June 28
It was a rough weekend.
On Friday, June 23 things went sort of "critical" with a sinus infection I've been dealing with. I developed throbbing pain and the right side of my face felt like someone had hit it with a baseball bat. My teeth ached and my right eye felt like it was coming out of its socket.
It's been nagging for a few weeks now but I thought it would go away like they often do ... not this time.
By Monday throbbing pain had replaced the sharp burning ache that started on Friday. It hurt into my right ear and to the back of my head and into my jaw ... And even teeth that have root canals were aching!
Now that I have some Vicodin and the antibiotic things are getting much better.
I have not been gardening. It hurts to bend over.
Fortunately it's been raining off and on so I didn't have to worry about watering the OFM garden beds.
The Asiatic Lilies have started to bloom. A nice lemon yellow and pale yellow with a couple of oranges.
The yucca is filling out it's bell-shape flowers.
We've had beautiful weather the past several days.
I've been sleeping through most of it but as of this evening I am noticing that I'm more alert and have less pain. Perhaps its the antibiotics and the pain pills but I don't feel as miserable.
The temperatures have been in the high 70s and low 80s like it should be here in Michigan. And the breezes are cool against the skin. Just nice typical Michigian summer weather.
Some of the hosta are starting to bloom like Choo CHoo Train and Polar Moon and Elegans and Komodo Dragon and Blue Dragon Wings, among others.
Gardening In Helen Time!
June 29
My garden style is not for everyone.
I like the look an "old" garden on the verge of going to seed. It's comforting to find the "surprises" the squirrels and birds have dropped into the landscape. Sometimes unpleasant but mostly pleasant.
I planned it to look like a 1920s backyard cottagey garden that is on the verge of going to seed. We put up the split rail fence as a reminder that the work area is where a turn-of-the century cow or chickens or hog may have been kept on a city lot.
I had a lady ask to tour the garden the other evening. It was my new neighbor's mother and she said she's been dying to tour the garden.
So we toured.
For once the garden wasn't too weedy and there were a lot of cool things in bloom like a variegated Helenium and the Purple Dragon Lamium and multiple daylilies, Asiatic lilies and hosta among many other plants.
It was a riot of color that the visitor said made it look like and 'Old World' garden with the vegetables mixed in with the other plants.
We have a new garden cat. An all black kitten with orange eyes that wandered into our yard a couple of weeks ago and that was so undernourished you could feel his ribs and the bones in his spine and tail.
My daughter claimed him and named him "Oscar."
He wandered through the garden for several days and then disappeared and we heard he'd been picked up by some boys and hauled down across a major street to another block and then abandoned.
We searched for him and on the second day was spotted near one house then the next day was spotted in front of another house (on this side of the major street) obviously heading back to our house.
My son finally located him and brought him here.
He'd lost weight again and was very content to see us.
So, he's now home with us until he gets neutered.
Now that he's safe and protected and getting fed and allowed to sleep for longer periods of time he's also getting some "meat on his bones" and that look of "I'm gonna play, play, PLAY!"
His eyes are clearer and he's much more relaxed now.
And, we can put him on his back and hold him like a baby and he doesn't squirm and fuss like Emma and Kate.
Of course our three cats, Emma, Grayce and Kate have been a bit "tense" with "hairs on end" as a result of his visit. Grayce and Emma are pretty tolerant of him although
Emma tends to growl and it reminds me of W.C. Fields "Go away kid you bother me!"
Katie has been having "yowling" fits over him. And, of course, he has singled her out to follow around and pounce on. It's just hilarious!
For the most part he's not a problem to have around.
Oscar has HUGE paws which tells me he will be a large tom-it once he grows up.
My garden quote for the day: "It is not how busy you are but why you are busy ... the bee is praised, the mosquito is swatted."
My garden style is not for everyone.
I like the look an "old" garden on the verge of going to seed. It's comforting to find the "surprises" the squirrels and birds have dropped into the landscape. Sometimes unpleasant but mostly pleasant.
I planned it to look like a 1920s backyard cottagey garden that is on the verge of going to seed. We put up the split rail fence as a reminder that the work area is where a turn-of-the century cow or chickens or hog may have been kept on a city lot.
I had a lady ask to tour the garden the other evening. It was my new neighbor's mother and she said she's been dying to tour the garden.
So we toured.
For once the garden wasn't too weedy and there were a lot of cool things in bloom like a variegated Helenium and the Purple Dragon Lamium and multiple daylilies, Asiatic lilies and hosta among many other plants.
It was a riot of color that the visitor said made it look like and 'Old World' garden with the vegetables mixed in with the other plants.
We have a new garden cat. An all black kitten with orange eyes that wandered into our yard a couple of weeks ago and that was so undernourished you could feel his ribs and the bones in his spine and tail.
My daughter claimed him and named him "Oscar."
He wandered through the garden for several days and then disappeared and we heard he'd been picked up by some boys and hauled down across a major street to another block and then abandoned.
We searched for him and on the second day was spotted near one house then the next day was spotted in front of another house (on this side of the major street) obviously heading back to our house.
My son finally located him and brought him here.
He'd lost weight again and was very content to see us.
So, he's now home with us until he gets neutered.
Now that he's safe and protected and getting fed and allowed to sleep for longer periods of time he's also getting some "meat on his bones" and that look of "I'm gonna play, play, PLAY!"
His eyes are clearer and he's much more relaxed now.
And, we can put him on his back and hold him like a baby and he doesn't squirm and fuss like Emma and Kate.
Of course our three cats, Emma, Grayce and Kate have been a bit "tense" with "hairs on end" as a result of his visit. Grayce and Emma are pretty tolerant of him although
Emma tends to growl and it reminds me of W.C. Fields "Go away kid you bother me!"
Katie has been having "yowling" fits over him. And, of course, he has singled her out to follow around and pounce on. It's just hilarious!
For the most part he's not a problem to have around.
Oscar has HUGE paws which tells me he will be a large tom-it once he grows up.
My garden quote for the day: "It is not how busy you are but why you are busy ... the bee is praised, the mosquito is swatted."
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
July 6, 2006
Between the sinus infection (now on its second dose of antibiotics) and the loss of a major filling (bottom left jaw) flossing yesterday (no pain thankfully) and a second tooth (upper right) near the sinus infection spot aching still and getting a bit more sun working the Fourth of July and then waking up yesterday morning and injuring my ankle (getting out of bed) I'm definitely having a Thursday MOANING!
The thing that bothers me the most is NOT taking my multiple walking breaks in the garden every day.
Gardens are such a delightful stress reliever. If you walk about they provide beautiful views. If you take you camera along you can find little snapshots that are truely works of art!
I have a lovely variegated helenium from a gardening friend that is delighting me. It has lovely pale yellow leaves with dark green veins and is a seedling from her garden.
It arrived in my garden last year and did nothing. This year it's huge and lovely and a definite keeper. It's been blooming continually for about a month. I'm not sure what the parent plant was (possibly Lorraine Sunshine) but this seedling is just stunningly beautiful.
It's a virtual bounty of blossoms in the garden today!
Daylilies from the front to the back with the early bloomers now starting to slack off and the mid-season ones coming into their own.
Gary has been a dear heart watering the baskets and pots and the veggie garden. Tomatoes and squash are blooming and there are small tomatoes on the self-starters and we've been picking Sweet 100's on the larger plant we purchased. Enough for a few in salad just about every day.
I potted up two flower pots for my daughter's apartment balcony and two pots with squash in them. She was telling me earlier today that if she keeps a bit of water in the bottom trays they seem do do best.
Life is starting to slow down a bit. But I will soon be busy trying to move my favorite plants to their new digs ... if I ever stop hurting myself!
Between the sinus infection (now on its second dose of antibiotics) and the loss of a major filling (bottom left jaw) flossing yesterday (no pain thankfully) and a second tooth (upper right) near the sinus infection spot aching still and getting a bit more sun working the Fourth of July and then waking up yesterday morning and injuring my ankle (getting out of bed) I'm definitely having a Thursday MOANING!
The thing that bothers me the most is NOT taking my multiple walking breaks in the garden every day.
Gardens are such a delightful stress reliever. If you walk about they provide beautiful views. If you take you camera along you can find little snapshots that are truely works of art!
I have a lovely variegated helenium from a gardening friend that is delighting me. It has lovely pale yellow leaves with dark green veins and is a seedling from her garden.
It arrived in my garden last year and did nothing. This year it's huge and lovely and a definite keeper. It's been blooming continually for about a month. I'm not sure what the parent plant was (possibly Lorraine Sunshine) but this seedling is just stunningly beautiful.
It's a virtual bounty of blossoms in the garden today!
Daylilies from the front to the back with the early bloomers now starting to slack off and the mid-season ones coming into their own.
Gary has been a dear heart watering the baskets and pots and the veggie garden. Tomatoes and squash are blooming and there are small tomatoes on the self-starters and we've been picking Sweet 100's on the larger plant we purchased. Enough for a few in salad just about every day.
I potted up two flower pots for my daughter's apartment balcony and two pots with squash in them. She was telling me earlier today that if she keeps a bit of water in the bottom trays they seem do do best.
Life is starting to slow down a bit. But I will soon be busy trying to move my favorite plants to their new digs ... if I ever stop hurting myself!
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
July 8
Peat moss is such a challenge to re-wet once it dries out. I stopped using it for pots because of that. And it's so dusty and I have to wear a dust mask to work with it. Not worth the trouble in my opinion book.
My plan was to garden ALL day Sunday (tomorrow, the ninth).
First at the Farmers' Market garden and then at my place.
I'll be deadheading and watering the OFM beds and weeding my thighs into shape (I hope) in my own garden.
Peat moss is such a challenge to re-wet once it dries out. I stopped using it for pots because of that. And it's so dusty and I have to wear a dust mask to work with it. Not worth the trouble in my opinion book.
My plan was to garden ALL day Sunday (tomorrow, the ninth).
First at the Farmers' Market garden and then at my place.
I'll be deadheading and watering the OFM beds and weeding my thighs into shape (I hope) in my own garden.
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
July 14, 2006
Well, my best laid plans often go awry!
We've been dodging rainstorms off and on all week and every time I seem to have the time to garden it's raining.
We've also been having numerous "showings" of the house which is for sale.
Selling this house is not something I want to do. But my DH has been ill since Nov. 2004 and I can't keep up with everything.
Enough of that.
The daylilies are coming into their own.
Pendragon bloomed for the first time EVER today.
Also Dragon Wings for the first time EVER. And Gentle Dragon is finally blooming after four years nursing that tiny little division that I received.
I have much to be thankful for today.
I went through the Garden Plants book and pulled all the plants that I'm leaving behind and also put the map in the book so the new owners would know what they have.
I am taking my dragon plants with me. The hosta and daylilies and divisions of Dragon's Blood Sedum and Purple Dragon Lamium.
Dragon Lore has been blooming like crazy.
There are so many daylilies in bloom that it's hard to name them all.
Milk Chocolate and Sugar Cookie, Prague Spring, American Craftsman, Carolicolassal, Anniversary Keepsake and New Age, Mary Todd, Chosen Love, Devil's Den, Hoop Skirt, Cold Harbor, Ruffian, Whistling Dixie, Stagecoach, War March, Ireland, Scotch Irish, Helen Shooter, Little Fat Cat, Fancy Illusion, Magician's Mask, Tutankhamun, Dark Castle, Moon Witch, English Witch, Three Wishes, Farmer's Wife and Farmer's Daughter, Helen's Gold and the list goes on and one with many of the "dragon" varieties blooming and blooming. So far Green Dragon shows no signs of slowing down and Emeperor's Dragon. Claws is starting to bloom and Oliver Dragon Tooth is really coming into it's own.
I am still waiting on several other varieties but Prairie Moon and Pleasant Hours and Happy Face are making me smile as is Border Baby.,
The list goes on and on.
With so much beauty in the world I shouldn't be sad about my next life "adventure."
I can't put into words how I feel about leaving this house and the gardens behind.
I will move my favorites and take divisions of what I can.
I am referring to this time as "My Last Summer in the Garden."
Well, my best laid plans often go awry!
We've been dodging rainstorms off and on all week and every time I seem to have the time to garden it's raining.
We've also been having numerous "showings" of the house which is for sale.
Selling this house is not something I want to do. But my DH has been ill since Nov. 2004 and I can't keep up with everything.
Enough of that.
The daylilies are coming into their own.
Pendragon bloomed for the first time EVER today.
Also Dragon Wings for the first time EVER. And Gentle Dragon is finally blooming after four years nursing that tiny little division that I received.
I have much to be thankful for today.
I went through the Garden Plants book and pulled all the plants that I'm leaving behind and also put the map in the book so the new owners would know what they have.
I am taking my dragon plants with me. The hosta and daylilies and divisions of Dragon's Blood Sedum and Purple Dragon Lamium.
Dragon Lore has been blooming like crazy.
There are so many daylilies in bloom that it's hard to name them all.
Milk Chocolate and Sugar Cookie, Prague Spring, American Craftsman, Carolicolassal, Anniversary Keepsake and New Age, Mary Todd, Chosen Love, Devil's Den, Hoop Skirt, Cold Harbor, Ruffian, Whistling Dixie, Stagecoach, War March, Ireland, Scotch Irish, Helen Shooter, Little Fat Cat, Fancy Illusion, Magician's Mask, Tutankhamun, Dark Castle, Moon Witch, English Witch, Three Wishes, Farmer's Wife and Farmer's Daughter, Helen's Gold and the list goes on and one with many of the "dragon" varieties blooming and blooming. So far Green Dragon shows no signs of slowing down and Emeperor's Dragon. Claws is starting to bloom and Oliver Dragon Tooth is really coming into it's own.
I am still waiting on several other varieties but Prairie Moon and Pleasant Hours and Happy Face are making me smile as is Border Baby.,
The list goes on and on.
With so much beauty in the world I shouldn't be sad about my next life "adventure."
I can't put into words how I feel about leaving this house and the gardens behind.
I will move my favorites and take divisions of what I can.
I am referring to this time as "My Last Summer in the Garden."
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
July 16, 2006
It's been blisteringly hot and humid. It reached 94 degrees F. today and was so humid it felt like I was breathing underwater!
It's expected to not get lower than 77 degrees F. tonight and tomorrow it's supposed to be nearly 96 degrees F. and just as humid.
Gary and I spent time this morning watering all of the pots and hanging baskets.
I have 10 13-inch pots on the front steps filled with petunias and marigolds and there are three larger pots in the backyard and four green marble pots as well as a Mexican clay pot, and about five on the deck. Then there are 13 hanging baskets and two window boxes. I have two less hanging baskets than I did last year and seven less pots than I had.
There is something rather therapeutic about watering and tending to the pots and baskets. Clipping back the plants and pulling the occasional windblown or bird deposited weed and then seeing the overall effect that the pots and baskets give the garden is a pleasure to me.
A few years ago I had a blacksmith forge special "hangers" for the baskets that have two anchor points to provide extra strength for the baskets. Some of the forged hooks that are out there have only one spot where they attach and I've actually had them bend under the weight of a water-laden pot. And, occasionally I've had basket hooks torn right off the post when a particularly fat squirrel has decided to jump into a basket in its travels from spot to spot. So, I designed a new hanger that can carry a 14 to 16-inch basket because it puts weight on two points and because its one piece there are no breaking points like some of the hangers have.
My one gardening friend said I was crazy for having so many pots but when I look out there it doesn't really seem like there are that many and it really doesn't take that long to water and tend them. I've incorporated a lot of compost and potting soil and I use a layer of finely shredded cypress mulch on top of the pots as a mulch that helps to retain water.
All of the pots and baskets have drainage holes and the hanging baskets are from Listo (a Canadian company) that makes them with a "flap" at the bottom of the pot that I can close when it's hot and dry to help retain moisture and that I can flip open when it rains in order to let the accumulated water out.
And there's just something about a basket or pot overflowing with bright colored flowers!
It's been blisteringly hot and humid. It reached 94 degrees F. today and was so humid it felt like I was breathing underwater!
It's expected to not get lower than 77 degrees F. tonight and tomorrow it's supposed to be nearly 96 degrees F. and just as humid.
Gary and I spent time this morning watering all of the pots and hanging baskets.
I have 10 13-inch pots on the front steps filled with petunias and marigolds and there are three larger pots in the backyard and four green marble pots as well as a Mexican clay pot, and about five on the deck. Then there are 13 hanging baskets and two window boxes. I have two less hanging baskets than I did last year and seven less pots than I had.
There is something rather therapeutic about watering and tending to the pots and baskets. Clipping back the plants and pulling the occasional windblown or bird deposited weed and then seeing the overall effect that the pots and baskets give the garden is a pleasure to me.
A few years ago I had a blacksmith forge special "hangers" for the baskets that have two anchor points to provide extra strength for the baskets. Some of the forged hooks that are out there have only one spot where they attach and I've actually had them bend under the weight of a water-laden pot. And, occasionally I've had basket hooks torn right off the post when a particularly fat squirrel has decided to jump into a basket in its travels from spot to spot. So, I designed a new hanger that can carry a 14 to 16-inch basket because it puts weight on two points and because its one piece there are no breaking points like some of the hangers have.
My one gardening friend said I was crazy for having so many pots but when I look out there it doesn't really seem like there are that many and it really doesn't take that long to water and tend them. I've incorporated a lot of compost and potting soil and I use a layer of finely shredded cypress mulch on top of the pots as a mulch that helps to retain water.
All of the pots and baskets have drainage holes and the hanging baskets are from Listo (a Canadian company) that makes them with a "flap" at the bottom of the pot that I can close when it's hot and dry to help retain moisture and that I can flip open when it rains in order to let the accumulated water out.
And there's just something about a basket or pot overflowing with bright colored flowers!
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
July 20, 2006
I've been up to my armpits with "stuff."
We've a big battle going on in our small city between the farmers' market and the city council.
I've been volunteering at the market for about 20 years. It's one councilman who is causing the problems. A newly elected "Napoleon Complex-driven" councilman. Need I say more?
The daylilies are really starting to bloom and I'm trying to get photographs and making arrangements for potting them up and moving them to my SIL's house for safekeeping.
It's very hot and humid and not at all conducive to gardening and digging and moving stuff.
We've had some rather nasty storms and the one a couple of days ago knocked out power to about 300 homes, uprooted a few trees and caused limb damage to others.
We had streets blocked off all around us from fallen limbs. Thankfully we didn't lose power.
It's been just wet enough with all the rains that it's been difficult to get out and weed. Usually I go out early morning and later in the evening and that's when it's been raining.
Regarding the house ... we've had several showings but no bite yet. There are about 1,000 houses on the market right now so it may take a while. One house was on the market two years before it sold.
My house will appeal to a gardener ... so it will have to be a very special person to buy it. I have very little grass left. Just a small bit in the front tree lawn.
I've already started making a notebook for the new owner that will include the maps and the plant descriptions for what's in the garden and my annual gardening calendar to let them know when certain things come into bloom and any special care they need. I will also highlight the expensive plants like the tree peonies so they know what they are. I can't move all of them because they are too large. One of my tree peonies was valued at over $1,000 because of its size. It's as old as my son who is 23 this year.
My SIL will get a couple of the smaller "newbies" peonies that I can move.
With most of the other plants I'll take divisions for myself but I'm taking all of the "dragon" hosta and "dragon" daylilies and other "dragon" named plants like the Dragon's Blood Sedum and the Purple Dragon Lamium. They will not be left here.
Also a couple of other daylilies will go "en masse" while others that are more easily replaced will remain behind.
I'm sure they'll tear everything out and do what they want.
My ex-neighbors had a gorgeous garden and the new owners just mowed everything down or let it go to weeds. Really disappointing because of all the beautiful plants she left behind for the new owners who said they loved to garden but didn't.
I've been up to my armpits with "stuff."
We've a big battle going on in our small city between the farmers' market and the city council.
I've been volunteering at the market for about 20 years. It's one councilman who is causing the problems. A newly elected "Napoleon Complex-driven" councilman. Need I say more?
The daylilies are really starting to bloom and I'm trying to get photographs and making arrangements for potting them up and moving them to my SIL's house for safekeeping.
It's very hot and humid and not at all conducive to gardening and digging and moving stuff.
We've had some rather nasty storms and the one a couple of days ago knocked out power to about 300 homes, uprooted a few trees and caused limb damage to others.
We had streets blocked off all around us from fallen limbs. Thankfully we didn't lose power.
It's been just wet enough with all the rains that it's been difficult to get out and weed. Usually I go out early morning and later in the evening and that's when it's been raining.
Regarding the house ... we've had several showings but no bite yet. There are about 1,000 houses on the market right now so it may take a while. One house was on the market two years before it sold.
My house will appeal to a gardener ... so it will have to be a very special person to buy it. I have very little grass left. Just a small bit in the front tree lawn.
I've already started making a notebook for the new owner that will include the maps and the plant descriptions for what's in the garden and my annual gardening calendar to let them know when certain things come into bloom and any special care they need. I will also highlight the expensive plants like the tree peonies so they know what they are. I can't move all of them because they are too large. One of my tree peonies was valued at over $1,000 because of its size. It's as old as my son who is 23 this year.
My SIL will get a couple of the smaller "newbies" peonies that I can move.
With most of the other plants I'll take divisions for myself but I'm taking all of the "dragon" hosta and "dragon" daylilies and other "dragon" named plants like the Dragon's Blood Sedum and the Purple Dragon Lamium. They will not be left here.
Also a couple of other daylilies will go "en masse" while others that are more easily replaced will remain behind.
I'm sure they'll tear everything out and do what they want.
My ex-neighbors had a gorgeous garden and the new owners just mowed everything down or let it go to weeds. Really disappointing because of all the beautiful plants she left behind for the new owners who said they loved to garden but didn't.
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
July 23, 2006
This was my mulching weekend.
I'm in the midst of refreshing mulch and putting down more mulch on the pathways.
For the past two days I've been hauling bags of mulch and digging out weeds in the front fenced igarden path and and path around the back deck. I've pulled and cleaned and weeded the path along the deck and in front of the deck to the gate arbor and then down both paths toward the east as far as the mulch went.
In a couple of weeks I'll finish mulching the paths with a lower grade of cypress or cedar mulch. I used premium shredded cypress in the front and sides. It's smaller pieces and softer underfoot and looks better, I think.
I'm usuing "natural" colored cypress. None of that "colored" stuff anymore. It stained everything I wore and my gloves ... and I didn't like the red against the daylilies. It washed out the colors.
So, jI'm "going natural" again.
Tim, owner of Farmer's Garden, a rather nice home-based rural garden center located about 8 miles from my house said I could use all the pots I want for moving stuff. He's a dear heart. He takes all of my leftover flats and pots and in return he treats me well. His letting me borrow those larger pots is a big relief. I'll start sometime this coming week digging and potting and labeling everything. They'll do fine in the pots until I get enough to make a trip to Joan's.
Yesterday (Saturday) and today were relatively "cool" days with lower humidity but still in the 80s. Even with overcast skies it was still a "be careful" garden day. I still had to work about 15 minutes and rest and then work one-half hour and rest. Whenever the sweat started dripping off the end of my nose I went inside and cooled down with ice water or iced tea. It took a lot longer than I wanted but at least it is now DONE! I can go into this next week knowing that deadheading and weeding is the only real chore I am facing.
I also got a lot more weeding done on Thursday and Friday than I thought I would so I feel good about that too. Basically this garden takes care of itself with a little bit of help from me ... mostly weeding.
I harvested my first yellow summer squash today.
I also have a large acorn squash (white) that is out there and will be picked in another week or so.
No cucumbers yet but I have been harvesting Sweet 100 tiny tomatoes.
I've had to water pots nearly every day. I finally closed the water flaps on the green hanging baskets to help retain water.
As long as this is my garden I will tend to my responsibilities.
Helen
This was my mulching weekend.
I'm in the midst of refreshing mulch and putting down more mulch on the pathways.
For the past two days I've been hauling bags of mulch and digging out weeds in the front fenced igarden path and and path around the back deck. I've pulled and cleaned and weeded the path along the deck and in front of the deck to the gate arbor and then down both paths toward the east as far as the mulch went.
In a couple of weeks I'll finish mulching the paths with a lower grade of cypress or cedar mulch. I used premium shredded cypress in the front and sides. It's smaller pieces and softer underfoot and looks better, I think.
I'm usuing "natural" colored cypress. None of that "colored" stuff anymore. It stained everything I wore and my gloves ... and I didn't like the red against the daylilies. It washed out the colors.
So, jI'm "going natural" again.
Tim, owner of Farmer's Garden, a rather nice home-based rural garden center located about 8 miles from my house said I could use all the pots I want for moving stuff. He's a dear heart. He takes all of my leftover flats and pots and in return he treats me well. His letting me borrow those larger pots is a big relief. I'll start sometime this coming week digging and potting and labeling everything. They'll do fine in the pots until I get enough to make a trip to Joan's.
Yesterday (Saturday) and today were relatively "cool" days with lower humidity but still in the 80s. Even with overcast skies it was still a "be careful" garden day. I still had to work about 15 minutes and rest and then work one-half hour and rest. Whenever the sweat started dripping off the end of my nose I went inside and cooled down with ice water or iced tea. It took a lot longer than I wanted but at least it is now DONE! I can go into this next week knowing that deadheading and weeding is the only real chore I am facing.
I also got a lot more weeding done on Thursday and Friday than I thought I would so I feel good about that too. Basically this garden takes care of itself with a little bit of help from me ... mostly weeding.
I harvested my first yellow summer squash today.
I also have a large acorn squash (white) that is out there and will be picked in another week or so.
No cucumbers yet but I have been harvesting Sweet 100 tiny tomatoes.
I've had to water pots nearly every day. I finally closed the water flaps on the green hanging baskets to help retain water.
As long as this is my garden I will tend to my responsibilities.
Helen
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
August 2006
My garden is on a "hold" while I strive to keep the house looking nice for the showings and deal with Gary's illness which is slowly but steadily getting worse. He lack energy and stamina and is just fatigued all the time. He refuses to go to the doctor and I'm getting desperate. I asked our friend Larry to talk to him.
In advance of the move to a new house I donated all of my heavy clay pots and several other containers and pots to Farmer's Garden, a vendor at the Owosso Farmers' Market.
And, I've been calling garden friends and asking them to come and take plants.
Gary was sick most of this month leaving me with a lot of the work to box up and pack things for the move.
On Aug. 10 I had to have my cat Grayce put down. She was no longer able to urinate and was in pain despite vet's care. I buried her in the garden with the help of my son and daughter.
Of all the things I will be leaving behind with this garden Grayce will be the most missed.
My garden is on a "hold" while I strive to keep the house looking nice for the showings and deal with Gary's illness which is slowly but steadily getting worse. He lack energy and stamina and is just fatigued all the time. He refuses to go to the doctor and I'm getting desperate. I asked our friend Larry to talk to him.
In advance of the move to a new house I donated all of my heavy clay pots and several other containers and pots to Farmer's Garden, a vendor at the Owosso Farmers' Market.
And, I've been calling garden friends and asking them to come and take plants.
Gary was sick most of this month leaving me with a lot of the work to box up and pack things for the move.
On Aug. 10 I had to have my cat Grayce put down. She was no longer able to urinate and was in pain despite vet's care. I buried her in the garden with the help of my son and daughter.
Of all the things I will be leaving behind with this garden Grayce will be the most missed.
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
September 2006
The months are sliding by ...
Several plants are now gone and more will be going soon.
I have promises that I will get divisions back ... but it still feels like I'm sending them away for good.
We have made arrangements for a house located about five miles from our present house. We'll rent it and renovate it until we can decide what we are going to do.
Wanda from the Hallson forum has been kind enough to take many of my hosta and other plants and was here this month doing the "digger" thing.
She's taking all of my dragon hosta.
I'm sure she never thought she'd become a foster mom to hosta!
The months are sliding by ...
Several plants are now gone and more will be going soon.
I have promises that I will get divisions back ... but it still feels like I'm sending them away for good.
We have made arrangements for a house located about five miles from our present house. We'll rent it and renovate it until we can decide what we are going to do.
Wanda from the Hallson forum has been kind enough to take many of my hosta and other plants and was here this month doing the "digger" thing.
She's taking all of my dragon hosta.
I'm sure she never thought she'd become a foster mom to hosta!
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
October 2006
We switched out the door and sidelight glass on the doors. I am taking my tulip leaded glass with me.
In the midst of all this I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes Sept. 20 ...
Over this past summer I've been busy taking care of the Owosso Farmers' Market gardens.
One bed is being planted with sedums and two Green Ice Roses
The larger bed will eventually be planted with perennials.
We started moving to the new house.
Gary's been working with painting and other things as he's been able.
Helen Hilliker died this month. She's the one I received a piece of plantaginea from. She was in her 90s. The plant was her grandmother's.
Gary went to our family doctor's finally.
I wanted him to go to the Veteran's Administration. One positive note is that he's agreed to go this month and did so on Oct. 12.
We continue to move from one house to another.
Through most of this month Gary's been with his sisters who are visiting from Florida and Texas.
We should be done with the move by Nov. 1
We switched out the door and sidelight glass on the doors. I am taking my tulip leaded glass with me.
In the midst of all this I was diagnosed with Type II Diabetes Sept. 20 ...
Over this past summer I've been busy taking care of the Owosso Farmers' Market gardens.
One bed is being planted with sedums and two Green Ice Roses
The larger bed will eventually be planted with perennials.
We started moving to the new house.
Gary's been working with painting and other things as he's been able.
Helen Hilliker died this month. She's the one I received a piece of plantaginea from. She was in her 90s. The plant was her grandmother's.
Gary went to our family doctor's finally.
I wanted him to go to the Veteran's Administration. One positive note is that he's agreed to go this month and did so on Oct. 12.
We continue to move from one house to another.
Through most of this month Gary's been with his sisters who are visiting from Florida and Texas.
We should be done with the move by Nov. 1
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
November, December 2006
We continued moving until Nov. 15 due to weather and Gary's health.
In December they diagnosed him with having blocked arteries ... and he will be scheduled sometime in the next few months for further tests and eventually stent implants.
It has been snowing and cold the past couple of months and everything looks bleak out there.
I moved all of my 'dragon' daylilies to this new house.
I left several dozen other daylilies behind.
We continued moving until Nov. 15 due to weather and Gary's health.
In December they diagnosed him with having blocked arteries ... and he will be scheduled sometime in the next few months for further tests and eventually stent implants.
It has been snowing and cold the past couple of months and everything looks bleak out there.
I moved all of my 'dragon' daylilies to this new house.
I left several dozen other daylilies behind.
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
January, February, March 2007
Gary finally had heart surgery in March!
By the end of the month he was feeling better but it will be several weeks before he can be considered recovered.
And, he'll probably never be able to work again to the blockage they are treating chemically.
By the end of March the weather had warmed a bit giving us a few days that hinted of warmer weather to come.
And now begins my journal "Life in A New Garden."
Gary finally had heart surgery in March!
By the end of the month he was feeling better but it will be several weeks before he can be considered recovered.
And, he'll probably never be able to work again to the blockage they are treating chemically.
By the end of March the weather had warmed a bit giving us a few days that hinted of warmer weather to come.
And now begins my journal "Life in A New Garden."
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
April 23,
It's official. I am growing where I am planted.
Although this house isn't my ideal, the yard and the quiet neighborhood is a keeper as far as my husband is concerned.
The house was built in the 1860s ...
I officially started the 2007 garden season.
Today I bought some Miracle Gro Garden Soil mix and put in cool-weather pansies and mini-tunias in the four dark green marble planters on the front walk.
The pansies are DELTA brand with pale lavender and deep purple centers and the color feathers into the pale lavender/white petals.
The petunias are Badger Botanicals Tiny Tunia (TM) brand in a deep violet purple. The two flower colors complement each other nicely.
By the time June/July hits they will be fading and I can put in a nice geranium to get me through the heat of the rest of the summer.
Now that I've planted something I can honestly say that I'm here for the duration.
All I have to do now is to level the pots using some landscape stone. Ian has promised to help his old mumsy with that project.
My hubby loves it here -- the old neighborhood -- a lot of the houses are Federalist style and this little city of about 5,000 is quiet ... that means a lot to him and he's met the
neighbors and likes almost everyone he's met except for the guy who owns this lovely Craftsman-style house that he's not very good at maintaining. The guy's got a real nasty attitude.
The one nice thing about this place is that the lawn is a blank slate.
There is one Sugar Maple and a largish shrub that appears to be a VERY old lilac ... that desperately needs to be refreshed.
I plan on taking advantage of the county Conservation District tree sales next spring. They offer a wide variety of flowering trees and shrubs 6-8 ft. tall ... and they have Snowdrift Crabapples which the birds love ...
My DH continues to recover from surgery and he goes to his primary care physician tomorrow (April 26).
One nice surprise this morning was that several "pink" tulips are open that the previous owners planted. Really nice shade of pink ... a nice clear pink.
In looking over the 'dragon' daylilies it appears I may have lost a couple. I was worried moving them so late and then just plunking them in the ground with no preparation of the soil. I count myself blessed I didn't lose more.
My one lone hosta that was planted last fall -- 'Scooter' is unfuling its little leaves.
I think this is a sign I need to bloom where I'm planted.
I do miss my "other" garden.
The yellow tulips and the daffodils are up ... should be looking rather springish. And in a few weeks the two crabapples should really be in full bloom.
I try not to drive by it much.
It's official. I am growing where I am planted.
Although this house isn't my ideal, the yard and the quiet neighborhood is a keeper as far as my husband is concerned.
The house was built in the 1860s ...
I officially started the 2007 garden season.
Today I bought some Miracle Gro Garden Soil mix and put in cool-weather pansies and mini-tunias in the four dark green marble planters on the front walk.
The pansies are DELTA brand with pale lavender and deep purple centers and the color feathers into the pale lavender/white petals.
The petunias are Badger Botanicals Tiny Tunia (TM) brand in a deep violet purple. The two flower colors complement each other nicely.
By the time June/July hits they will be fading and I can put in a nice geranium to get me through the heat of the rest of the summer.
Now that I've planted something I can honestly say that I'm here for the duration.
All I have to do now is to level the pots using some landscape stone. Ian has promised to help his old mumsy with that project.
My hubby loves it here -- the old neighborhood -- a lot of the houses are Federalist style and this little city of about 5,000 is quiet ... that means a lot to him and he's met the
neighbors and likes almost everyone he's met except for the guy who owns this lovely Craftsman-style house that he's not very good at maintaining. The guy's got a real nasty attitude.
The one nice thing about this place is that the lawn is a blank slate.
There is one Sugar Maple and a largish shrub that appears to be a VERY old lilac ... that desperately needs to be refreshed.
I plan on taking advantage of the county Conservation District tree sales next spring. They offer a wide variety of flowering trees and shrubs 6-8 ft. tall ... and they have Snowdrift Crabapples which the birds love ...
My DH continues to recover from surgery and he goes to his primary care physician tomorrow (April 26).
One nice surprise this morning was that several "pink" tulips are open that the previous owners planted. Really nice shade of pink ... a nice clear pink.
In looking over the 'dragon' daylilies it appears I may have lost a couple. I was worried moving them so late and then just plunking them in the ground with no preparation of the soil. I count myself blessed I didn't lose more.
My one lone hosta that was planted last fall -- 'Scooter' is unfuling its little leaves.
I think this is a sign I need to bloom where I'm planted.
I do miss my "other" garden.
The yellow tulips and the daffodils are up ... should be looking rather springish. And in a few weeks the two crabapples should really be in full bloom.
I try not to drive by it much.
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
April 28
As I sit here it is getting ready to rain. It's already raining to the west of us and the sky is growing steadily darker. And, there is a wonderful warmish breeze blowing out there.
Well, correct that ... it is now raining.
I've started a yard and potential landscape map.
Spring is here. English Wood hyacinth are blooming as are early
red tulips and muscari that were left behind by previous owners.
The dragon daylilies are all up.
I have to move a few daylilies due to a downspout problem, I plan to do that sometime this week.
It's been unseasonably warm on various days. Today it is a more seasonable 60s.
Wanda, who fostering some of my plants, took the tree peonies said that at least one has survived the move. They are so difficult to move.
As I sit here it is getting ready to rain. It's already raining to the west of us and the sky is growing steadily darker. And, there is a wonderful warmish breeze blowing out there.
Well, correct that ... it is now raining.
I've started a yard and potential landscape map.
Spring is here. English Wood hyacinth are blooming as are early
red tulips and muscari that were left behind by previous owners.
The dragon daylilies are all up.
I have to move a few daylilies due to a downspout problem, I plan to do that sometime this week.
It's been unseasonably warm on various days. Today it is a more seasonable 60s.
Wanda, who fostering some of my plants, took the tree peonies said that at least one has survived the move. They are so difficult to move.
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
April 29
Except for a little bit of rain yesterday, Saturday, it has been a wondermously great weekend for a gardener!
The weather, though cooler yesterday was just right for working outside today with clear skies and warm sun and a cool breeze blowing.
I potted up three of the small hosta that I salvaged at the last minute from the front yard as we were leaving ... I hope the on little one survives.
And the peony that I dug at the last minuted is tucked in a pot until it finds a home.
That makes the four green marble pots and seven of the lightweight ones -- three larger ones and four smaller ones.
In the four smaller pots I put a bit of blue fescue Festuca glauca 'Eliijah Blue" in each pot and a pansy and an Anne Greenaway lamium (a yellow Spotted Deadnettle) with mauvey blue flowers and a small bright yellow calibrachoa 'Callie Sunrise' (million bells is the more common name) that I hand-picked to be the more yellow and not the orange yellow type. Should look nice when it fills in with the yellow variegated lamium and the calibrachoa with the Delta lavender/purple blotched pansies and that bluish fescue ...
I know the fescue likes full sun but I've found it does well in part shade ... makes it a bit more blue in my humble opinion.
I watered everything in and I put soil in the three large 'Greenman" pots so the soil could settle in a bit before I plant them with tomatoes. The pots are cool because they have these Celtic 'Greenman' faces on them. With my husband's Scottish heritage it's a bit of whimsy in the garden.
I have the seven pots sitting to the east of the back steps with my Woodard wrought iron glider. The pots sort of define my sitting spot on the north side of the house.
The spot overlooks the area where the bird feeders are and shortly before I came in tonight I watched a chipping sparrow for more than five minutes as it kept checking me out to see if I was a threat between bites. I could have reached out and touched it.
And, a house finch and its mate came into the shrub but wouldn't go to the feeders until I went inside the house.
A nice ending to several hours of work.
I used the Miracle Gro garden soil because I haven't started my compost piles yet ... It certainly is a much better soil than the Green Thumb soil which has a lot of peat moss in it and is very powdery compared to the Miracle Gro soil.
The home owner to the west of our house is someone we've known for years and today he came over and rototilled up the flower beds for his three renters (all single women) and then removed a shrubby tree that was on my "to do" list today. He used a chain saw and then put a root killer on it ... let's just say I've nominated him for sainthood! He sure saved me a lot of work! And, it allowed me to work with some of my other garden things longer.
We moved the two liion's head benches to the walkway with the help of a two-wheeled dolly cart. They now flank either side of the walkway coming into the back door.
I also weeded some in the daylily beds ...
And that's about it for this weekend.
Except for a little bit of rain yesterday, Saturday, it has been a wondermously great weekend for a gardener!
The weather, though cooler yesterday was just right for working outside today with clear skies and warm sun and a cool breeze blowing.
I potted up three of the small hosta that I salvaged at the last minute from the front yard as we were leaving ... I hope the on little one survives.
And the peony that I dug at the last minuted is tucked in a pot until it finds a home.
That makes the four green marble pots and seven of the lightweight ones -- three larger ones and four smaller ones.
In the four smaller pots I put a bit of blue fescue Festuca glauca 'Eliijah Blue" in each pot and a pansy and an Anne Greenaway lamium (a yellow Spotted Deadnettle) with mauvey blue flowers and a small bright yellow calibrachoa 'Callie Sunrise' (million bells is the more common name) that I hand-picked to be the more yellow and not the orange yellow type. Should look nice when it fills in with the yellow variegated lamium and the calibrachoa with the Delta lavender/purple blotched pansies and that bluish fescue ...
I know the fescue likes full sun but I've found it does well in part shade ... makes it a bit more blue in my humble opinion.
I watered everything in and I put soil in the three large 'Greenman" pots so the soil could settle in a bit before I plant them with tomatoes. The pots are cool because they have these Celtic 'Greenman' faces on them. With my husband's Scottish heritage it's a bit of whimsy in the garden.
I have the seven pots sitting to the east of the back steps with my Woodard wrought iron glider. The pots sort of define my sitting spot on the north side of the house.
The spot overlooks the area where the bird feeders are and shortly before I came in tonight I watched a chipping sparrow for more than five minutes as it kept checking me out to see if I was a threat between bites. I could have reached out and touched it.
And, a house finch and its mate came into the shrub but wouldn't go to the feeders until I went inside the house.
A nice ending to several hours of work.
I used the Miracle Gro garden soil because I haven't started my compost piles yet ... It certainly is a much better soil than the Green Thumb soil which has a lot of peat moss in it and is very powdery compared to the Miracle Gro soil.
The home owner to the west of our house is someone we've known for years and today he came over and rototilled up the flower beds for his three renters (all single women) and then removed a shrubby tree that was on my "to do" list today. He used a chain saw and then put a root killer on it ... let's just say I've nominated him for sainthood! He sure saved me a lot of work! And, it allowed me to work with some of my other garden things longer.
We moved the two liion's head benches to the walkway with the help of a two-wheeled dolly cart. They now flank either side of the walkway coming into the back door.
I also weeded some in the daylily beds ...
And that's about it for this weekend.
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
The weekend of May 18-20
Except for routine weeding the past couple of weeks and mowing the ever-demanding lawn I haven't done much in the garden.
I did plant a hanging basket in the back that hangs off the bird feeder. Some of the deep violet purple million bells and a couple of larger petunias in deep purple and white are in that basket.
And I purchased a deep purple verbena with white petunias for the front.
All of the green marble pots are filling in nicely.
Several of the rescued hosta are up and or are unfurling. It looks like all but one has survived.
The peony is growing nicely as are the other plants.
And the blue fescue sort of gives this rather eclectic touch to the pots in the back.
On Friday, May 18 I had a busy day trying to get stuff filed and organized ... a constant battle ... in the office and I started working on the Courthouse monument flower planting plans.
The Master Gardeners in this county have made a real mess of things at several flower bed locations.
I've been speaking with the person who is NOW in charge of the program and things will be changing.
In the past those taking the Master Gardener classes were basically "punching their ticket" to complete a project.
They'd go in and do a project so they could get their certificate and then just walked away from it. They didn't MAINTAIN it!!!
And, because some of them were new to gardening as well, they put the wrong types of plants in or planted them too close to the foundations of buildings like the county courthouse and ... well ... there wasn't much oversite on their plans ...
At the county courthouse it just looks messy and unkept.
They put in privet TOO CLOSE to the building and then nobody's trimmed it in a couple of years so its all scraggly and messy and ... yucK!
I'm not in charge of the general plantings, but am working toward it.
There will be a lot of plants to tear out in the next few years including some over-large evergreens that really detract from the face of the turn-of-the-century beautiful courthouse. The only thing that's been done right are the iris along the foundation ... proper for a turn-of-the-century building.
But they blew it on two flower beds that that look like crap every year because once planted no one tends them.
On the north side of the lawn there's this circle that someone tried to plant. It's about 30 ft. across with eight tiny little scraggly plants in it because everything else has died.
The Building and Grounds director called on me to help with a new planting plan. He said does not want a single Master Gardener anywhere near the courthouse until they come up with some sort of maintenance plan.
May 19
I purchased the geraniums and other stuff for the Civil War monuments ... and will try to add a few more perennials when the sales start.
Today was the largest monument that sits in the middle of the lawn of the courthouse. It is planted all around in an oval. This year it took about 2 hours to clean and plant and mulch. Not bad. The day was lovely.
I also started cleanup on the large circle bed raking off as much mulch as I could and tranferring it to the Civil War monument and the Vietnam Veterans monument. The work started about 6 p.m. and I finished just after 8 p.m. ...
May 20, Sunday
It was a busy bee day today.
I spent most of the afternoon working on the City Hall monument. That is a much smaller one than on the county courthouse lawn ... a relatively easy task but a lot of walking back and forth for various supplies and stuff ... especially since I'm doing it all by myself this year. With Gary gone I don't have my "helper" and friends who usually help are busy this weekend.
I'm lucky this year because I'm not planting much in my yard ... just working on the monuments.
The plantings are done with red and white geraniums and dusty miller with a deep blue/purple accent of mounds of low-growing veronica/speedwell etc.
Once the City Hall planting was done I went back to the courthouse (they are about five miles apart) and removed all but the iris from the big circle bed at the County Courthouse ... The iris are about to bloom and I need someone to help with that move.
The other perennials are just coming up and I dug them out in situ so they won't even know they were moved. All except the rugosa rose ... that wouldn't be a loss. Try as I could I didn't get as much root ball as I wanted.
As for the other perennials I picked up a nice clump of dirt with each plant and they should be just fine ... now for a bit of rain to really seat them in and they'll be fine.
The eight or nine plants left in the circle bed were moved to the Vietnam Veterans memorial and then everything was mulched in ... The VV monument was another Master Gardener project that wasn't maintained and several plants had died ...
With the addition of the plants from the circle bed the monument is now well planted with only a few holes that I will fill in with red and white geraniums and dusty miller to keep the monument planting theme going.
After I came home (about 4 p.m.) I added some ageratum 'Hawaii Royal' (a more purple blossom) and some Hypoestes 'White Splash Select' (green and white) to the front four marble pots ... and now I'm in for the evening.
I also have been sedum hunting for the sedum bed at the
Owosso Farmers' Market two garden beds that I tend with the help of Liz (Market Master).
We were going to work on the two beds tonight but it's just too cold outside. She's in her 80s and by the time I finished my hands were aching from the cold.
We plan to work Wednesday night on those beds.
Next weekend I plant the large Civil War monument (on Friday) at the cemetery. That's another big monument but I only have to plant the front of it and not all around it like the one on the courthouse lawn.
I just ran out of steam for this weekend.
I figure three monuments and clearing out a huge flower bed is enough for one weekend. Not to mentiion other stuff that had to be done.
And my backside is aching ... literally!!
One nice surprise occurred today.
When I arrived back at the Civil War monument today someone had put three flags in the three flag holders! It was so nice seeing fresh new flags on the monument. Sort of like having someone say "thank you" for all my effort.
I also found some wondermously fabulous dusky orchid purple salvia that they simply have tagged as 'Lilac' on he tag that is supposed to be more lush and only grow about 10-inches.
I think I'll plant those directly in the ground in front of the daylily beds.
That's about it for Gardening in Helen Time!
Except for routine weeding the past couple of weeks and mowing the ever-demanding lawn I haven't done much in the garden.
I did plant a hanging basket in the back that hangs off the bird feeder. Some of the deep violet purple million bells and a couple of larger petunias in deep purple and white are in that basket.
And I purchased a deep purple verbena with white petunias for the front.
All of the green marble pots are filling in nicely.
Several of the rescued hosta are up and or are unfurling. It looks like all but one has survived.
The peony is growing nicely as are the other plants.
And the blue fescue sort of gives this rather eclectic touch to the pots in the back.
On Friday, May 18 I had a busy day trying to get stuff filed and organized ... a constant battle ... in the office and I started working on the Courthouse monument flower planting plans.
The Master Gardeners in this county have made a real mess of things at several flower bed locations.
I've been speaking with the person who is NOW in charge of the program and things will be changing.
In the past those taking the Master Gardener classes were basically "punching their ticket" to complete a project.
They'd go in and do a project so they could get their certificate and then just walked away from it. They didn't MAINTAIN it!!!
And, because some of them were new to gardening as well, they put the wrong types of plants in or planted them too close to the foundations of buildings like the county courthouse and ... well ... there wasn't much oversite on their plans ...
At the county courthouse it just looks messy and unkept.
They put in privet TOO CLOSE to the building and then nobody's trimmed it in a couple of years so its all scraggly and messy and ... yucK!
I'm not in charge of the general plantings, but am working toward it.
There will be a lot of plants to tear out in the next few years including some over-large evergreens that really detract from the face of the turn-of-the-century beautiful courthouse. The only thing that's been done right are the iris along the foundation ... proper for a turn-of-the-century building.
But they blew it on two flower beds that that look like crap every year because once planted no one tends them.
On the north side of the lawn there's this circle that someone tried to plant. It's about 30 ft. across with eight tiny little scraggly plants in it because everything else has died.
The Building and Grounds director called on me to help with a new planting plan. He said does not want a single Master Gardener anywhere near the courthouse until they come up with some sort of maintenance plan.
May 19
I purchased the geraniums and other stuff for the Civil War monuments ... and will try to add a few more perennials when the sales start.
Today was the largest monument that sits in the middle of the lawn of the courthouse. It is planted all around in an oval. This year it took about 2 hours to clean and plant and mulch. Not bad. The day was lovely.
I also started cleanup on the large circle bed raking off as much mulch as I could and tranferring it to the Civil War monument and the Vietnam Veterans monument. The work started about 6 p.m. and I finished just after 8 p.m. ...
May 20, Sunday
It was a busy bee day today.
I spent most of the afternoon working on the City Hall monument. That is a much smaller one than on the county courthouse lawn ... a relatively easy task but a lot of walking back and forth for various supplies and stuff ... especially since I'm doing it all by myself this year. With Gary gone I don't have my "helper" and friends who usually help are busy this weekend.
I'm lucky this year because I'm not planting much in my yard ... just working on the monuments.
The plantings are done with red and white geraniums and dusty miller with a deep blue/purple accent of mounds of low-growing veronica/speedwell etc.
Once the City Hall planting was done I went back to the courthouse (they are about five miles apart) and removed all but the iris from the big circle bed at the County Courthouse ... The iris are about to bloom and I need someone to help with that move.
The other perennials are just coming up and I dug them out in situ so they won't even know they were moved. All except the rugosa rose ... that wouldn't be a loss. Try as I could I didn't get as much root ball as I wanted.
As for the other perennials I picked up a nice clump of dirt with each plant and they should be just fine ... now for a bit of rain to really seat them in and they'll be fine.
The eight or nine plants left in the circle bed were moved to the Vietnam Veterans memorial and then everything was mulched in ... The VV monument was another Master Gardener project that wasn't maintained and several plants had died ...
With the addition of the plants from the circle bed the monument is now well planted with only a few holes that I will fill in with red and white geraniums and dusty miller to keep the monument planting theme going.
After I came home (about 4 p.m.) I added some ageratum 'Hawaii Royal' (a more purple blossom) and some Hypoestes 'White Splash Select' (green and white) to the front four marble pots ... and now I'm in for the evening.
I also have been sedum hunting for the sedum bed at the
Owosso Farmers' Market two garden beds that I tend with the help of Liz (Market Master).
We were going to work on the two beds tonight but it's just too cold outside. She's in her 80s and by the time I finished my hands were aching from the cold.
We plan to work Wednesday night on those beds.
Next weekend I plant the large Civil War monument (on Friday) at the cemetery. That's another big monument but I only have to plant the front of it and not all around it like the one on the courthouse lawn.
I just ran out of steam for this weekend.
I figure three monuments and clearing out a huge flower bed is enough for one weekend. Not to mentiion other stuff that had to be done.
And my backside is aching ... literally!!
One nice surprise occurred today.
When I arrived back at the Civil War monument today someone had put three flags in the three flag holders! It was so nice seeing fresh new flags on the monument. Sort of like having someone say "thank you" for all my effort.
I also found some wondermously fabulous dusky orchid purple salvia that they simply have tagged as 'Lilac' on he tag that is supposed to be more lush and only grow about 10-inches.
I think I'll plant those directly in the ground in front of the daylily beds.
That's about it for Gardening in Helen Time!
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
May 25-26
I've been a busy bee again this week!
On Friday (25th) my daughter went to lunch with me and while we were there I spotted the owner of Farmer's Greenhouse hanging the live flower baskets in our downtown. I said hello and he said he'd seen me working on the Courthouse grounds and said he was willing to donate flowers if I was willing to plant. Of course I said "yes."
After lunch I planted the Civil War monument at the one cemetery. It's one of those very tall monuments that sits on a large pedestal on top of an even larger pedestal and then on top of a mound of soil. I only plant the front of this monument every year. It's in very deep shade so very little survives through the summer. But it does look wonderful for the Memorial Day celebration and that's what's important.
I planted it with 'Lilac' salvia for a bluish tone and then red and white geraniums and rimmed with dusty miller.
Then I headed to the County courthouse to move the last clump of iris and dig tulip bulbs from a large circle bed that is being eliminated. I also finished mulching around the Vietnam and Civil War monuments
The iris I pulled are an oddish color of green with a purple tinge to the outer petals ... not really pretty but odd enough that I like them. I kept some for around the foundation at my house. Some had to be treated for insect damage ... They sort of remind me of 'Shrek' ...
After that I raked and cleaned up and about that time my friend Liz who is 80-something and is the farmers' market master showed up and away we went to two large beds where she and I planted 90 deep purple and pale yellow petunias on a diagonal across the four-corners of one bed.
I also pulled weeds and raked the newly developing sedum bed.
By this morning (26th) I was really feeling the pain!
My first trip was to Farmer's Gardens for the donated flowers.
Tim who owns Farmer's Garden gave me a flat of Proven Winners 'Supertunia' Blushing Princess' and a flat of 'Superbena' Coral (a verbena hybrid that I'm trying for the first time ... and two flats of 'Patriot White Oglevee geraniums and one flat of 'Sassy' dark red zonal geraniums and a flat of asparagus fern. I was a good girl and planted everything that he gave me and didn't keep anything for myself!
I used the geraniums around the historical marker sign and also at the Vietnam Veterans monument.
I had to remove sod ... never a favorite chore of mine ... and I used it to patch holes in the lawn as best I could.
I added asparagus fern for the fun of it near the historical marker and all the rest including some asparagus fern went into this sort of elongated diamond bed that master gardeners put in about 10 years ago and then just walked away to leave it fend for itself.
The bed is coming out this fall and I'm moving all of the plants to "someplace" else.
We still could still use another six to eight flats in that bed, but beggars can't be choosey and I really didn't want to push Tim's generosity to the limits.
After I planted everything there I went to the farmers' market beds again and planted five large gallon-sized pots of sedum.
And when I arrived home Liz called to tell me she'd received several more "donations" of flats of flowers for the larger farmers' market bed.
The sedum bed is also being planted through donations.
Like I said, I don't have a garden here at home so I'm gardening elsewhere this spring ... and trying to get all the work done before the first of June.
On Friday I treated myself to a pizza.
Today it was a cheeseburger ... my thank you to myself for being such a good community citizen.
Even though I work on the smaller bed ... it is still a large bed and for the past two years I've been trying to get it filled with a variety of sedums. I've even told people that all they have to do is donate to the cause and I'll plant their gardenage!
One nasty thing ... someone stole one of my Autumn Joy sedums on the south end of the bed. There's a big dent where I put it last year!
Grrrr!
That's the risks of planting in a public garden. I'll have to get one of those again!
At home I finished the green marble pots with Salsa Purple Salvia. It is such a deep purple ... and I added a deep violet/purple mini-tunia to the hanging basket at the front of the house, planted the Bush Early Girl tomato and the Sweet 100 tomatoes and the acorn squash and then dug a circle and filled it with hot orange red and deep red salvia surrounded by a variegated orange green yellow red coleus and put up our 1700s tripod over it and planted a hanging basket over the flowers with some dusty miller and baby's breath in it so it looks like a pot boiling over the top of the hot red flowers! It was Gary's idea and I've been trying to accomodate some of his whims lately (smile).
And that's the way it is for this Saturday!
Tomorrow, late in the day and if the weather is good I'll be back at the farmers' market beds planting the donated flowers that Liz called me about.
Marathon gardening! Nothing like it!!!
Helen
I've been a busy bee again this week!
On Friday (25th) my daughter went to lunch with me and while we were there I spotted the owner of Farmer's Greenhouse hanging the live flower baskets in our downtown. I said hello and he said he'd seen me working on the Courthouse grounds and said he was willing to donate flowers if I was willing to plant. Of course I said "yes."
After lunch I planted the Civil War monument at the one cemetery. It's one of those very tall monuments that sits on a large pedestal on top of an even larger pedestal and then on top of a mound of soil. I only plant the front of this monument every year. It's in very deep shade so very little survives through the summer. But it does look wonderful for the Memorial Day celebration and that's what's important.
I planted it with 'Lilac' salvia for a bluish tone and then red and white geraniums and rimmed with dusty miller.
Then I headed to the County courthouse to move the last clump of iris and dig tulip bulbs from a large circle bed that is being eliminated. I also finished mulching around the Vietnam and Civil War monuments
The iris I pulled are an oddish color of green with a purple tinge to the outer petals ... not really pretty but odd enough that I like them. I kept some for around the foundation at my house. Some had to be treated for insect damage ... They sort of remind me of 'Shrek' ...
After that I raked and cleaned up and about that time my friend Liz who is 80-something and is the farmers' market master showed up and away we went to two large beds where she and I planted 90 deep purple and pale yellow petunias on a diagonal across the four-corners of one bed.
I also pulled weeds and raked the newly developing sedum bed.
By this morning (26th) I was really feeling the pain!
My first trip was to Farmer's Gardens for the donated flowers.
Tim who owns Farmer's Garden gave me a flat of Proven Winners 'Supertunia' Blushing Princess' and a flat of 'Superbena' Coral (a verbena hybrid that I'm trying for the first time ... and two flats of 'Patriot White Oglevee geraniums and one flat of 'Sassy' dark red zonal geraniums and a flat of asparagus fern. I was a good girl and planted everything that he gave me and didn't keep anything for myself!
I used the geraniums around the historical marker sign and also at the Vietnam Veterans monument.
I had to remove sod ... never a favorite chore of mine ... and I used it to patch holes in the lawn as best I could.
I added asparagus fern for the fun of it near the historical marker and all the rest including some asparagus fern went into this sort of elongated diamond bed that master gardeners put in about 10 years ago and then just walked away to leave it fend for itself.
The bed is coming out this fall and I'm moving all of the plants to "someplace" else.
We still could still use another six to eight flats in that bed, but beggars can't be choosey and I really didn't want to push Tim's generosity to the limits.
After I planted everything there I went to the farmers' market beds again and planted five large gallon-sized pots of sedum.
And when I arrived home Liz called to tell me she'd received several more "donations" of flats of flowers for the larger farmers' market bed.
The sedum bed is also being planted through donations.
Like I said, I don't have a garden here at home so I'm gardening elsewhere this spring ... and trying to get all the work done before the first of June.
On Friday I treated myself to a pizza.
Today it was a cheeseburger ... my thank you to myself for being such a good community citizen.
Even though I work on the smaller bed ... it is still a large bed and for the past two years I've been trying to get it filled with a variety of sedums. I've even told people that all they have to do is donate to the cause and I'll plant their gardenage!
One nasty thing ... someone stole one of my Autumn Joy sedums on the south end of the bed. There's a big dent where I put it last year!
Grrrr!
That's the risks of planting in a public garden. I'll have to get one of those again!
At home I finished the green marble pots with Salsa Purple Salvia. It is such a deep purple ... and I added a deep violet/purple mini-tunia to the hanging basket at the front of the house, planted the Bush Early Girl tomato and the Sweet 100 tomatoes and the acorn squash and then dug a circle and filled it with hot orange red and deep red salvia surrounded by a variegated orange green yellow red coleus and put up our 1700s tripod over it and planted a hanging basket over the flowers with some dusty miller and baby's breath in it so it looks like a pot boiling over the top of the hot red flowers! It was Gary's idea and I've been trying to accomodate some of his whims lately (smile).
And that's the way it is for this Saturday!
Tomorrow, late in the day and if the weather is good I'll be back at the farmers' market beds planting the donated flowers that Liz called me about.
Marathon gardening! Nothing like it!!!
Helen
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
June 27
I forgot to mention that the tulips are all done that the previous owner left behind. I will be digging all but the few left in the front beds. Those bulbs will then join the ones I dug at the courthouse to be dried and evaluated and sorted.
I plan on replanting all of them at the courthouse, including the ones from this garden in a more sensible manner than what was done before.
So far I have claimed the two monuments and the large diamond bed and I am heading toward the foundation of the courthouse to see if I can get those frowsy shrubby things removed and replaced with a proper perennial garden that shows its structure through the perennials.
I'm a bit of a perfectionist regarding tulips ... They are best treated like annuals in my zone 5 garden. For continuous and consistent color I prefer daffodils/narcissus because they provide consistent bloom and increase.
Too many times tulips are used as a dominant rather than accent plant and some gardeners forget that once the bloom is gone they are left with dying foliage that must remain to feed the bulb for the next year's flowers. And they forget to dig and divide the bulbs every three years and the newly developing tulip bulbs keep going deeper into the earth ... and soon you dig to China to try to find the bulbs which grow smaller and smaller. I found dozens of tulip bulbs no bigger around than my little finger this year.
On my personal garden front my 'Witch of Endor' iris is in bloom. It has a black bud and opens to a deep coppery black blossom ... a good increaser and a favorite.
'Before the Storm' is a blue/black that should be opening in the next week or so and then there is Black Dragon which is a deep reddish black that should open after that.
I'm not a big iris fan but certain ones have caught my eye over the years. I just may keep a fan of that green and lavender one because it is so unique after I treat them for insects.
One of my gardening friends gave me a "new house" gift of a 'Night Owl' climbing rose that needs to get put in the ground. It's supposed to be a continuous bloomer with deep navy to black blossoms.
We have rabbits!
I'm not sure I like seeing so many of them. There are at least three adults and yesterday my daughter spotted a little tiny one which means baby rabbits!
I need to weed and lightly mulch the daylily beds ... I have two that are filled with dragon named daylilies.
There is also the 'Purple Dragon' lamium that needs to be divided and spread around.
And, the variegated yellow/green leaf of 'Kate Greenaway' lamium that I put in the pots is really increasing to a point that I may have to consider moving it to a foundation location along the East side of the house. It's really a beautiful plant.
So far I'm adjusting to life in this new place.
There are times when I terribly miss my old garden.
I loved the fact that there was no grass to mow except for a less than five minute patch on the front lawn.
And the picket fence and the plants were positioned to show each other off.
And I miss 'The Dragon Lair' potting shed.
On a happy note, and that I forgot to add ... my 'Magic Dragon' and Dragon's Fire miniature roses look as if they are going to be blooming!
And I continue with my rallying cry ..."Garden where you are planted!"
'Tis life!
Helen
I forgot to mention that the tulips are all done that the previous owner left behind. I will be digging all but the few left in the front beds. Those bulbs will then join the ones I dug at the courthouse to be dried and evaluated and sorted.
I plan on replanting all of them at the courthouse, including the ones from this garden in a more sensible manner than what was done before.
So far I have claimed the two monuments and the large diamond bed and I am heading toward the foundation of the courthouse to see if I can get those frowsy shrubby things removed and replaced with a proper perennial garden that shows its structure through the perennials.
I'm a bit of a perfectionist regarding tulips ... They are best treated like annuals in my zone 5 garden. For continuous and consistent color I prefer daffodils/narcissus because they provide consistent bloom and increase.
Too many times tulips are used as a dominant rather than accent plant and some gardeners forget that once the bloom is gone they are left with dying foliage that must remain to feed the bulb for the next year's flowers. And they forget to dig and divide the bulbs every three years and the newly developing tulip bulbs keep going deeper into the earth ... and soon you dig to China to try to find the bulbs which grow smaller and smaller. I found dozens of tulip bulbs no bigger around than my little finger this year.
On my personal garden front my 'Witch of Endor' iris is in bloom. It has a black bud and opens to a deep coppery black blossom ... a good increaser and a favorite.
'Before the Storm' is a blue/black that should be opening in the next week or so and then there is Black Dragon which is a deep reddish black that should open after that.
I'm not a big iris fan but certain ones have caught my eye over the years. I just may keep a fan of that green and lavender one because it is so unique after I treat them for insects.
One of my gardening friends gave me a "new house" gift of a 'Night Owl' climbing rose that needs to get put in the ground. It's supposed to be a continuous bloomer with deep navy to black blossoms.
We have rabbits!
I'm not sure I like seeing so many of them. There are at least three adults and yesterday my daughter spotted a little tiny one which means baby rabbits!
I need to weed and lightly mulch the daylily beds ... I have two that are filled with dragon named daylilies.
There is also the 'Purple Dragon' lamium that needs to be divided and spread around.
And, the variegated yellow/green leaf of 'Kate Greenaway' lamium that I put in the pots is really increasing to a point that I may have to consider moving it to a foundation location along the East side of the house. It's really a beautiful plant.
So far I'm adjusting to life in this new place.
There are times when I terribly miss my old garden.
I loved the fact that there was no grass to mow except for a less than five minute patch on the front lawn.
And the picket fence and the plants were positioned to show each other off.
And I miss 'The Dragon Lair' potting shed.
On a happy note, and that I forgot to add ... my 'Magic Dragon' and Dragon's Fire miniature roses look as if they are going to be blooming!
And I continue with my rallying cry ..."Garden where you are planted!"
'Tis life!
Helen
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!
Sunday May 27
I was a bit of a slug today.
DH helped me dig up about 10 clumps of tulips and what I suspect is a daffodil of some sort. ALL of the bulbs were more than 10 inches below the soil which means that many were damaged trying to get them out. And I found a lot of teeny tiny bulbets that were dormant because they were so deep in the ground.
There are more than 100 bulbs of all sizes and about 30 are flower-producing size. I put them with the nearly 100 bulbs that were dug from the courthouse and they will dry and I'll clean them up and see if they can be revived and increased in size. I'm not a big tulip fan because they are more like annuals in this zone 5 garden. I prefer daffodils which naturalize and increase ...
I planted the new rose that I received called 'Night Owl' (TM) that is a dark purple in color and grows to a height of 14 ft and that will bloom early to late summer ... IF it survives. It was on the dry side and may have been without TLC for too long. I soaked it and with a bit of luck it will love the soil it's in and where I planted it and I'll be rewarded with blooms.
I also planted the iris that I soaked for three days to kill any critters that were lingering and cleaned them up and planted them near the front door.
I also found a lone daylily that had been mushed and mangled and moved it to a protected spot ... the roots were healthy ... the "green" stuff has seen better days.
My first daylily 'Galadriel' surprised me with a bloom this morning. It is very low to the ground but it's blooming!
I did NOTHING at the courthouse or other gardens.
Instead I visited with family and sort of lazed around the house today.
Even a gardener deserves an occasional day of rest.
I was a bit of a slug today.
DH helped me dig up about 10 clumps of tulips and what I suspect is a daffodil of some sort. ALL of the bulbs were more than 10 inches below the soil which means that many were damaged trying to get them out. And I found a lot of teeny tiny bulbets that were dormant because they were so deep in the ground.
There are more than 100 bulbs of all sizes and about 30 are flower-producing size. I put them with the nearly 100 bulbs that were dug from the courthouse and they will dry and I'll clean them up and see if they can be revived and increased in size. I'm not a big tulip fan because they are more like annuals in this zone 5 garden. I prefer daffodils which naturalize and increase ...
I planted the new rose that I received called 'Night Owl' (TM) that is a dark purple in color and grows to a height of 14 ft and that will bloom early to late summer ... IF it survives. It was on the dry side and may have been without TLC for too long. I soaked it and with a bit of luck it will love the soil it's in and where I planted it and I'll be rewarded with blooms.
I also planted the iris that I soaked for three days to kill any critters that were lingering and cleaned them up and planted them near the front door.
I also found a lone daylily that had been mushed and mangled and moved it to a protected spot ... the roots were healthy ... the "green" stuff has seen better days.
My first daylily 'Galadriel' surprised me with a bloom this morning. It is very low to the ground but it's blooming!
I did NOTHING at the courthouse or other gardens.
Instead I visited with family and sort of lazed around the house today.
Even a gardener deserves an occasional day of rest.
A day without laughter AND gardening is a day wasted ... oh ... and be kind to your children ... they will choose your nursing home!