. At least I think that it's a pothos. It just didn't look like it was filling out at all. I took a cutting off one in the house and stuck it in the pot. Then I noticed that it was putting out a leaf. I guess it just takes time. I'm too impatient.

The other day we got just bit of surprise rain because it wasn't forecast for our area. It was only 3/10ths, but I was grateful for that. Yesterday, it was forecast to be heavy rains. We didn't get a drop.

It sounds like all I do is porch-sit, but evidently, some gardening gets done sometime. I hope you all have a great day.

(Oh, and my knitting project: I'm making men's scarves for Christmas out of 100% cotton with a little pattern that I designed. I've finished two. One more to go. I only do it when I don't have anything else to do, which is rarely.)

We had a quiet Mother's Day. Daughter was out of town and Son had already come for the day Thursday. Yesterday afternoon Hubby treated the fire ant bed that I discovered on the walk Saturday. They were still all riled up.

I dug up some tiny columbines that had volunteered in the lawn (again) before we mow. I put them in the Cement Garden. Then I added some sweet annies in front of them to give them a little shade. While I was digging things up, I got a morning glory that was in our turnaround and put it in the Potting Shed Bed. The seeds that I put there were just barely breaking ground, so I thought I'd have some instant success. I planted some bell pepper and tomato seeds in pots. I don't have any high hopes that they'll do anything, but nothing ventured, you know. If they do germinate, maybe we'll have some tomatoes going after the others have finished doing their thing. It stays hot for so long here that it would be good to still have tomatoes late in the season.

In between all the little doings, we were shooing away those darn birds. Grrrr. Nothing discourages them. Hubby had the bright idea (pun intended) of turning on the motion light and every time she came to build her nest, the light would come on. Well, that didn't deter her either. I was constantly getting the moss and mud off the hood of the car. They're back again this morning.

Hubby took some eggs over to the neighbor's. He returned with a big bag of beautiful strawberries. The kids had gone berry picking. We have no whipping cream, no ice cream, not even any cereal and milk with which to enjoy them and grocery day isn't until Wednesday.

Everyone is getting rain around us. We are just getting a slight trickle. It won't get out of the 60's today. I guess I'll stay in the house and cook something.

I hope that everyone has a glorious day.

I can't believe that I haven't been back here since May 4. I guess real life has been encroaching on my playing. I checked out the clerodendron, and I think it is the bungei.

I guess yesterday was the laziest day we've had in weeks. We didn't do a thing. I did take Hubby out to show him the nandina that I wanted dug up in the Butterfly Garden, but he just couldn't step anywhere except on my plants, so I told him to stop, and we'd get it out in the winter when the plants have died back. It was perfectly free of plants in the front and the back of it, but of course he didn't attack it from those directions. Typical. Either I'll try to do it myself or just wait as I said till the plants die back. Two great big limbs fell in the Ex-Biddy Barn during that sudden storm the other day, right where I have been using an area to mix up my dirt. I'm glad that I wasn't out there when they fell. I usually have great respect for the wind when I'm outside due to the fact there are so many large trees surrounding the house. I found a picture of the cologne plant that my cousin sent me last year, which I put in the Plant Identification section, but I don't think that anyone ever really ID'ed it. My grandmother brought it back from Florida back in the 40's. My mother and Aunt Winnie were the only ones who were takers of the mystery plant. My mother still has some, and Aunt Winnie's daughter has some. They can be invasive because I had some when I lived in Charlotte, which grew up under my back porch and peeked through the boards. Hubby wouldn't allow me to bring any here when we moved. I sneaked a few from Mom's last year, but they didn't bloom. I think that is what I saw the other day in the Old Gourd Garden. If it is, I'm going to move it where it will get more sun. It has a cloyingly sweet aroma that is wonderful to me.

Maybe someone can identify it. The leaves are more purple than what is shown in this picture.

They were calling for 50% chance of rain. Well, I know which 50% we would get, so I watered the front and back. I don't want to lose the little that I have. I started working in the Butterfly Garden. I was a bit timid about getting the pine straw, but I figured any snakes that had been in there were gone by now. I refreshed that bed and it looks some better. I have decided to take out a nandina. It has seen better days. It looks like an ancient overgrown bonsai. Besides it will give me more room to plant something. I clipped the compacta holly ( or whatever kind it is). It had new shoots popping out, and I don't want it to grow as large as it was before. It's already doubled since the time I whacked it to the ground. I put a few cuttings in a pot. Of the cuttings that I had planted in the Front Flower Bed earlier in the spring, only one has put on any growth.

I played the transplant game again, taking some little lilies from one bed and moving them to another. While I was digging around, I think that I found Grandmama's cologne plant coming back. If that's not it, then it is a weed that I don't recognize. I thought that I had lost it.

The cilantro is blooming like crazy--so pretty waving in the breeze. The chives are really showing out and blooming. The pink evening primroses almost cover half the Back Forty and a few are blooming in the Rock Garden. All the iris in the Butterfly Garden are so fragrant that it almost made me drunk while I was working in there. The salmon iris popped out right in the middle of the huge purple ones yesterday. It's such a lovely color. Most of the little yellow marigolds have at least one blossom, and the oxalis is gorgeous everywhere. The perennial petunias on the edge of the Patio Garden are flowering and the zepherine roses are still abundant in the front and a few on the one in the back. What an aroma! Some of the serissas have their pink flowers as well. The white clemetis on the potting shed are still blooming beside the chocolate flowers of the calycanthus. Some of the columbines still have their blossoms, but they will soon be gone. I don't have anything fancy or expensive, but at least I do have some lovely spring flowers everywhere. I so enjoy going on my walkabout oohing and ahhing at the variety of all the old-timey flowers.

I finally took my seat on the porch, ready to relax and enjoy the end of the day. Kaboomyow! A pop of lightning and then the rain. Oh, boy, rain. Then another pop and Witt was gone from the porch. It didn't rain much. I guessed perhaps 1/10th. Hubby came back from feeding the chickens and it measured 4/10ths! It was a short but heavy rainfall. I'd say hallelujah if I could spell it.

I hope that everyone has a blessed Sunday.

Happy May the Onest! MAY DAY! I went out first thing and watered the front and back yards. It is so dry! A friend came driving up bearing cuttings of my plectranthus. (She stayed and toured the yard. She had a truckload of pine straw to unload.) I got them into a pot after she left, and I'm praying that they'll root, take off growing so that I can root some more. I love that stuff! I'm so glad that she kept it alive this winter for me. I went out to the New Daffodil Bed and cleaned up in there. I pulled fifty million oak trees that had sprouted as well as grape starts. I started to put out the pot of gossamer cuttings that I did yesterday and noticed that I had them in a pot that said "Hardy Mums" with all kinds of writing on it. What the heck was I thinking? I repotted them in a more decorative pot and put them in the Second Natural Bed. I had gotten the pot out of that bed where I had a perennial petunia last summer. There were little tiny ants underneath, so I asked Hubby to spray it. He came back fifteen minutes later saying that he couldn't find the spot about which I told him to spray. I had said in the natural bed with the bench. He was looking all around in the Patio Garden with the shell bench. hahaha I can't be specific enough, can I? Even with naming the beds. Next, I went out and pruned the forsythia by the potting shed. She had gotten way too big for her britches! Then I went "outside the box" and got columbines out of the lawn before Son comes to cut grass today. I put some in the Potting Shed Bed and some in the Back Forty. I still had a bit of energy left, so I got two perennial petunias out of the First Natural Bed and planted them in the two pots at the walkway to the shed where I had them last year. I am really surprised that none of them survived in the pots this year. They have in the past. I sure wish that we'd get some rain, but I don't see that happening any time soon.

Here is a picture of my mom on her ninety-first birthday.

Here's the impatien that yardgranny gave me at the carporch. It has a lot more blooms than when I took this picture. We certainly are enjoying it. Those are my St. John's worts at the bottom of the wall. They won't bloom until June.

I hope that you all get a chance to piddle and play today.