Aurora's Blog

Hello all! I know it has been awhile since I posted, here's why:

I have been having some serious computer problems, I think my beloved little Dell laptop is on it's way out :( Internet has been so painfully slow that I haven't been doing much of anything on the 'Net. 

Everything has been going well with us.  Been pretty busy with Autocross racing this year, with an average of 2 races a month... We've also become much more active in both clubs we race with, which tends to take up even more of our "free" time. 

We just got back from a week vacation split between Pennsylvania and Washington D.C. Had a wonderful, if exhausting, time. Got back to a lawn that was about 1 foot tall (took 3 hours to mow that), and gardens overrun with with weeds. Unfortunately it's been too hot to try to get control of the weeds, maybe this evening I'll get out and get a little done 

 Unfortunately the crazy weather this summer has been really hard on my gardens. Winter was very cold, but even my more tropical plants managed to survive. Spring started out hot and wet, with June and July becoming cool and dry. August has been a return to normal with hot and humid, with LOTS of rain. The only plants that seem to be thriving are all my orchids- 12 in all. The vegetable garden succumbed despite my best efforts- oh well, there's always next year!  Many of my ornamentals also fell victim to the dry spell, but a few have returned nicely with the return of rain. July we had just over an inch of rain, and in the first half of August we got over 5 inches! Plenty of flooding occured, thankfully not in my yard.

Well, the children are once again demanding attention- hopefully once school starts on Sept 8!!!!!!!! I'll be able to talk to everyone again! 

Well, we had the coldest night of the year last night. Low got down to 25! Needless to say, the few remaining plants succumbed to the cold- Elephant ears, a really tough Four-O'clock, even the Fatsia looks a little worse for wear.... Odd for us to have such cold temperatures in November- we usually don't see these sorts of temps until January!  Even my flowerpot water fountain is covered in ice- and that was at 3 pm, in the sun!!!!!!! Really thick ice too, usually all I see is a thin film....

When will spring come? LOL! 

Boy, hard to believe I went a MONTH without an entry! Where to begin...A lot has gone on!

My brugmansia was blooming the best it has done since I got it 4 years ago- 4 flushes of blooms, and if it wasn't for a threatened frost and my wanting to root the cuttings I may have gotten a 5th round! The cuttings are now sitting in a 5 gal bucket with water- the buds I left on are blooming now!

I got all the house plants brought in- the family room looks like a greenhouse now LOL! The passion vine seems to be really happy inside- it's given me 4 blooms and is still growing flower buds. Of course picky Miss Ficus has dropped a bunch of leaves- she hates to be moved, same with Miss Persnickety Aralia. 

Steve asked me if he could take a couple of plants into the office to "brighten" it up. Of course I said OK! If they start to look a little sad, bring them home and we'll switch them out with something else. Maybe I'll make a plant lover out of him yet LOL!  

Have started the fall garden bed clean up. Pulled out all the dead Tithonia and cleaned up the Four O'Clocks..Cut the Jerusalem Artichoke down, dug up and re-worked an entire bed. Now I have the space to grow some of the seeds I have traded for :) I finished the front walkway beds- planted some columbine, a beauty berry, and the mini rose in those- still have lots of space for more plants there too :) Also planted more beauty berry, a spicebush, and a Possumhaw viburnum too (Thanks Ga-Girl :) )

Used the blower to remove all the leaves from the shade beds, got them into a big pile and let the kids jump in them for a while. The plan was to use the mulchng mower to chop them up, then put them back. Well, I couldn't get the stupid mower to start, so the kids had all day to play in them. Important tip about kids and leaves: They do a great job of turning the leaves into small pieces  if given enough time to play in them :) I got them put back on the bed- only have half the bed mulched though...

The last few days have been very windy and rainy- LOTS of leaves are fallen- now for the rain to stop so they can dry up and be mulched! I have lots of beds that need a winter mulch!!!! 

Picked the last of the peppers and tomatoes. Once the toms ripen up I'll get some more salsa made (if Logan doesn't eat them all first LOL!) Maybe tomorrow I'll be able to get out to pull the plants...

Logan will be tuning 7 years old next week- hard to believe! Need to get a party planned pretty fast... These birthdays just sneak up on me!

Well better get going- have a bunch to do inside today

Until later, Have fun Gardening :) 

October already! Wow!!!

Actually did some gardening today! Got the hay-er lawn mowed and weedwacked. Found another 5 fire ant colonies...

Then I dug up a clump of daylillies- so for those you waiting for some they should hopefully be ready to send on Friday, You'll be getting a good number of them ;)

Other than that- not too much going on right now.

Gotta go- My teams playing tonight 

First I'll start with pics of  Brugmansia "Supernova"! It has 3 new flower buds on it now :)

It'
s pouring down rain  right now.

Dinner's ready :) Home-made baked Mac and cheese  with hot dogs :)

Not much really going on in my life right now, really need to get busy with my fall garden chores though!

Have been invaded- 10 tiny baby tree frogs have taken up residence on the front porch and in the back by the French doors. They have quickly become my little froggy friends that I look for every night LOL!

I have also been over-run by parsley seedlings! They are EVERYWHERE! I'm going to pot up many of them to grow indoors. It's a good thing I wasn't planning on planting anymore veggies in that bed next year since I am going to create a new veggie bed. Half of it is parsely. Think I'll plant the other half with dill and call it my Black Swallowtail Butterfly garden :)

Gotta go eat  

Until Later, Have fun Gardening :) 

It's been a long time since I made an entry!

Let's see, my new brugmansia "Supernova" bloomed! What a gorgeous creamy-white with a lemon fragrance flower. It's bigger than the plant itself LOL! I took a pic, but still need to download it from the camera...

Today was Auto-cross. My 4th time racing, and so far my best ever event! Finished 7th in the class, and 86th out of 143 overall :):):) On my final run it all finally "clicked" and I actually put everything together just right. Each run I improved my time, and on the 4th (last) run I knocked another 2 seconds off of the 3rd run! Almost 10 seconds off of my worst time! Finally figured out how to either have the accelerator on the floor OR have the brake on the floor with no hesitation in between. 

I can't wait until November to see if I can keep improving. October is State Championships and I don't plan on entering that- may go to watch though....

Tomorrow the plan of the day is to get to the post office and the grocery store, wonder if Steve is being picked up for work tomorrow, or if he's driving in.......

Today was quite the busy day for me. I managed to knock my granite pagoda onto my foot in the morning, go grocery shopping, and take a nap all before I went to pick my kids, and a neighbor's child, up from school!

My foot is feeling lots better- have a good looking bruise on it though! Hurts to touch it, but not to walk so I don't think I broke anything.

This evening was a sad one- we took the kids to my parents place to say goodbye to their (grandparent's) dog Elmo. He has appointment to go the Bridge tomorrow evening :( He's been battling arthritis in his previously dislocated knees, and what the vet thinks is some sort of liver disease for the past 6 months. The poor little guy can barely walk, and can no longer play or do the things he loves to do. I'll be going with them to the vet's tomorrow evening.

I decided today to start a memorial garden for all the family pets that have passed in the past 10 years. I'm trying to decide what plants to plant in their honor- I'm thinking Brugmansia's. I may also start a memorial rose garden for all the family too...

Today's blog is going to be September tour of my gardens- Enjoy :)

The fountain garden:

The backyard bed:

 The sunny bed, looking into the Brugmansia bed:

Brugmansia bed:

Beechwood Porch and shade bed:

Elephant Ears!

Rockwood Porch, pathway bed, and weeping Japanese Maple:

Brugmansia in bloom :)

Close-up:

Hope you all enjoyed a glimpse of my gardens :)

Second week of school has started- already the kids have about 30 mins. of homework a day!

Finished clearing the grass out of the front pathway bed. I still need to screen the rocks and bermuda grass roots out. Not sure when I'll be able to do that, as it is going to rain for the rest of the week.

My new plants are doing well. Once I get the beds completely done I'll get them planted :) The crinum lilly has 3 wonderfully fragrant blooms on it right now.

Had a bit of excitemnt in Hampton Roads today- there was a police chase, and the moron running drove his car off of a drawbridge while it was lifting!!! The bridge is now closed to vehicular and boat traffic until they can fish the car from the water. Causing quite the traffic nightmare for rush-hour.

Started clearing out the bermuda and crabgrass from the other side of the walkway bed last evening. Took it about a week, but the Round-up did finally kill it :) Plan on finishing that today. Will have to wait for the soil to dry a little more before I can screen out the gravel and plant roots.

Maybe tomorrow I'll get to go to my favorite nursery. Wanted to that on Friday- but TS Hannah cancelled those plans.  I'm thinking of making the pathway beds a fragrant garden- so I'll be looking for fragrant plants to put there. I already have Lilly of the Valley that need divided that can go there, and brugmansia cuttings that I can plant there as well. Not sure yet about what else I want... I'll probably put some of the columbine and bleeding heart in there as well- by the time the bed gets more sun later in the summer, the brugs will be shading them :) So many plants- so little space LOL!

Hope everyone has/had a good weekend!

Until later, Have fun Gardening :)

I THINK I have gotten the yard ready for Hannah- put everything that could possibly blow away either in the shed, or the lee side of the shed. The houseplants are all in the back corner of the porch, should be safe there. Took lots of pics of the yard, will try to post them later today.

We're under a tropical storm Warning right now- never would know it looking outside! It's sunny and quite nice! The rain and wind is supposed to start later this afternoon and overnight. We're expecting 4-6 inches of rain, and wind gusts to 60 mph. Not too bad really wind-wise.

Last evening Steve and I watched the home movies of Hurricane Isabelle- forgot how bad it was!

Did anyone notice how the line formed by Hannah's track looks a lot like Italy?! LOL!

Well, better get going!

Until later, Have fun Gardening :)

Today start  just ducky-  Steve forgot to wake me up before he left for work, either that or I just fell back asleep. For whatever reason I didn't get up until Logan called me at 6:40- 40 minutes AFTER I usually get up! Can you say feeling rushed and panicked?! LOL

Got him fed and dressed, coffee going (reminder-get coffee set to go night before, program to start brewing 5:50), pets fed, his lunch packed and a cup of coffee in about 15 mins. Then he almost missed his bus because it was 5 mins early- the neighbor's girl who waits with us almost missed it too.

Despite the rough start, I actually did get a couple of things accomplished before it was time to put Megan on the bus! Then I just sorta putzed for a while before deciding to lay down. Watered my container plants, and a shade bed- then was going to run out for a minute, but I got a horrible headache. Decided to take some Advil and a nap :)

I tell you- my joints are sure telling me a storm is one the way! I've spent the whole day feeling like The Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz.

Still haven't canned the tomatoes- I couldn't find any recipes online for stewed tomatoes *confused* One site had a recipe for Mexican stewed tomatoes with Jalepenos but it wouldn't let me look at it for some silly reason. I think I'll wait and buy the Ball book of Canning- if I can- those tomatoes really need processed soon. Maybe when the kids get home we can go out and get that... and some bacon for BLT's :)

Plan for tomorrow is to ready the yard for Hannah, and actually maybe do a little planting- the mini rose and relocate some Lilly of the Valley. It's been waayy to hot to do it this week, but it should be much cooler tomorrow and Sat, and of course WET! It's actually getting a bit breezy right now- no relation to Hannah though LOL

LOL! at the comments on my earlier entry :) Let me start this entry by saying that: 1. I am the LEAST organized person! My house is a clutter nightmare because of it, and the fact that I am usually too busy playing in the dirt or my kids to care :) 2. I really don't want another child- the thought of getting no sleep and changing diapers again gives me nightmares LOL!  3. I am actually a pretty lazy person who needs a great deal of motivation to get things I don't want to do done. If it wasn't for temps near 100 today I would've been out gardening instead of napping.

I have come to the conclusion already that if I want to get anything accomplished, it will have to be between when Logan gets on the bus at 7:15 am, and Megan gets on at 10:20 am. By the time I get Logan off I am awake, with nothing really to do because I have everything ready to go the night before. Therefore instead of sitting being bored while waiting to get Meg off I should actually do some cleaning or whatever while I have the tiniest amount of motivation :) We'll see how that works tomorrow morning when I try to put it into practice.

Now for the real reason for part 2 of Today in the Garden- TS Hannah. Every update brings her landfall closer to my area. The good news is we don't have a Weather Channel crew here yet LOL! :)  It's like the tornado chasing people- you know when they show up it's gonna be bad.

I'm really hoping for the rain though- all my plants are really looking sad, despite being watered. As any gardener knows, nothing beats a good rain for reviving a garden.

I do plan on canning my latest tomato harvest tomorrow- I have a HUGE salad bowl filled with them, with yet more on the way. I'm thinking of stewing this batch to use over the winter, I use stewed tomatoes a lot in my cooking.

Boy is the house quiet. It's really weird, no one laughing, yelling, crying, playing loud.... Kinda nice actually LOL!

The first day of school went well for everyone- both kids seem to be looking forward to the new year and like their teachers. I managed to not have an emotional breakdown. And Steve attacked the playroom with a gusto I haven't seen in him for a long time. I never knew there was a carpet in that room until late yesterday!

Could definitely tell that both children were tired after dinner. Megan had a meltdown over something silly. At bedtime Logan completely lost it when he realized that we threw out the big box from the TV. Took him 5 hours to notice it was gone LOL!  This morning not a mention of it at all.

I went grocery shopping today. Boy was it nice not having anyone else with me asking me to buy this and that. Now that I am home and have had lunch I am at a total loss for what to do. It's waayy to hot to be out gardening.  Maybe I'll go take a short nap. I'm not ready to start tackling all my decluttering projects

Until later, Have fun Gardening :)

Today's the first day of school! Logan got up all chipper and already dressed. He then made us go out to wait for the bus 15 mins early LOL! Didn't even look back when he got on the bus though :(

Megan was very excited. She even has a new friend to wait with, at least for the time being. They live a block down from us- never even knew they were there! Very nice Mom (Lynn). I sure do hope they will continue to have to come to our place to catch the bus :) Megan also didn't look back- just hopped right on!

They aren't allowed to grow up so fast! Steve, the pets, and I are enjoying the quiet. I got the kitchen cleaned up, and Steve has started on cleaning up the playroom. Can't wait till the kids get home in about an hour though LOL!

Saw the first snake of the season. An I guess small garter or black racer. It's mostly buried under the leaves in my azalea bed- I just saw it's tail. I heard rustling and was trying to figure out what it was. Sure am glad I didn't find it while weeding that bed! At least I know it's there, so when I do start working in there I can scare it off first :)

Keeping an eye on Hannah- we're in the path for the remnants. I actually hope we get her rain- we really need it. August has been very dry. Then there's Ike and Josephine out there too... Getting to be a pretty busy year in the tropics! Hopefully we won't get a direct landfall here.

Well, better get going, have to wait for the bus in about 30 mins!

Until later, Have fun Gardening :)