yardgranny6's Blog
yardgranny6's August 2008 Entries
Last Post 1 day, 19 hours Ago
Aug 30, 2008 | 5:23 PM PST
in the distance so this will short and sweet .
My DH and I went to Myrtle Beach overnight this weekend and met another of our wonderful GG members. She is 'forgiven'. It was so much fun to meet her and see how she gardens. As most gardeners do she shared a 'shared' plant with me. Her neighbor had just given her some Bird Of Paradise plants. So now I have to learn to be a good 'plant sitter' over the winter.
Forgiven is also the one that has a Cereus cactus plant that is just full of buds. It will be a beauty. Take pictures please when they bloom. Looks to me as if there will be several to open all in one night.
More To Come Later
Aug 25, 2008 | 9:14 AM PST
going on in my gardens this morning. We were out of town for the day yesterday visiting family, ate too much and driving tires me out. So I mustered up enough life in my soul and dug out the one dead Azalea and moved the one next to it into that spot.
They both came out pretty easy although I was sweating a bit when I finished. Let the water drip on the plant and then gave it a big drink before turning off the water. Will do that again tonight. Our weather is right on target for this time of year and hopefully we will get a few stray showers to keep it that way. Normal is 88/72, not bad at all.
Filled the bird feeders one more time. I spent some of our hard earned bucks on some good feed this month and those sweet tweeters better appreciate it. I could have eaten for two days on what that cost me.
This is a picture my sister in WV took with her new 8 mega pixals I think a Kodak camera. She found a great deal at Office Max - about half price for a model that was going out so the new can come in. I like the look a rain shower provided on the feeder.
Going to be trading some plants with Pam today after my visit to the chiropractor and that will be fun.
More To Come Later
Aug 23, 2008 | 6:29 PM PST
It was a beautiful morning! Temps just right, a shady front yard to work in and a hubby that ran the electric edger. Not a better day any where. Did get that corner finished today. It is a square in front and in back of that piece of fence at the driveway gate. Here is that corner a year ago.
It has never had an established look. At first we put a Holly Tree there. Anyone out there see room for a tree that big? Well it had to be cut down. Then this spring I bought the Pencil Tree and planted it in a big pot. Now it has died. You will see the pot in the next picture full of Creeping Jenny just going great guns. Any ideas about something that is evergreen that would do well in a pot that gets morning sun and afternoon shade? The second picture will be from the other side of the fence. I am thinking about spray painting this chain link fence black as if is really getting sad looking after many years of hanging in there.
\
The Hosta you see there has been there a long time and does not grow as big as the others that are in more shade. The second little hosta is one I moved from under the Nandina on the left of the pix. Also replanted some small pieces of Ajuga and some Daffodil bulbs. At least I hope that is what they are. Won't know until spring.
The next set of pictures is of the front yard that is going to get a major whammy of a change. Mulch is going to be the deal for that area. You will see that the front corner behind the mailbox has a dead spot. Part of that was caused by 'someone' that used to mow the grass and had the blade down too low. That person still says I mow it too high.
To the left of the top pix you can see the mulched area under the very big and beautiful but messy Magnolia Tree.
Now you will see on the right of this next pix the other side of that bed.
From the edge of the sidewalk you can see here going around to this side of the small trees you can see will be mulch - mulch - mulch. This pix was taken from my front steps as was the next pix.
At the right of this pix you can see the same very young dogwood tree that is in the previous pix and then toward the edge of my neighbors yard. We have talked many times about my bringing a mulched bed up to meet hers. We are both happy that is may actually happen this fall.
This next pix is looking toward the Magnolia Tree from the corner between my yard and the neighbors. The mulch will come all the way from around the Mag Tree in front of those small dogwoods up to where I was standing to take the picture. I am hoping and praying that my new toy the Loadhandler will do a good job and that the mulch place will let me come at least three times in one day.
Now you can really see where the mulched beds will meet. That big bush is my Saucer Magnolia (or Tulip Tree) and I do not trim it out. It is so nice in the spring when it blooms with all those beautiful pink flowers.
To the right is her bed already done. She had the help of her youngest son for a couple of weeks and he really worked to get that one finished. While my DH was still able he got her three loads of mulch and unloaded it for her. Then she was able to spread it as she needed. She has placed Loripe around it and has lilies - hers and mine - we just plant in it together and other things that just get moved from one bed to another. She has lots of tree canopy and her front yard really looks nice now.
When I look at it in this picture form, it looks like a big job doesn't it? But once the grass has been killed out and the mulch is down things will be much nicer and I will have HALF the amount of mowing to do. YEA!! And the fun of deciding what plants to put out. Plants that do not need much water, will bloom and/or give movement to the area.
Next week I will finish out the front Azalea bed in front of the house and get it ready for new mulch. Next will finish cleaning out the bed at the driveway. It holds my beautiful Evergreen Ferns, some nice Hosta and Toad Lilies and one Cinnamon Fern. Which I really can't remember if it put up the cinnamon sticks last year or not. It is not evergreen however and I think it will stay where it is. There is also a very old rose which I think I am going to move. It is a beautiful pink but does not bloom well in that amount of shade. The Ferns and Hosta will get divided and moved to other areas especially the shade garden in the back corner of the back yard. I hope that area will get covered over in Ferns and Hostas. There will be
More To Come Later
Aug 22, 2008 | 6:48 PM PST
can really be tricky! For some reason this morning my 'modem' didn't want to talk to my computer. And to call on the phone for help is a real PAIN! So I decided to just ignore it and do other things. Well now it is up and moving along faster than ever. Don't know what the problem was, just glad it is gone.
Did get a little time in before a soft rain shower hit. There is one corner at the driveway fence where the Pencil Tree died in its pot that needed cleaning out in a big way. While DH worked the electric edger I pulled out the dead tree, moved the pot so I could get in there and do some weeding. Then I remembered I had some rain lilies and some blue Iphion lilies that I love and are very early spring bulbs that come up everywhere, even in the lawn.. So I put both lilies in that area. Dug a couple pieces of Candy Tuft and planted them at the front edging. The Candy Tuft has been growing in front of my Azaleas for years and needs to be moved and spread out. Guess today gave me a little momentum toward that chore. Did not get any mulch laid down so that will be tomorrows job.
The rabbit is still hopping about in the yards, mine and the neighbors. I realized that he has eaten some plants I had seeded and now I am concerned about how I am going to keep him from eating the HH's I am starting. Right now they are in the covered seed box and doing pretty well. May have to pot them and place them in the cold frame. I do have a small window screen that would fit over it. At any rate I do NOT want him to eat them.
Yesterday a large limb fell from a neighbors tree into her dogs pen area. It hit with a big bang. I looked and there was no one around so I knew it was just a weakened branch. The funny thing was that her black lab Macy began to bark as if to say 'hey somebody out there, come see what happened, hey can't you hear me calling you'? After about 10 minutes she quit just like she thought well they just don't care so neither do I. My friend asked Macy if she needed to have her cell phone number so she could call the next time something happened. Macy just wagged her tail and licked her hand. She is a sweet dog, just a crazy wild girl when she is let out of the pen in the evening. Runs like the wind and boy can she get after a squirrel. Good dog that one.
More To Come Later
Aug 21, 2008 | 3:50 PM PST
Mowed the front and back yards this morning without stopping. That self propelled mower really helps me out. Then I trimmed the two flower beds that are bordered with brick edging and blew off the carport and front area.
The wrens in my neighbors hanging basket are hatching. I could hear the babies just chirping away and was wishing I had some time to just sit and watch to see the parents feeding them. That nest is WAY down deep inside that basket. It was so tempting to go over and see if I could see them but I don't want the baby wrens jumping out too soon. Several different types of birds are feeding second broods right now. Keeps them all really busy.
If the morning looks good it will be time for the front yard to get some of my attention. Hope to mark the area that I want mulched. Frankly that area grows every time I mow. And there are a couple of small trees that would benefit from having mulch around the base.
The sweet potato vines have just taken over on the bank and need to be tamed a bit around the roses. The roses need to be dead headed too.
This is a far cry from this next picture taken last year. The Verbena did not do well. Just too much sun and no way to keep water on the roots. This soil is sandy and it all drains right down into the street.
More To Come Later
Aug 16, 2008 | 5:15 PM PST
Finally got PBrowns Hollyhock seed in the ground. I sure hope they come up. Such beautiful flowers on these plants. Multiple petals on one bloom. She sent Red and Cream. They look just like Peony blossoms.
Also put out some of my black Watchman seeds. I had picked off all the seed pods I could before the plant died. I pulled the root out today and it was ugly looking, so I figure it will not come back next year. I only had one pod that was any size. Today was the first time I had actually looked at the pods and cleaned them up. If these seed will germinate and show some growth, then I will share the other pods. They are so small but do have seed. Time will tell on this one. I am going to sing to them every day - On the other hand maybe I should just smile at them. ;-)
I had some more of the Zebrina Malva seeds. Luckily as Mr Rabbit had the first very small seedling for dessert one afternoon. He must be an English rabbit and had them for High Tea. So I sowed some more of those seeds.
All these seeds were sown in the seed box so I could cover them from the squirrels and birds. They do like a free meal. One they don't have to work so hard to get.
It gave a spit of rain while I was out and now it has thundered a little and I think I heard the pitter-patter of raindrops. We can use all the rain it will put down unless it is a frog strangler down pour fit for a flood. It was interesting when the little spit of rain came - the squirrel went scurrying up the pine tree to his nest but the birds, hummers and the bunny just kept on eating. I got to watch the bunny a long time tonight. Washing his face is a cute thing to see and then once I saw him stand straight up on all four legs. Gave himself a really big stretch, of course I did not have the camera trained on him at that point. Think I will install video cameras all around the gardens. The police have them in a little park near me, there is a sign but I had never noticed it until one day I drove down that direction and saw the police climbing a ladder to retreive the film/disk or whatever. Makes me feel better as that is a secluded little area with lots of trees, shrubs etc for cover if you wanted to be up to mischief.
Taped an old movie today while I was gone to a ladies salad luncheon. The one with Judy Garland and Fred Astaire that included the song 'In Your Easter Bonnet". Maybe it is the Earter Parade? don't recall. SO
More To Come Later.
Aug 15, 2008 | 3:32 PM PST
Tag: Bunny Tales
As The Bunny Grows:
Once upon a sunny spring day, a little bunny found himself in a new garden.
He sniffed around and decided it would be OK to stay a little while. After all Mr Squirrel looked pretty comfortable and well fed.
There were birds and butterflies. Even frogs and lizards so that means there must be plenty to eat.
And he thought he could hear water running somewhere -------
So he settled down to stay. At first he stayed right where he was. Moving cautiously and quickly whenever he heard the lady coming. She only stopped to look and speak to him but never came too near.
After a bit the little bunny began to explore the other part of the gardens. There was a long stretch of grass and he had to be very careful and move swiftly only when he felt it was safe.
Across the expanse of grass he found some very tasty plants. He was careful not to eat the flowers though as that seemed to be what the lady was always looking at. She never scolded him for eating the leaves. One day he even found a dried leaf of a gladiola which was tasty enough.
Over the weeks the bunny lived in the garden he became much braver, eating bird seeds that had fallen from the tall feeder, roaming into the yard next door. Except he was not sure about that yard. It had the smell of a predator though he never got near to that area and always ran home whenever he could tell that the big black animal was going to come out to play. It looked much too big for bunny to play with.
Two good things about being a bunny is that you can run very fast in a zig zag kind of way and you have very big ears to hear whether there is a Mr McGregor coming along with a hoe. So far little bunny never saw anyone that would harm him. He was happy in his new garden.
Another good thing was that you had very big feet. That meant you could get a good scratch behind the ears.
Over the course of the summer little bunny grew very big. He was happy in this garden full of shrubs and plants to hide in, lots of grass, seed and water. I suppose he might just stay and see how things go as the fall and winter seasons come along.
Mr bunny is no longer a small animal, he has gotten quite big and is now a Rabbit.
More To Come Later
Aug 14, 2008 | 9:59 AM PST
Tags: rain , southern stem blight
came and left 2.4 inches of wonderful life giving water. The morning started with some cloudy conditions and now the sun is shining through the clear air. No fog or smog to look through.
Did some deadheding and filled the feeders. The birds are just all over everywhere. Parents feeding their young just flying back and forth. Some of those young look quite large enough now to feed themselves, but you know those tweeners, they take as long as a parent will give. Soon enough they will be on their own.
Saw A bunny this morning, still don't know for sure if there is one or now two of those little critters. Since my neighbor feels the one she sees is not as big as the one in my yard.
The hummingbirds are just going crazy these days. I think they sense it will soon be time for that long flight to new places for the winter. By the first of October they will be gone. They are all over every plant in our gardens. And you almost have to duck in order not to be speared? I am hoping they do have good radar and wouldn't really run into you, but I tell the truth, when you hear that whirring of wings right by your ear, you do want to duck.
And the butterflies were out. Saw one Black and 2 Yellow Swallowtails. Wonderful critters. Took a few pix but none came out really well. For Christmas on my list is a tripod and a zoom lens. Will start looking around now to see what is out there for my camera.
That nasty looking stuff on a few of my plants turns out to be Southern Stem Blight. My extention agent sent me some information on this fungus. It grows on Organic matter in the area and produces an acid that eats away at the stem of plants just at the soil line and then it attacks the full plant. A pinch of Calcium Nitrate at the base of each plant NOT affected will keep this fungus from growing and getting worse. You can turn the soil to get fresh soil to the surface or move the plants to another location. I had already thought I would have to move the plants, not all of them I hope but those in that particular place. So now that is my garden duty for this weekend. Need to wait unti the soil dries out a bit. He also said this is a fungus that tomatoes can get and one method is to wrap the stems in tin foil to protect the tomato plant from this fungus.
And there does not seem to be anything I can buy to kill the nutgrass until it blooms, then RoundUp will work. Since this mess is in with my flowers I don't think round up is a good idea. I have tried a little experiment in the pathway where they are so bad. I put drops of Bleach on a few of those plants to see if that would kill them. If I see this has worked in the morning then I will treat the rest of those in the path and cover them with the flatened boxes.
More To Come Later
Aug 12, 2008 | 10:45 AM PST
Tags: August , Cooler , GG seed , bunnies dessert
Believe that it is August already and Autumn is just around the corner? School is beginning and life just seems to take another turn around to prepare us for the cooler months to come.
I enjoyed mowing the front yard and a part of the back this morning. The temps were excellent and my self propelled mower just went sailing over the weeds. At least they are green.
Went to the grocery and picked up some flatened boxes to put down in the pathway. Sprayed the weeds again with a grass killer this time. If it does not rain or if I can get back out this evening without getting eaten alive by the mosquitos I will put the boxes down and place bricks on them. Looks like my gardens will be in good shape for winter this year.
Received hollyhock seeds from Robin today from her Red and Cream plants. I sure hope I end up with multiple colors next year. This is one plant I have really enjoyed. Will be putting them in the ground either this evening or tomorrow, want to get them started as soon as possible in order to have plants next year.
There were about 5 Zebrina Malva wee babies I have been checking on the last couple of weeks and now they are mysteriously gone? I suspect Mr Bunny needed a bit of dessert along with dinner. Little stinker! I said here in a post that Bunnies are nice company but they are not very good gardeners. They are selfish with their harvest. I think I will plant some of those seed in the seed box. Maybe it is not too late to get them started. Hope to put my cold frame to good use this winter. Did not use it last year as I had all that seed/plant mess in my house. So will be doing things a bit differently this next season. Going now to stitch a bit and have a rest.
More To Come Later
Aug 11, 2008 | 3:26 PM PST
to be in the garden. Cleaned up a bit around the potting table first thing. Stuff just gets set around all over it seems.
Planted the Money Plant seed from Paulette and some seed from the NHG people. They always send out Babys Breath and Red Poppy. Never have much luck with them but we will see what comes up this time. Also put in more Flying Saucer Morning Glory from Sharon. They may not have time to grow and seed this late in the season but I am up for trying. Watered them in real good then started on the dreaded job of trying to get rid of the Nutgrass/nutsedge in the pathway through the big bed.
I first took the grass shears, cut it down and bagged it to be put in the regular trash. I figure I most likely got this weed from recycled mulch. That is the chance you take when stuff if free. Then I put weed killer on it that kills poison ivy, virginia creeper etc. Might not be the best thing to use but it is what I have. Tomorrow I will go to the store and get some already flat boxes and use that to cover this area. Then mulch will be next. I think I can put bricks on the boxes to keep it in place until my little truck comes home again. Can't wait to use my new toy the LoadHandler.
Dug the lilies and what few iris were in that area. May wash some of them real good tomorrow and replant them in another area. They were in a spot about 3x3 and I would like to put butterfly weed there this fall. Looking forward to the fall festival at the farmers market. Always a good show and lots of plants to buy and look at.
Next big digging job will be the long path through this bed. I have some tiles there along with some broken concrete to make a path. Not sure I will leave them, but in cleaning out this bed earlier I found wild bermuda grass growing under them. It will take a bit of digging and lots of weed killer before it gets the newspaper and a good load of mulch.
I feel as if I have done things backwards for some reason this year. But I am satisfied that the beds look pretty fair at this point. Have found some kind of 'funky' stuff on a few plants in the Hibiscus bed. It has killed one vinca plant that sprang up from reseeding, a few of the smaller cutleaf Rudbeckia plants and a good bit of my ground cover phlox. That doesn't make me happy. Here is a picture which was hard to take in order to get a good look at this moldy, fungus looking stuff. Have an email out to our extention agent to see if he has any ideas. The plants start out by looking real limp like they needed water, but that did no good. Then as I pulled on them they just fell apart, rotted at the base with this white yucky stuff on them. So far the bid cutleaf has not been affected. May have a job to do in this area now. Gardens always make sure we have work to do, I think they just like the company we provide.
Speaking of company, My bunny was there with me for a short while. He can creep around and move about without you even knowing it. He is about 12 inches or more now and has been going to my neighbors yard more and more. I look for him to travel on once I get the fence row cleaned out. He will have less and less shelter at that point. I have enjoyed him though.
The birds and hummers have been putting on a show lately. Many of the pairs of birds are feeding young again and the Carolina Wren in my neighbors hanging basket is keeping busy laying on the eggs. I saw four eggs the other day. So in a couple of weeks maybe? the young will be coming out of their cozy nest to face the big wide world. I am looking forward to watching them learn to fend for themselves.
More To Come Later
Aug 10, 2008 | 4:00 PM PST
Tags: Cleome , hummers , seeds
Was taking a spin around the yard and putting water in the bird bath. So humid and there had been a little sprinkle of rain while I was not looking.
Found the white cleome begining to put out some seed. Collection time is near.
The hummers have been just wild these last few hot humid days and tonight they were buzzing right around me. I had a thought that I might be in for a 'piercing' if I didn't get out of the way. Funny how they choose a mate, build a nest, lay eggs, tend them, nuture the young, kick them out of the nest and before you know it they are running them off from every necter producing plant or feeder they can find. Such territorial little creatures. Just fascinating and beautiful to observe.
More To Come Later
Aug 9, 2008 | 6:48 PM PST
Gardening, good friends and good food. Shared a wonderful evening with new friends found through Garden Guides.
We ate til we dropped and then sat out back and watched the hummers fight over whose feeder that was, the busy birds and even got a slight glimpse of Mr Brown Tail. He is getting bigger all the time must be 12 inches or so now. He has decided that since my neighbors dogs are penned he can roam through her gardens now. She is concerned that he might be hiding when miss Macy dog comes charging out one day and get caught. But I think he will just skitter away in a hurry, zig zagging under the cover of plants.
Thanks to Dee and KeeWee I planted hollyhock and cleome seeds today. Then an envelope from pbrown1250 with Money plant seed came in the mail today. Will get those in the ground sometime tomorrow. I told my DH that plant was to be grown for him. He loves to save his coins and exchange it for hard cash. So now he can grow some extra 'money'.
After our meal tonight we walked through the gardens and fairygardens DH said 'oh no' nutgrass. Oh I was hoping that awful long tall grass that pulls right up was not noxious. Now it seems I may never get rid of it. Well starting early monday morning I will be pulling it up, putting down flatened boxes and mulching that pathway. It is just full of that grass. I do believe it came in with some mulch a few years ago. It has not been too bad but is getting worse. It is easy enough to pull up and I have always just kept it at bay in that fashion. We will see what the future holds. :-{ The worst part is that it is growing right where some of the lilies I was going to give away are growing. Now I think I am just going to trash them. Sure don't want to take a change of giving this awful plant to someone else.
I have been working on my Christmas counted cross stitch picture. It is coming along pretty well. Compared the photo of this peice with my work and it looks doable before the holidays. Sure hope so anyway. I thought it would be harder to do as you have to use two colors at a time in most of the stitches. Has not been hard though and it keeps my hands busy as the TV drones on and on. Just like me when I blog.
More To Come Later
Aug 6, 2008 | 12:32 PM PST
Cleaned out an area today that holds several different plants. One is what I call 'wild ageratum'. It spreads but not too fast and is easy to pull up.
This is the area in which the Cardinal Flower has decided to thrive along with Iris, 'ditch lilies', purple mexican petunia and white flocks. Yesterday I picked up two big pots of some more Cardinal Flower and a pink Mex petunia from a friend. With the bloomtime now I can see a nice set of colors. White, Red, Orange, Purple and Pink and the purple reblooming Iris. Iris make it nice in the early part of summer. Then the wild ageratum will flourish with a nice purple/blue color until frost. There are also young Angel Trumpets there and an Azalea bush. So all year long there is a flush of color. Just what I like in a flower bed.
It was hot as hades even though I was outside about 7:30am again and stayed until about 11am. By that time it was 89 degrees. Thank goodness the humidity was not too high and I was able to get the bed finished, all the tools and weedy mess cleaned up before I came in. Even was able to do some watering of the newly moved plants.
Did mow the back yard yesterday mid morning. That was a hot 20/30 minutes but at least the grass is below my ankles now. And looks ever so much better. As I was mowing toward a large Rosemary plant, Mr Bunny went skittering away. Can't imagine what a lawnmower sounds like to a small critter.
It is nice now to be able to look out from my sunny room in the A/C and think about what I might do differently next season. Have several thoughts in my head and I am sure you will hear everyone of them by the time spring comes again. So stayed tuned - there will be
More To Come Later
Aug 2, 2008 | 1:37 PM PST
Tags: lost blog? , August? , soup
I am like a lot of you, where have these last few months gone? We are now in the midst of high summer weather and it is scorching all over the place. Have had to really put the water on this week and the water bill will be sky high. It has been worth it though. The plants look happy and that puts a big smile in my heart.
I posted a blog yesterday evening and never did see it on the sight. Some of you let me know if you saw it. There was a collage of my flowers that love this heat and the Loadhandler for my pick up truck.
Did get my new AG 'Snowbank' and Cuphea in bigger pots today. Gave them a much needed drink and left them where the sun won't shine right down on them. Also had a Bat Face Cuphea to root in water and potted him up. Sure hope this will work. I cut some of the purple Cuphea to see how it does in the water.
Had to do some more messing with my little rock pool. For some reason the last time I cleaned it out and turned it back on and then went back to check it the next day, the pump was sucking air. If it does it this time I may have a leak in the liner. Am contemplating putting a heavy black plastic bag in the well if that is the case. Can't hurt to try can it?
Then decided before I quit for the day to mow the front yard. After that I was spent and wet from head to toe. Thank goodness it is a small yard.
Had a nice salad for lunch and put on soup for dinner tonight. Leftover roast is always good for that, added some carrots, green beans, onion and a can of seasoned tomatoes. Also put some beef boullion cubes in for flavor.
More To Come Later
