witt's Blog

Two Big Yippees
Mar 27, 2012 | 3:43 AM PST

I had been checking the Old Gourd Garden for weeks, looking for signs of the celadine poppies. Nothing. I finally gave up, thinking that they didn't make it through the summer of neglect or the winter. I did a walk-by yesterday, and there it was, shining in all its glory! Only one has come back so far. I have no idea how to propagate it, and I really would like more, but I'm so thrilled that I had the one. Yippee!

 

 

 

Next, I decided that I needed to check the asparagus patch, which had been sitting there neglected amongst the weeds. Nothing. We have had a bit of rain, so maybe that encouraged it to grow. Yes, indeed. I ran for my clippers and cut a whole mess. Yippee! I got to eat it all by myself as Hubby hates asparagus! There were a few that were a little tough, but on the whole, they were delicious. They tasted nothing like the canned or even the ones from the produce department! Unbelievable heaven! What a day yesterday. Two big Yippees!

 

Mission for Today: Remember the adage, "Never give up."

 

Putting on a Show
Mar 18, 2012 | 4:31 AM PST

I started the day off yesterday pulling the creeping jenny off the walkway in front of the Back Flower Bed. It was an easy task in the beginning, but the longer I went and the hotter it got, the harder it became. I finally finished. My bender-overer was about pooped out, so I stood up for awhile and cut back the butterfly bush and some of the big forsythia that is in front of the potting shed. Then I remembered that I wanted to get my hummer feeder out. Just a tradition to have it out on St. Patrick's Day. I have the one in the front, but not the back.

 

 

 

The lorapetalum did better this year than ever before. I'm not sure why, but she is really putting on a show.

 

 

 

 

Mission for Today: Relax and watch the race.

Putting It All Back
Mar 15, 2012 | 3:26 AM PST
It all started by my going out last Sunday and doing a walkabout. The next day I began the chore of cleaning up the winter debris and the new spring weeds in the Patio Garden. That took two days. I got outside yesterday and finally gathered up all the leaves that had collected in the car porch and back patio. I peeled out of my sweater first thing. It didn't take long to warm up out there. We got up to 81 or 82 before the day was over, record-breaking heat. I was grateful to see a few clouds come and give me a break! Ordinarily, I would curse them! I started by raking the chopped leaves that Son mowed over to the Second Natural Bed and used them as mulch. I have no hay or straw to use. Then I started de-leafing and de-weeding here and there. No set method to what I was doing. I cut back the butterfly bush in the front yard, finally, in the Butterfly Garden. I discovered that an old dwarf nandina had broken off at the ground.  It's been out there over 10 years. I can't imagine what happened. I know the wind was rough there for a while, but it looked sheared off. Rather than trying to replant it, I tossed it. If there is any life in the roots, it might just come back. I'll leave it be. I put some coffee grounds in the area around the reconstructed makeshift birdbath that I worked on Tuesday, and I have seen not one bird take a sip. I jooged froggy holes which were all around the birdbath! They have had a field day in there. I don't know what I'll be planting in that spot this year. Nothing does very well. I may just plunk a pot! There is still a lot to do in the front yard. Do you know the hardest part of gardening? It's not the taking out the rake, trowel, clippers, gloves, etc., it's putting it all back.  

Mission for Today: De-leaf the Front Flower Bed and the Hibiscus Garden. Anything else that I do will be gravy!

 

At Witt's House
Mar 11, 2012 | 8:45 AM PST
I finally made it outside yesterday. It was so pretty that I decided if I sit in the sun a bit, I might be more encouraged. Hubby and I took a walkabout after sitting on the patio, chatting for a while. I pointed out the different things in bloom like the veronica, such a sea of blue, or plants about to come into bloom, like the agapanthus, another blue. All the forsythias are lovely this year. This is one in front of the potting shed. You can see the peppermint camellia on the left in the back. Don't even look at The Beach!! Much work needed there! You can see one of the Carolina jasmines at the top of the shed.  This is another forsythia beside the Old Gourd Garden. It is huge. Last year I decided that I was going to cut that baby down to size this year after she bloomed, but now that I see it in bloom again, I might not. It is spectacular, and what the heck, she's not bothering anyone or anything where she is. The jasmine is blooming in different spots all over the fence surrounding the Garden Garden, and you can see the peach tree in the background. Hubby has been plucking those peppermint camellias off the bush in the Back Forty for about a month now. It has produced more blooms this year alone than all of the last 15 years or so. I'm not too sure how old it is, but it's one that Mom had given us ages ago. When we toured the front yard, the red camellia had a few blooms. Hubby hadn't seen those, so we cut the few and brought them in, too. Of course, the big disappointment on the walkabout was that the fling weeds are EVERYWHERE! After all that pulling I did last spring, there appears to be more than ever before. These are just a few of the things that are blooming at Witt's house.  

Mission for Today: Do another walkabout and hope I will become inspired again to get back into my gardens.