southeastsandy's Blog

Lazy
Aug 17, 2008 | 2:02 PM PST
I have been very lazy this past week and have not worked much in the yard.  I did manage to clean out the compost bin yesterday and will leave it empty until October when I will start with a fresh batch of compost.  I have been listening to thunder for the past 20 minutes, I hope it brings some more rain.  I have gotton rain 5 of the last 7 days.  I love it.  It helps to keep my water bill low.  Whenever I go out into the yard I have been using my new gardening boots and they are great.  I keep them by the back door in the laundry room.  I wear a pair of socks with them and just rinse them off with water when I'm done.  I don't have to worry about fire ants or dirt all over my legs.   I'm very pleased with my boot purchase.  The day lillies and the agapanthus that my friend at work gave me are loving their new home.  They are all doing well.  They get full sun.    Ahh, the rain just started so I don't have to go out and water my maple tree.  I can be lazy for the rest of the evening.  Tomorrow I have to go to work.

Pavers and Boots
Aug 4, 2008 | 10:42 AM PST

   Wow, I can't believe it has been almost a month since I last wrote a blog entry.  I wanted to slow down with my yard work and I have.  I did spend some time cleaning up my small front yard last month.  It was covered with weeds and roots.  I filled 6 large black bags with stuff I pulled up.  I'm planning flower beds for that area so I got a good start cleaning all that up. 

   This past weekend I spent some time using up some more of my concrete pavers.  I put some more pavers at the bottom of the front steps to make a bigger walkway to the steps from the driveway and I also put four pavers down by the back steps for the BBQ grill.   I still have 10 pavers left that I don't know what to do with.   I can't believe I have placed over 100 pavers all around the house in different areas.  

     I found a wasp's nest under the heat pump unit outside that I had to spray last night.  I hate wasps.  I'm going to spray it again tonight just to make sure they are gone or dead.   

   The last couple of days I have been shopping on the internet for some decent boots to wear in the garden.  My sneakers just aren't doing the job.  There wasn't as big a selection as I had hoped there would be but I finally settled on a pair I found at Gemplers that should do nicely.  They are Northern brand and they were only $27 (which beats the $90 Wellies that are advertised at some stores).   I can't wait to get them.

    Happy Gardening Everyone!!

Happy Fourth of July, Everyone! I finally finished my seating area.
Jul 4, 2008 | 1:52 PM PST

I know this isn't exactly gardening but it is a project that I did to enhance my outdoor living space.  I started placing pavers under the trees in my back yard to make a seating area in the shade on June 14th and I just finished the project today.  It took a lot longer than I thought it would, everything does when there is only one person working on it.  I had to do most of the work first thing in the morning to avoid the hot sun.  I would work between an hour and two hours getting as many pavers placed as I could in that time.  I took a few days off from the project and I had to work that last week so I couldn't finish it until this morning.  I put pictures in a new photo album on my page if you want to check it out.  I think it looks pretty good for an amatuer. 

To keep with the gardening theme I planted some Nile Lillies and Day Lillies yesterday that a friend gave me after she divided her plants.  I didn't take any pictures of those plants.

My new maple tree.
Jun 15, 2008 | 9:05 AM PST
Well, my new maple tree has been planted. It was a housewarming gift from my son-in-law's parents and they were so smart to wait until all the construction in my yard was complete before they decided what they were going to get. My son-in-law is in the landscaping business and his supplier had a really nice specimen.  My daughter and he came by yesterday to plant it.  I put pictures in my photo album.  He set it in a bare corner of the back yard and it will provide shade and screen for the deck.  He is so clever.   I had planned to put daylilies in that corner but I can always put the daylilies in another spot, there's plenty of other sunny spots.   Some pretty impatients would be nice with my tree.  

Yeah, June!!
Jun 4, 2008 | 6:15 AM PST
Tag: rain in my garden
I am so glad it is June.  We had an afternoon rain shower yesterday afternoon that left everything in my yard nice and wet.  My marigolds were trying to break out of their pot last night.  I will have to restrain them tonight.  We should keep having that kind of rain almost every afternoon for a while.  I also got my new ladder yesterday.  I bought a Little Giant with accessories, so I will never need another ladder in my lifetime.  I was so glad I didn't have to water last night.  It gave me time to do some straightening up for my party Saturday.  I'm having my open house/deck christening party for friends and relatives.  Most have not seen the house and some have seen some of the earlier pictures.  I have been in the house a full 6 months already and I can't believe the amount of work I have done.  There is still so much I want to work on but I'm at the point where I will be taking my time with my projects.  No more rushing for this gal.  It will all be done at my own pace.

I posted pictures in my photo album.
May 30, 2008 | 5:54 PM PST
Tag: garden photos
I took photos tonight of the plants I placed in the last few weeks and the pavers I finished.  There is still a lot of work to do but I am very happy with the projects I have finished.  I will not do anymore planting this year.  I will take it easy this summer (I have been working in the yard since I moved in at the end of November) and I will get my beds fixed up during the fall and winter for planting next spring.   I have lots of plans for next spring already, but I need a break from all the yard work.  Hope you like the pictures.

The end of a very productive weekend.
May 26, 2008 | 4:51 PM PST
I got a lot done this weekend, but not as much as I wanted to do.  I did get my version of a rock garden done.  That took awhile because I kept running out of mexican beach rock.  I didn't realize it would take 53 bags to fill in that space.  I had to make 3 trips to the store over the weekend to get more and more rocks.  Anyway, I posted pictures in my photo album.  The plants in my new rock garden are prickly pear cactus, agave cactus in the front, then a lorepetalum bush, a sky pencil holly and a couple of rosemary plants in the other sections.  I am really very pleased with the results of my very first project area.  I am now in the process of laying pavers, making paths to and from the deck and driveway.  I also have to make a trash can pad and a seating pad under the trees.  I got 10 pavers laid this afternoon and I figure I can do about 4 each evening during the week and more on the weekend.  I hope I use up all of the pavers I ordered.  I'll be sure to take more pictures when I finish all my paths.  I'm having a blast.

My Son-In-Law Surprised Me
May 23, 2008 | 4:34 AM PST

I had some leftover yard waste and construction trash in the yard that my daughter and her husband were going to clean up on Saturday.  I met them last night to attend two functions, one was a campaign kick-off for my boss' school board run and another was a gala to promote green living by a group called Sustainable Tallahassee.  While we were talking I told my son-in-law that I finally got a compost bin and he said, yeah, he saw it.  I was surprised that he had been out to the house.  Well, he came out and took the trash, yard waste and mowed the weeds, blew the leaves off the driveway and trimmed the grass around the fence.  My yard doesn't have much grass growing now that the rye is dying but it looks 100% better since he has been here.  I am so happy that the yard is spruced up for my open house that I am having in a couple of weeks.  What a nice surprise.  With the trash gone I can really get a good sense of what I want to do with the rest of the back yard (there will definitely be daylillies) and along the fence on the sunny side.  I am so excited.  

It's raining today.  Hurrah!!!  I am so happy.  That makes two rainstorms in two weeks.  I don't even care that it is raining on my day off.   I'm off now to balance my checkbook and get ready to do some cleaning.  I am having my pavers delivered today.  Another good thing.  Happy Gardening everyone.  I hope you all are getting the rain you need as well. 

I'm so excited about my new compost bin.
May 21, 2008 | 6:53 AM PST
Tags: compost bin , mulch , weeding

I finally got a compost bin.  I have been wanting one and tried to get one through a city program but that didn't work out.  So I ordered a bin from a place on the internet and I just got it yesterday.  I will put my first contributions in the bin tonight.  I am so excited about reducing my trash and using it in my garden.  This particular bin also creates compost tea for liquid fertilizer, so I feel like I'm getting a two for one.   

Last night I only had the energy to water, set up my compost bin (that took all of 10 minutes) and make a list of things to do this weekend.  I have two small tree stumps that I want to take my ax to.  I also have some weeding to do around two sides of the house.  I hope it rains today so I don't have to water again tonight and that will make the weeding easier to do.  I have to make a mulch run (or two) tomorrow night so I'm ready to work on that on Friday.  The pine straw in the lorepetalum bed on the side of the house is deteriorated and I want to place some pretty cypress mulch there to match the cypress mulch I put in the back yard.

The end of a busy weekend.
May 19, 2008 | 6:06 AM PST

It started last Thursday evening.  I had someone come out and pick up all the leftover lumber from the fence and deck projects.  The gentleman was building a tree house for his sons.  I was very glad to get rid of it and he was glad to take it.  Now my yard doesn't look like a construction zone and I had fun sprucing it up.

We had rain here Friday, finally.  It rained part of the morning and most of the afternoon.  It stopped around 3:30 p.m. and I was able to go out and do some planting.  I put two butterfly bushes and my new confederate jasmine with its own trellis in the ground.  I spruced up the area around my prickly pears and agave and placed some of the mexican beach stones I bought at Lowes around them.  Earlier in the day I placed an order for 100, 20" stepping stones to do some paths and a seating area under the trees in my back yard.  They will be delivered this Friday. 

On Saturday, I did my supply shopping for my Sunday BBQ to thank my fence and deck builders.  I put my new Rose of Sharon in the ground in the front yard.  It will be the centerpiece of the spiral planting beds and path around the front yard.  I will start clearing the ground for that in the fall and amend the soil over the winter.  I hope to be ready to plant by spring.  I also put new cypress mulch around the back shrubs and knock out roses.  The pine straw placed in November was gone.  I trimmed up the overgrown grass where the leftover lumber pile was and cut down some other weeds along the driveway.

Sunday we had a nice BBQ with lchicken breasts covered in olive oil and garlic cooked on the grill.  An easy recipe that always turns out great.  I added a salad, some yummy vidalia onion cornbread (a Paula Deen recipe) and a green bean casserole.  The key lime/mango pie that my daughter brought went uneaten.  It was a very successful meal.  It was nice to sit on my deck and look over my hard work in the yard.  We watched a beautiful red-headed wood pecker at the bird feeders and talked about ordering some lady bugs. 

Next weekend will be another busy one.  I plan on sprucing up the lorepetalum bed on the side of the house.  I want to add new cypress mulch to that bed as well as work on my stepping stone paths.  My daughter and her husband will be coming over to remove the last of the junk left over from the yard clean up.  There are two old pallets from the cement delivery, lots of leaves, roots and so much stucco left over from the skirting installation I swear the installer could have placed a sidewalk from the front of the house to the street.  It took me four weekends to clean up all that stucco.   It was everywhere.  I'm just glad I will never have to do that again.

I'm having a blast playing in my new yard.  I promise to take more pictures in a couple of weeks to show some of my work off.

Another Plantation House Tour
May 13, 2008 | 11:33 AM PST
Tags: southern plantation homes , pebble hill , georgia
My daughter and I spent Mother's Day afternoon at Pebble Hill Plantation outside of Thomasville, GA (about 30 miles from Tallahassee).    She came to my home for lunch and then we were on our way to do the tourist thing.  It's a large plantation home with stables, cow barn, a laundry, garage, school house, pool, tennis court, gardens and even a family cemetary.   One of the owners was Howard Melville Hanna (a partner in Standard Oil and other businesses including shipping) and he used it as a winter home for his family.  It took about 1 1/2 hours to tour the home with a guide, then we were left to look at the gardens and grounds on our own.   The home is filled with pictures by Audobon, lots of hunting, horse, dog and wildlife knick knacks.  They even converted some of the bedrooms into sitting rooms to display the many items.  There was also a lot of ribbons and trophies that were won racing and showing horses and cows.  My daughter and I got lots of exercise and even had a few drops of rain with some thunder (both of us wishing it was raining back home).  I completely forgot to even take my camera on Sunday, but I will be going back to get some good shots of the gardens.  You cannot take pictures inside the house.  They had a lot of honeysuckle growing on arbors around the home and pool and it was in bloom.  The magnolia trees, live oak trees and camelias were huge.   It was a lovely afternoon learning about the past and how the other half lived.  We stopped for dinner at Chili's and finished our day about 7:00 p.m.  It was a terrific way to spend Mother's Day.

Friday Fun
May 10, 2008 | 6:36 AM PST
Tags: musuem , gardens , plantation

  I had a great day yesterday.  I spent it doing fun local things.  I went to the blood bank and donated.  Then I met my daughter at one of our local museums.  It is the Goodwood Plantation.  I had not been there in about 16 years and I wanted to see what kind of progress was made in the restoration of the home and grounds.  It is a smallish plantation house close to mid-town with 16 acres of grounds which have rose gardens, guest cottages, carriage house, reflecting pool, and tennis courts.  The last owner established a corporation where the house would be open to the public but would own itself.   The house was built in the 1840s and 5 families have owned it since then.  The house was in pretty bad shape when the last owner passed away in 1990 and it has been a ongoing project to restore the grounds and home to period splendor.  I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised by the wonderful tour of the home with lots of interesting facts.  I had been there many years ago with my boss to notarize some paperwork for the last owner and only saw a dark parlor in the front of the home.  It was pretty spooky.  After the tour, my daughter and I took a long stroll over the grounds to check out the rose gardens, vegetable gardens and reflecting pool.  I put the pictures in one of my photo albums.  I didn't take enough pictures, but I will be going back in a few months to add to my photo album. 

After the museum we had lunch at a local restaurant, went shopping at twolocal nurseries (I bought two butterfly bushes, one althea, one lavender plant, and one spearmint plant) and went to fundraiser at the local animal shelter to taste wine and see local artists.  The weather was sunny and sometimes too hot to be outside, but it was all worth it.  A great way to start the Mother's Day weekend.

 

Mama Rabbit Moves Out
May 5, 2008 | 12:37 PM PST
Mama Rabbit moved her babies out of my yard.  I hope they are in the wooded area that lies on the other side of the fence.  They would have plenty of cover from birds of prey there.  I saw her hopping around the yard Saturday evening.  She was probably eating the last of the rye grass.   I was kind of glad that she moved them out of my future rock garden area, but now I have no excuses and have to get busy clearing that corner.  Bye, bye baby bunnies.

Baby Bunnies Surprise
May 1, 2008 | 10:22 AM PST

April 30, 2008.

I was coming in from watering the plants last night and my favorite wild rabbit was in the yard and I spooked her as I was going toward the back steps to the door.  She stopped in the middle of the yard and watched me.  I apologized to her very softly and made my way up the steps.  I stopped to look down at the place where she had come from because I had recently put down some newspaper and dirt to smother the grass in that area and I wondered why she would go to a dirt area when she had been eating the winter rye grass that was growing all over the yard.  I saw some squirming little bodies, it looked like four, but it could have been two, baby bunnies.  I quickly went into the house and told the cats (they are indoor cats so they don't really care).  I can't believe she picked my yard to have her babies in.  I hope they all survive.