yardgranny6's Blog

Warning - book in progress :-)
Jun 26, 2008 | 3:26 PM PST
Tag: gardenshed

 Dear GG'ers, it has been such a busy week.  Monday I cleaned out from behind  the shed. It was a job, why oh why do we toss so much 'stuff' back there? It took most of the morning to get that done.

Tuesday was YMCA day and my water aerobics class. It was a good workout for a solid hour. Since I had not been in a while it was WhooWee and my body felt it. The plan was to come home, load the truck and haul away all the junk but I had to take a break. We decided to eat lunch first and then go. But I tell you that break was not long enough. The A/C in the truck does not work so in the early afternoon it was HOT! Ended up taking a nice nap later in the afternoon. Had no choice, the eyelids were closing on their own.

Wednesday morning we went to the Farmers Market and picked up some good veggies. It is not as expensive there as it is in the stores right now. Local farmers don't have all that overhead. Great maters, green beans, squash and even some silver queen corn (though I didn't ask where it was grown). The maters however, came from Lake City the home of two of our GG'ers it turns out. Last Sunday a friend brought us a watermelon from Hemingway. My hubby loves it and so does the DIL but it is not my favorite fruit. If it is nice and red and really sweet - OK I will eat a little.

Thursday I think I decided to do myself in. Witt will be proud of me - I actually woke up at 6:30AM!!  Me whose eyes don't normally squint until the sun shows itself ready to beam hotly down on SC. Was in the yard at 7:30!! But boy did I get a lot done. Started out front on the bank as it is shady there until around 9am or so. I bought 3 variegated sweet potato vines at the Famers Market and planted them on the bank. The purple and lime green have just grown like 'weeds' - which they may very well be and I thought maybe the V will do the same. Really thinking about planting them there next spring as well, but many more of them. They like it hot and dry which that area really is. Our lot is elevated in the front and the soil is sandy so any water - rain or city - just runs straight through.

The other plant that likes it hot, dry, wet or cool is that nuisance 'wire grass' or wild bermuda. That stuff will make roots that go down six feet. I think it is making its way to hell - or maybe that is where it comes from?? So I usually dig it in the spring, spray heavy with grass killer and then this time of year I have to beat it back with a chain saw. Actually that is not a bad idea since I do have a chain saw :-)  and then spray it heavy again. I didn't want to spend all morning out front so I pulled it back with a handy hoe thingy with two prongs and will spray it later today.

Another thing I did was cut back Ms Hollyhock as she has about given up the ghost for the season. But she did a good job and made lots of seed. There are nice new plants springing up at her feet so I know she will be back next year. Kind of reminds me of a mother hen with her chicks clustered under her wings.  The black HH has made good seed pods also and after these last couple of blooms go to seed that will get cut back also. I have enjoyed the black and love it when the sunlight catches it from the back of the blossom. You can see the maroon/red color shining through. I did find my tag from the pot this black came in and the name is "Watchman".

Now the Blackeyed Susans that I have this year decided to go into 'urban sprawl' mode and had overtaken the Dogwood bed. They had pushed the red Hibiscus over and was encroaching upon the large Rudbeckia plant that blooms in late summer. I cut one BS plant completely down and half of the other. Then I put the old metal headboard to work holding the rest of the plant up and out of the way of the path through that bed. This is not the headboards permanent place but it is doing the job of helping control the wayward plant. Looks neater and I am happier about that bed.

Some of you may wonder what I did with all those beautiful flowers from the BS plant. I took the cuttings and placed them in a bucket of water overnight. I thought this would help them before I brought them inside. So this morning I cut them and placed them in a new container I found at a thrift shop. I paid 4.95 for the planter. Hopefully you will be able to see the container in the picture.

The heritage Zinnia seeds did sprout and were doing so well that they were beginning to press upon the screen I had placed over the seed box. I took them up and placed them in four packs to get a little bigger before going into the regular beds. As of last night they did not look so good. Gave them water to soak up from the bottom of their little pots and this morning they look much better. I have high hopes they will survive.  The only other seeds that have sprouted even a little are the Gomphrena which is a flower I really like. The lettuces and the radishes are doing fair. They need to be thinned in a big way. Just ran out of steam yesterday.

Early in the spring I purchased a packet of Windflowers and decided to go ahead and plant them. They have been sitting for months on the counter. Put most of them around the Rock Pool. They will look nice next spring if they sprout. I really loved the one Purple WF plant I purchased this spring. More must be much better.

Later in the afternoon I took my trusty camera to take a pix of my neighbors first bud on the Crinum lily a friend gave her (which she shared with me) And the first bloom on my Foxglove. I have two and this is the first of this plant I have had so to say I am happy it #1 lived and #2 is going to bloom is a big plus in my garden.

   Crinum       Foxglove

 While I was out there a hummingbird caught my eye. She was sipping on the Bee Balm - I acutally had a camera this time. Got a number of pix but only two came out really good. (Bugnut how do you do it) Such fun, she was so busy I wonder if she was filling up for feeding time in a nest somewhere. Anyone know how far away from the nest a hummer will travel? Have been curious if one of those nests are so close and yet so hidden from my eye.

 

I saw a squirrel yesterday lying in my bird bath. Wonder does it have any issues that need to be addressed? No I think it was just so hot and that makes a good cooling off place. This morning I saw him again and actually got a pix Doesn't he look content? I generally leave the door to my shed open when I am outside but one day I found a squirrel inside eating from the sunflower bag. So now I have to be sure to close the door. They are crafty.

After a long wonderful day in my gardens and a few log ins on GG it was time for much needed nightly rest. I love it when a day comes together.

More To Come Later for the third time to post this one.