After some unexpected but much needed rain interrupted grass cutting plans other days, today I finally got the back yard cut. The grass in the areas I am trying to reseed seems to be slowing sprouting, but I think I may end up needed to seed it in again to get it to look like much. I still need to get the string trimmer out for the edges, but on the whole the back yard looks better. Now I'll just have to try to cut the front yard later this week. The forcast is calling for rain tomorrow morning, which will interrupt any yard work plans if it is true.
Yesterday on my lunch hour I found a neglected 'Oregon Pride' hydrangea at Lowes and was able to get it for 1/2 price. I made several visits outside to water it for the rest of my work day and by the end up the day it had perked up quite a bit. Last night we had rain and cooler temps, which helped a lot. I did trim a few branches where the leaves were already looking crunchy back to healthy looking leaves. Might as well get the soon to be dead parts off so the plant can expend its energy on the healthy limbs.
Below is a before and after picture of the hydrangea. Top photo is about 20 minutes after purchase and below is 4 hours later.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Wednesday, May 05, 2010
Trying to pick this back up again
I'm going to try to start doing the blog again... I think sometimes I try to document everything, then it becomes work, not fun. I have to remind myself that not everything needs a photo, etc. Other times there hasn't been anything worth writing about going on at the house.
Since I last wrote a few major things have happened:
- In June 2009 I had the falling down shack in the back burned down. The workers never came back to finish carting away the debris like they were supposed to, so this left me with a bunch of cinder blocks stacked where the shack used to be and a fire ring. We have used the fire ring several times since to burn limbs. Handy, but not attractive. This area of the yard remains essentially unimproved.
- In Novmeber 2009 I hired two workers from Craigslist to do some of the unfinished projects. I finally got an outside outlet and was able to put up real outdoor lights, but no animatronic deer this year. We also finally got the new light fixtures hung in my mom's room, my room and on the porch. The old porch fixture could not really be removed, so we took off the shade part and disconnected it. We then had to make a new hole in the ceiling of the porch and put the fixture up slightly away from where the old fixture was.
- The county came and dug the ditch in front of the house MUCH deeper, making the front yard look not so great. Amazingly, they didn't get all my daylilies or daffodils. Then, the county came back to redo water pipes and dug up another part of my front yard and installed a big ugly concrete circle in my front yard. Now the front yard really looks bad.
- We had a much colder winter (2009-10)than we usually do with several snowstorms and low temps in the teens for over a week. I lost a lot of my herbs and almost all my terra cotta pots over the winter. I am now (spring 2010) trying to rebuild my herb garden.
- Over the winter my external hard drive crashed so I lost almost all the original photos of my house and my yard. No, I didn't back them up in unreduced form. Yes, that was stupid. I am very upset about this and have IT guys working on my hard drive. I get depressed just thinking about it.
- Spring 2010 came fast with a very early last frost, in March. The weeds came even faster and my whole back yard was covered. I had to resort to using a chemical weed killer on the "grass" part but that didn't even kill all the weeds. I had pulled at least 40 30 gallon bags of weeds out of my yard this spring. I am once again attempting to grow more grass.
- I finally broke down and bought a lawn mower so I can mow my own grass.
Since I last wrote a few major things have happened:
- In June 2009 I had the falling down shack in the back burned down. The workers never came back to finish carting away the debris like they were supposed to, so this left me with a bunch of cinder blocks stacked where the shack used to be and a fire ring. We have used the fire ring several times since to burn limbs. Handy, but not attractive. This area of the yard remains essentially unimproved.
- In Novmeber 2009 I hired two workers from Craigslist to do some of the unfinished projects. I finally got an outside outlet and was able to put up real outdoor lights, but no animatronic deer this year. We also finally got the new light fixtures hung in my mom's room, my room and on the porch. The old porch fixture could not really be removed, so we took off the shade part and disconnected it. We then had to make a new hole in the ceiling of the porch and put the fixture up slightly away from where the old fixture was.
- The county came and dug the ditch in front of the house MUCH deeper, making the front yard look not so great. Amazingly, they didn't get all my daylilies or daffodils. Then, the county came back to redo water pipes and dug up another part of my front yard and installed a big ugly concrete circle in my front yard. Now the front yard really looks bad.
- We had a much colder winter (2009-10)than we usually do with several snowstorms and low temps in the teens for over a week. I lost a lot of my herbs and almost all my terra cotta pots over the winter. I am now (spring 2010) trying to rebuild my herb garden.
- Over the winter my external hard drive crashed so I lost almost all the original photos of my house and my yard. No, I didn't back them up in unreduced form. Yes, that was stupid. I am very upset about this and have IT guys working on my hard drive. I get depressed just thinking about it.
- Spring 2010 came fast with a very early last frost, in March. The weeds came even faster and my whole back yard was covered. I had to resort to using a chemical weed killer on the "grass" part but that didn't even kill all the weeds. I had pulled at least 40 30 gallon bags of weeds out of my yard this spring. I am once again attempting to grow more grass.
- I finally broke down and bought a lawn mower so I can mow my own grass.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
a little work around the house
I have't writtne much lately as not much has been going on other than constant watering trying to keep the yard alive. We got a few brief rain storms over the past few weeks, but not enough to really help the plants. I did get the water bill that included the day when the hose was left on all day and broke. It is maybe at most $10 higher than this time last year and I don't even think it is that much bigger, so that is a relief.
We bought two new lights, one for the porch and one for mom's room. I figured the light in mom's room would be easy to put up, until I got down the old fixture and found that there is no box up there. The strap had just been attached to the ceiling and now the drywall is flaking away at the edges, so attaching a new strap that way was out of the question. I've got a call in to Neil to come out and put in a box. The porch light is even worse. The base of the current fixture is underneath the vinyl. I cut it away a little bit and from what I can see, it looks like the base may be further covered with a piece of wood. So, changing that fixture will require removing at least one piece of vinyl and possibly some wood, then undoing the fixture and replacing it. This is beyond me, so I'm waiting for Neil on that as well. I bought 4 new light boxes the other day with the idea that when Neil does come I'll have him add a box to my mom's room, the porch if needed and while he is at it, maybe my room (guessing there is no box up there) and see if he will have the time to do anything about working on getting a light in the laundry room.
We were at Lowes yesterday looking at lights. I want to replace the bathroom light as when I was last changing the lightbulb, the fixture just seemed old and like it had been overheated at one point. I know it is just a cheap little fixture and I was hoping to find something else to just toss up there. So far, I haven't really found anything that is just what I want, so the old fixture stays up for now. While I was at Lowes, I did find an inexpensive oil rubbed bronze door knob that is perfect for the closet door in the dining room. It went on with no problems and looks much nicer. I also found ceramic lightswitch and outlet covers marked way down and bought those for the bathroom. They look nice as well. I looked briefly at knobs for the kitchen cabinets, but the cheapest thing I could find would cost me about $60 to change them out and I'd be left with a few extras, so that won't be done any time soon.
Today on my way home from yoga, I stopped at Home Depot to get some lighter paint for my mom's ceiling. She painted it the same color as two of the walls and I've always felt it just looked too dark. I ate lunch and was changing into painting clothes when I totally threw out my back. I currently can barely stand up and spent most of the afternoon asleep after taking a muscle relaxant. Painting the ceiling is on hold and I'm glad I got the doorknob switched out this AM as I can't do anything now.
We bought two new lights, one for the porch and one for mom's room. I figured the light in mom's room would be easy to put up, until I got down the old fixture and found that there is no box up there. The strap had just been attached to the ceiling and now the drywall is flaking away at the edges, so attaching a new strap that way was out of the question. I've got a call in to Neil to come out and put in a box. The porch light is even worse. The base of the current fixture is underneath the vinyl. I cut it away a little bit and from what I can see, it looks like the base may be further covered with a piece of wood. So, changing that fixture will require removing at least one piece of vinyl and possibly some wood, then undoing the fixture and replacing it. This is beyond me, so I'm waiting for Neil on that as well. I bought 4 new light boxes the other day with the idea that when Neil does come I'll have him add a box to my mom's room, the porch if needed and while he is at it, maybe my room (guessing there is no box up there) and see if he will have the time to do anything about working on getting a light in the laundry room.
We were at Lowes yesterday looking at lights. I want to replace the bathroom light as when I was last changing the lightbulb, the fixture just seemed old and like it had been overheated at one point. I know it is just a cheap little fixture and I was hoping to find something else to just toss up there. So far, I haven't really found anything that is just what I want, so the old fixture stays up for now. While I was at Lowes, I did find an inexpensive oil rubbed bronze door knob that is perfect for the closet door in the dining room. It went on with no problems and looks much nicer. I also found ceramic lightswitch and outlet covers marked way down and bought those for the bathroom. They look nice as well. I looked briefly at knobs for the kitchen cabinets, but the cheapest thing I could find would cost me about $60 to change them out and I'd be left with a few extras, so that won't be done any time soon.
Today on my way home from yoga, I stopped at Home Depot to get some lighter paint for my mom's ceiling. She painted it the same color as two of the walls and I've always felt it just looked too dark. I ate lunch and was changing into painting clothes when I totally threw out my back. I currently can barely stand up and spent most of the afternoon asleep after taking a muscle relaxant. Painting the ceiling is on hold and I'm glad I got the doorknob switched out this AM as I can't do anything now.
Sunday, July 20, 2008
new living room floor lamp
The lighting redo is continuing... We got a new floor lamp at Target today, which we put in the living room. This allowed us to move the one mica style floor lamp in the living room into the dining room. We then moved the halogen light in the dining room into my mom's room to replace the halogen lamp that she had that got broken. I think it all looks very nice, but now of course I want to get a second of the new living room lamps, a Tiffany style mission design lamp, to put at the other end of the couch.
I'm still looking around for lights for the bedrooms and I can't find anything that I really like for my room at all, so that is on hold as usual. I found a light long time ago that I liked for my mom's room and I'm currently bidding on it on ebay. I have also been very dissatisfied with the kitchen light for a while. The fixture itself is fine, but the glass was broken when we moved in and we replaced it with a really awful, cheap glass shade. I had wanted to get a new fixture until I found a really great glass shade on Rejuvenation. I think it will be perfect and the fixture they show it on looks a lot like our kitchen light. I am going to see if I can find anything similiar to it locally, as I'm not too excited about having a big glass shade shipped cross country.
I still did not get the kitchen floor cleaned, but I did finally get the front door cleaned. The steel door was new when we moved in and there was a sticker still attached to the door. I was able to peel most of it off, but never could get the residue off. I wanted to try some Goo Gone on it, but every time I thought about it, I couldn't find the Goo Gone and I only saw the Goo Gone when I was doing other things. So, finally got the residue off, I hope, and have the Goo Gone whree I can find it. The door was looking pretty dirty, so after reading on the internet, I cleaned it with Formula 409, which did a pretty good job. There are still a few dirty parts and I'm going to try a Mr Clean Magic Eraser on them and see if that helps.
It was way too hot to do anything out in the yard today other than give everything a good watering and hope for the best.
I'm still looking around for lights for the bedrooms and I can't find anything that I really like for my room at all, so that is on hold as usual. I found a light long time ago that I liked for my mom's room and I'm currently bidding on it on ebay. I have also been very dissatisfied with the kitchen light for a while. The fixture itself is fine, but the glass was broken when we moved in and we replaced it with a really awful, cheap glass shade. I had wanted to get a new fixture until I found a really great glass shade on Rejuvenation. I think it will be perfect and the fixture they show it on looks a lot like our kitchen light. I am going to see if I can find anything similiar to it locally, as I'm not too excited about having a big glass shade shipped cross country.
I still did not get the kitchen floor cleaned, but I did finally get the front door cleaned. The steel door was new when we moved in and there was a sticker still attached to the door. I was able to peel most of it off, but never could get the residue off. I wanted to try some Goo Gone on it, but every time I thought about it, I couldn't find the Goo Gone and I only saw the Goo Gone when I was doing other things. So, finally got the residue off, I hope, and have the Goo Gone whree I can find it. The door was looking pretty dirty, so after reading on the internet, I cleaned it with Formula 409, which did a pretty good job. There are still a few dirty parts and I'm going to try a Mr Clean Magic Eraser on them and see if that helps.
It was way too hot to do anything out in the yard today other than give everything a good watering and hope for the best.
big roma harvest
I had my biggest ever roma harvest today, 3 1/2 pounds! I had planned to make a roasted vegetable tomato sauce tomorrow, but with the additional tomatoes, I went ahead and used my older romas to make a basic tomato sauce and will work on the roasted sauce tomorrow. I have also harvested 3 lemon cucumbers so far, gave one to Bobbie and the other two I have kept for my mom. There is a chance I may have a pretty good harvest of them and if so, I might try to pickle a few if I can find a recipe that will work with a small amount.
I have gotten nothing done around the house despite the fact that it is way too hot to work outside. We haven't had rain in 10 days now. The grass/weeds are still green but the plants are really suffering and I think I need to up the watering on the camellias. I had some really wilty plants I watered this evening. Tomorrow will be my big watering day and I'm going to try to really soak everything. I got eaten alive by the mosquitos this evening doing the watering and finally broke down and sprayed the yard with the Bug Free Backyard stuff, but only in the shady areas. I hate doing this as I have a really good population of bees this year, which I think is helping the cukes and all the other plants. I've also seen a few ladybugs. I don't want to hurt them, but the mosquito situation just gets worse and worse. Tonight there were CLOUDS of them around me when I bent down to water some of the shrubs. I'm hoping that this evening's spraying will help with the mosquitos and not hurt the bees.
I was playing around on the internet this evening looking at ourdoor lights, as I really want to replace our light. Bellacor was having a big sale and I got a light that looked great online at about 1/3 of its retail price. I hope it is as nice in person. I'm a tad worried about trying to install it, as the current light seems to come through the vinyl on the underside of the porch roof. I'm hoping there is a box under that, so we can easily hook in the new fixture. I do think it would look better if its base was on top of, not under, the vinyl.
I have gotten nothing done around the house despite the fact that it is way too hot to work outside. We haven't had rain in 10 days now. The grass/weeds are still green but the plants are really suffering and I think I need to up the watering on the camellias. I had some really wilty plants I watered this evening. Tomorrow will be my big watering day and I'm going to try to really soak everything. I got eaten alive by the mosquitos this evening doing the watering and finally broke down and sprayed the yard with the Bug Free Backyard stuff, but only in the shady areas. I hate doing this as I have a really good population of bees this year, which I think is helping the cukes and all the other plants. I've also seen a few ladybugs. I don't want to hurt them, but the mosquito situation just gets worse and worse. Tonight there were CLOUDS of them around me when I bent down to water some of the shrubs. I'm hoping that this evening's spraying will help with the mosquitos and not hurt the bees.
I was playing around on the internet this evening looking at ourdoor lights, as I really want to replace our light. Bellacor was having a big sale and I got a light that looked great online at about 1/3 of its retail price. I hope it is as nice in person. I'm a tad worried about trying to install it, as the current light seems to come through the vinyl on the underside of the porch roof. I'm hoping there is a box under that, so we can easily hook in the new fixture. I do think it would look better if its base was on top of, not under, the vinyl.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
more rain last night
I heard thunder all night while I was at work last night, but we never actually saw it rain, though our cars were wet when we went outside. All the way home, the road was damp, so my hopes were up when I got home. I was truly shocked to see 1" in my rain gauge! I didn't water yesterday morning because everything still felt damp. Obviously I didn't need to water this AM and this PM it seems like things are still okay. I'm hearing thunder again tonight, so I'm hoping we may still have a shot at more rain. The grass is actually starting to green up just a bit, or may it is just the weeds!
I'm not feeling well today, but I was able to go outside this evening and make a green bean harvest. We are having them in a stir fry for dinner. I also saw my second baby cucumber on my cucumber plants, so they are hanging in there. I do believe that my squash are done for though. Due to the bug issue this year, which I think killed them, I don't know if I will give them a shot next year.
I'm not feeling well today, but I was able to go outside this evening and make a green bean harvest. We are having them in a stir fry for dinner. I also saw my second baby cucumber on my cucumber plants, so they are hanging in there. I do believe that my squash are done for though. Due to the bug issue this year, which I think killed them, I don't know if I will give them a shot next year.
Monday, July 07, 2008
first pesto of the year
I havested about 2 cups of basil on Saturday and today I finally got around to making my first batch of pesto for the season. I used some of it to make pesto pizza, enough for dinner tonight and a lunch later this week. I did not water at all today due to the rain this weekend, but I will need to water at least the container plants tomorrow morning.
Sunday, July 06, 2008
second day of rain
Yesterday afternoon's rainstorm came to about 1/2", so it was about 1" overall for Saturday. This AM I woke up to the sound of a pounding rainstorm and had to sneak a peek at the tomatoes, who all seemed okay before curling back in bed. Today would have been my big watering day, but we got enough rain that I didn't need to. When I did get up, I checked the rain gauge and it showed about 3/4" from the overnight and AM rainstorms.
Again this evening we had a storm that hit just when we had gotten back from the store. This storm wasn't as long, and we got about 1/6". Still 1" yesterday and almost 1" today has been great. The weather report is still calling for rain for the next few days, so I really hope the storms keep coming.
Again this evening we had a storm that hit just when we had gotten back from the store. This storm wasn't as long, and we got about 1/6". Still 1" yesterday and almost 1" today has been great. The weather report is still calling for rain for the next few days, so I really hope the storms keep coming.
Saturday, July 05, 2008
really pouring now
I finally decided I needed to run out and get some more staking tape, as my dahlias and some of the tomatoes needed to be tied up some more and they were calling for rain. On the way home there was HUGE crack of thunder that made me jump. I got back home and started tying up 'Pink Accordion' to a taller stake. It had started to rain when I was pretty much done with that, then I ran over and tied up 'Lavender Perfection' dahlia, that was starting to lean some and got back inside before it started pouring. Looking out the window I'm already wishing I had gone out a bit earlier, so I could have staked my 'Black Pineapples'. They are all young, so none have stakes and they are really blowing in this hard rain. I don't like the staking tape I got at Home Depot. I don't know if there is something wrong with it or if it is always this way, but it is thick, oily and not very stretchy. I'll get it at Lowes from now on.
This is the first really hard rain I remember in it seems like months now.
This is the first really hard rain I remember in it seems like months now.
rain at last!
We have gotten 1/2" of rain this afternoon. It isn't all that we need, but it is so much more than we have gotten, so I'm happy for that. I'm hoping that it won't be all for the day.
This AM I was out in the yard and there were bugs ALL OVER my squash. No wonder the plants have not been doing well. I think I may just pull the squash plants. I don't really need anything that attracts munchy bugs to my yard. I did reseed the squash today, but that was before I found all the bugs, so I'm going to think about it overnight.
I also discovered today that what I thought were new flower pods on my Stella d'Oro daylilies were actually SEED pods. Two had split open and only had a few seeds left in them. So, I collected the few seeds I saw and sowed them out in a little 4" pot. I'll have to look up growing daylilies from seed, as I think one of my others has set seed as well. I'm always looking for more daylilies for the ditch!
I also moved 2 of the 3 purple hydrangeas outside for at least part of the day. They are doing well, but the 3rd has a bad case of the wilts and is staying indoors were I can mist it regularly. If it starts to look worse, it may go back in the water.
I have decided that I really want to do something serious about replacing the porch light, which I have always hated. I'm going to have to look around online and see what I can find. I'm still not sure what size light would look the best, but I think at 8"- 12" would probably be the best as far as scale goes.
This AM I was out in the yard and there were bugs ALL OVER my squash. No wonder the plants have not been doing well. I think I may just pull the squash plants. I don't really need anything that attracts munchy bugs to my yard. I did reseed the squash today, but that was before I found all the bugs, so I'm going to think about it overnight.
I also discovered today that what I thought were new flower pods on my Stella d'Oro daylilies were actually SEED pods. Two had split open and only had a few seeds left in them. So, I collected the few seeds I saw and sowed them out in a little 4" pot. I'll have to look up growing daylilies from seed, as I think one of my others has set seed as well. I'm always looking for more daylilies for the ditch!
I also moved 2 of the 3 purple hydrangeas outside for at least part of the day. They are doing well, but the 3rd has a bad case of the wilts and is staying indoors were I can mist it regularly. If it starts to look worse, it may go back in the water.
I have decided that I really want to do something serious about replacing the porch light, which I have always hated. I'm going to have to look around online and see what I can find. I'm still not sure what size light would look the best, but I think at 8"- 12" would probably be the best as far as scale goes.
Friday, July 04, 2008
I hate fireworks
I have been a bit slack about keeping up with the blog lately, as not much has been going on other than the almost constant watering. I've been getting some nice tomato harvests lately, but I'm still waiting for enough ripe romas to try to make a tomato cream sauce. I don't want to sauce the big heirlooms, as they are supposed to be for fresh eating and saucing the cherries would be too much work. We had the roasted cherry tomato pasta dish again and it was very good again. We will probably have it next week as well. Last night fore dinner we ate two of the eggplants. I do want to try and make an eggplant and tomato dish that we had last year that I really liked. I found the recipe again, so maybe later this week.Today I got a really late start on the day, but did give the yard a good watering. It was in the mid-90s today and I got hot and tired just from that little bit of outside work. I did repot the 'Blushing Bride' and 'Merritt's Surpreme' baby hydrangeas I'm growing into trade gallon pots. They can grow out in those until next spring. I am also working on getting the 'Double Pink' rooted cutting to start living outside. The last time I left it outside all day it almost died, so I'm trying a much slower approach this time. In other hydrangea news, I potted up the 3 cutting Mrs Phillips gave me from her purple hydrangea. They had been in water for 3 weeks and grew roots a ways up their stems. I actually had to cut leaves off one cutting, as the roots extended past the leaves. They will try a few hours outside tomorrow as well.
I'm tired and would like to go to bed, but there are constant fireworks. There have been fireworks for the last two nights and I'm sure it will continue for several more nights. These aren't even the pretty ones, just the ones that make a little explosion and the awful whistling ones. Times like this I wish they were illegal.
The really ugly house across the street from us had been on the market, but it never sold. Then they put up a for rent sign ($690/month- wow...) and it was rented in about a week. We saw the U-Haul for the new residents and have seen a van there, but we still haven't seen them.
Saturday, June 28, 2008
first attempt at tomato sauce
Today was once again hot and I watered twice. I also got a pretty good harvest, including a lot of the romas that were suffering from blossom end rot. I figured they would not keep too well once picked, so I would need to do something with them ASAP. I didn't have a ton, but I decided to try to make tomato sauce. I used a modification for a recipe in the book Mediteranean Harvest.
I sauteed 2 cloves of garlic in 2 T of olive oil, with about 1 t minced onion over medium heat. Then I added all the tomatoes, about 1/4 t minced red pepper, 1 sprig of thyme and some basil leaves. This was then simmered over medium-low heat for maybe 10-15 minutes (I didn't have that many tomatoes). I don't have a food mill, so I pulled out one big chunk that looked like the end of a tomato, then ran it all through the food processor. I think it tastes pretty good and is spicy! I'll have it over pasta for dinner on Monday night.
I was able to fix the part that had blown off the hose and gave the front yard a good watering today. Things in the back are looking okay. I got some new fiberglass planters at Sams Club Thursday night and have planted up the 2 'Black Pineapple' tomatoes I was never able to place out. I'm now growing FOUR plants of this tomato, so I hope it produces well and that we like it.
I sauteed 2 cloves of garlic in 2 T of olive oil, with about 1 t minced onion over medium heat. Then I added all the tomatoes, about 1/4 t minced red pepper, 1 sprig of thyme and some basil leaves. This was then simmered over medium-low heat for maybe 10-15 minutes (I didn't have that many tomatoes). I don't have a food mill, so I pulled out one big chunk that looked like the end of a tomato, then ran it all through the food processor. I think it tastes pretty good and is spicy! I'll have it over pasta for dinner on Monday night.
I was able to fix the part that had blown off the hose and gave the front yard a good watering today. Things in the back are looking okay. I got some new fiberglass planters at Sams Club Thursday night and have planted up the 2 'Black Pineapple' tomatoes I was never able to place out. I'm now growing FOUR plants of this tomato, so I hope it produces well and that we like it.
Thursday, June 26, 2008
water bill may be the biggest problem
After coming inside and typing up a few things and worrying, I decided to go back out with a lantern and check out the situation literally on the ground. I think, other than my water bill, that I may have dodged the bullet. Our super-dry ground may have helped because the very areas that were squishy when I first turned off the water are only moist to the touch just about 10 minutes later and the two plants I was most worried about are surrounded by dry mulch. My forsythia seems like it got some water, but probably just a nice deep watering, as the top layer of soil doesn't even seem that moist.
Now, of course, I am still imagining a $500 water bill. I'm going to call the water company tomorrow (not that I think it will do any good).
Now, of course, I am still imagining a $500 water bill. I'm going to call the water company tomorrow (not that I think it will do any good).
disaster in the side yard
I went to wash my hands a few minutes ago, and the water pressure just didn't seem right. I thought... what if I somehow forgot to turn off the water this afternoon when I was done watering the front yard, so I went to check.
My worst fears were confirmed, I had left the water on. The spray nozzle on the water wand was turned off, but the ground underneath my feet squished where I walked. The hose that connects diretly to the hosemobile has been blown apart in some fashion, I'll have to investigate it in the morning.
Currently I am worried about two things: 1) my water bill- which is going to be huge as the water was running for 12 hours, though I don't know how long the hose held before it blew and 2) my plants in the area that was soaked for that long. I am most worried about the forsythia, as it is closest to the area where the hosemobile is and where the water would be coming out. The water would have poured on this area. I am also worried about my 'Gentian Dome' and 'Mini Penny' hydrangeas that are also in the general area and my creeping phlox. I am hoping that the fact that the ground is so dry will work in my favor and that some of the water will have run off, to be absorbed in other areas and that none of the areas will have become waterlogged. Obviously, I won't be watering in these areas any time soon.
It will be daylight before I can really access the damage and it may be a week or more before I can tell if the plants were damaged. I'm going to hope for the best.
My worst fears were confirmed, I had left the water on. The spray nozzle on the water wand was turned off, but the ground underneath my feet squished where I walked. The hose that connects diretly to the hosemobile has been blown apart in some fashion, I'll have to investigate it in the morning.
Currently I am worried about two things: 1) my water bill- which is going to be huge as the water was running for 12 hours, though I don't know how long the hose held before it blew and 2) my plants in the area that was soaked for that long. I am most worried about the forsythia, as it is closest to the area where the hosemobile is and where the water would be coming out. The water would have poured on this area. I am also worried about my 'Gentian Dome' and 'Mini Penny' hydrangeas that are also in the general area and my creeping phlox. I am hoping that the fact that the ground is so dry will work in my favor and that some of the water will have run off, to be absorbed in other areas and that none of the areas will have become waterlogged. Obviously, I won't be watering in these areas any time soon.
It will be daylight before I can really access the damage and it may be a week or more before I can tell if the plants were damaged. I'm going to hope for the best.
Monday, June 23, 2008
finally- new hose
Not the most exciting thing to write about, but something I've been meaning to do for a long time... The "never kink" hose I bought last fall should have been an "always kink" and has been driving me nuts for months. Of course, I lost the receipt so I can't take it back, even though it has a 6 year warrenty and has started to leak.
So, the plan for a long time has been to get a new hose, but the ones that seem to work well cost about $25 and lets face it, I can get a 3 gallon hydrangea for that (or 6 gallons of gas). So, no hose for quite a while. Today I was at Wal-Mart and went in through the garden center. They had 50' "professional" hoses with a lifetime guarentee for $19, so I figured why. This time I'm stapling the receipt to the paper it came with with the guarentee, so if it fails I can take it back. I did some watering this evening with the new hose and it seems to work well. It is a bit heavier than the other hose, so I may hook it directly to the hosemobile and use the other hose and the one I drag around. That, and rolling up the old hose to shove it in the back of the yard (since I DOES still work, it just sucks), are tasks for Wednesday AM.
In other exciting news, I got my sun hat today! I was following a discussion on Myfolia about garden hats and someone linked to the Sungrubbies.com site and I couldn't resist this hat. Okay, so it is probably not the MOST practical garden hat, but it will give me lots of sun protection and look great!
So, the plan for a long time has been to get a new hose, but the ones that seem to work well cost about $25 and lets face it, I can get a 3 gallon hydrangea for that (or 6 gallons of gas). So, no hose for quite a while. Today I was at Wal-Mart and went in through the garden center. They had 50' "professional" hoses with a lifetime guarentee for $19, so I figured why. This time I'm stapling the receipt to the paper it came with with the guarentee, so if it fails I can take it back. I did some watering this evening with the new hose and it seems to work well. It is a bit heavier than the other hose, so I may hook it directly to the hosemobile and use the other hose and the one I drag around. That, and rolling up the old hose to shove it in the back of the yard (since I DOES still work, it just sucks), are tasks for Wednesday AM.
In other exciting news, I got my sun hat today! I was following a discussion on Myfolia about garden hats and someone linked to the Sungrubbies.com site and I couldn't resist this hat. Okay, so it is probably not the MOST practical garden hat, but it will give me lots of sun protection and look great!
Sunday, June 22, 2008
not much other than watering
It is that time of year, there isn't much to be done in the garden other than watering, harvesting and weeding. I'm sure there are areas I could weed, but trying to kill of the poison ivy is enough for right now. On Friday AM, I cleared the area I plan to plant the fatsia in. I pulled out a bunch of honeysuckle and cut back all the privet that was growing in the area. Once it is a bit cooler, I think I'll need to dig out all the privet stumps and add some compost to the soil. The soil in this area gets really dry from all the tree roots. I still haven't decided if I am going to plant the fatsia this fall or let it grow on in the pot for another year.Today I watered and harvested and photographed in the morning, then watered and photographed a bit in the afternoon. I did get some good shots.
Daylily 'Fairy Tale Pink'- first bloom for it this year
Tomato harvest- 4 Early Girl, 2 German Pink, 1 Cherokee Purple and cherries
Orange ditch lily
Tricolor sage
Veggie garden part 1- by the fence
Veggie garden part 2- in the yard
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
always more watering
Yesterday I was not feeling well, so I didn't go to yoga. Instead, I did a bit of work in the yard after work. I mixed up some aluminum sulfate water, using 2 tbsp this time and warm water as directed on one web site and watered all the Endless Summers in the back yard, Gentian Dome, the Penny Macs and the potted Together. I'm hoping if any of them put out a late bloom this will help them have a nice blue color.
Today and yesterday I did some more work on the endless task of tying up the tomatoes. It has been so hot and dry lately that I'm not getting much fruit set. I hope this trend doesn't continue, becuase while I'll get 5+ tomatoes off each plant if it does, I'm hoping for a bigger harvest.
Daylilies are blooming, but I think they are getting close to the end. I've noticed that particularly on the ones in the front yard, some of the buds are drying up without ever opening. I think this super hot, dry weather has been very hard on all the plants. I did get some good daylily pictures today.
Route 66
Pushmataha
Smokey Mountain Autumn
Unloosed Joy
Today and yesterday I did some more work on the endless task of tying up the tomatoes. It has been so hot and dry lately that I'm not getting much fruit set. I hope this trend doesn't continue, becuase while I'll get 5+ tomatoes off each plant if it does, I'm hoping for a bigger harvest.
Daylilies are blooming, but I think they are getting close to the end. I've noticed that particularly on the ones in the front yard, some of the buds are drying up without ever opening. I think this super hot, dry weather has been very hard on all the plants. I did get some good daylily pictures today.
Route 66
Pushmataha
Smokey Mountain Autumn
Unloosed Joy
Sunday, June 15, 2008
got a little bit done today
The heat is really keeping me from doing much in the yard, but I got a bit of work done today. This morning I watered the entire back yard, but the front some how got forgotten so I have to try to catch that up tomorrow. I repotted my new Endless Summer into a 3 gallon container to live for the rest of the year while I figure out where to go with it. Cityline Venice went into a big pot I had gotten at Sams Club a while back figuring I'd find a use for it sooner or later. I think it is just perfect for Venice.
My other big project of the day was digging up Masja hydrangea. It was probably too small to really plant out last fall and it was killed to the ground over the winter. This spring it did come up, but seems to be struggling and not putting out much growth. I dug it up and it will live in a pot at least until next spring. I'm hoping that this will get it growing stronger before it goes back in the ground. I put my 2nd Together in the space where Masja has been. It is a much bigger plant, so hopefully it will be able to thrive there.
In the afternoon, I got some work done on the veggies. I pulled up the last of the lettuce. I currently have too many squash in the windowbox, so I dug up the smallest one and potted it up to give away. Then I dug up two that were really close together and moved one where the lettuce had been and put the other in an 8" (probably too small, but it was at hand at the time) pot. I'm hoping that I did not disturb the roots too much. If I don't get many squash, I'll figure it was because they did not have enough room.
Speaking of room, I had planned to try to thin the cucumbers, but their roots have totally taken over the whole pot. So, I built a trellis out of bamboo stakes and either attached or tied each of the plants on to its own stake. We will see if this works. Other people have successfully grown lemon cucumbers in pots, so it may not entirely be mission impossible.
I was trying to get rid of all the remaining pots of pansies and violas, so with two others that I had left I seeded one in with Genovese basil and planted 4 bush bean seeds in the other pot. My current group of bush beans are starting to flower.
My Jagged Edge daylily bloomed this weekend and it is really fugly. Not at all the expected color. I don't know if it was that particular bloom, heat and drought stress or what. I'm hoping some of the other blooms are a better color.
Endless Summer hydrangea- this is why I grow them!
My other big project of the day was digging up Masja hydrangea. It was probably too small to really plant out last fall and it was killed to the ground over the winter. This spring it did come up, but seems to be struggling and not putting out much growth. I dug it up and it will live in a pot at least until next spring. I'm hoping that this will get it growing stronger before it goes back in the ground. I put my 2nd Together in the space where Masja has been. It is a much bigger plant, so hopefully it will be able to thrive there.
In the afternoon, I got some work done on the veggies. I pulled up the last of the lettuce. I currently have too many squash in the windowbox, so I dug up the smallest one and potted it up to give away. Then I dug up two that were really close together and moved one where the lettuce had been and put the other in an 8" (probably too small, but it was at hand at the time) pot. I'm hoping that I did not disturb the roots too much. If I don't get many squash, I'll figure it was because they did not have enough room.
Speaking of room, I had planned to try to thin the cucumbers, but their roots have totally taken over the whole pot. So, I built a trellis out of bamboo stakes and either attached or tied each of the plants on to its own stake. We will see if this works. Other people have successfully grown lemon cucumbers in pots, so it may not entirely be mission impossible.
I was trying to get rid of all the remaining pots of pansies and violas, so with two others that I had left I seeded one in with Genovese basil and planted 4 bush bean seeds in the other pot. My current group of bush beans are starting to flower.
My Jagged Edge daylily bloomed this weekend and it is really fugly. Not at all the expected color. I don't know if it was that particular bloom, heat and drought stress or what. I'm hoping some of the other blooms are a better color.
Endless Summer hydrangea- this is why I grow them!
Friday, June 13, 2008
massive hydrangea haul
I was on vacation all last week and since getting back pretty much all I've done is water. Today I was off work and wanted to try to get some work done in the yard before the heat really hit for the day. Bobbie had brought over some petunias she found on super mark down and I used some of them to make up a few pots, replacing the pansies that are now dead. Wednesday AM I also pulled out some dead pansies.
After potting up a few things, I ran out of potting soil and we went out to Lowes to run some errands. Monday night I had been at the Woodruff Rd Lowes and seen a lacecap hydrangea 'Claudie' that was really nice, but I didn't get it due to money and space issues. I was hoping that maybe they would still have it and I could get it. When we got there, the store was pretty much wiped out and there were not many hydrangeas left at all. It turned out that ALL there shrubs were on sale 75% off. At that point, I just decided to get ANY hdyrangea that looked good and sort it out back at the house. All told it came to $30. I got:
3 Forver and Ever 'Double Pink' - 1 gallon
2 Forever and Ever 'Red'- 3 gallon
1 'Madame Emilie Moulliere' - 3 gallon (originally marked $4.98 instead of $14.98)
1 'Glory Blue' - 3 gallon
1 'Merritt's Pink'- 1 gallon
1 'Endless Summer'- 1 gallon
After that, we went down to the Lowes in Simpsonville to see if they had the same sale and what they had. NO SALE in Simpsonville, but they DID have the 'Together' totally double hydrangeas I had wanted to get for Mrs Phillips, so I bought 3 of them, 1 each for me, Bobbie and Mrs Phillips. My mom fell in love with a huge beautiful 3 gallon 'Cityline Venice' so I got that as well. Those FOUR hydrangeas came to more than the big haul on Woodruff Rd, but it was worth it to get the 'Togethers' and 'Venice' is a real show stopper right now.
Massive haul of six Forever and Evers- 75% off
I told Bobbie and Mrs Phillips that the 'Togethers' were 75% off... I gave them each a 'Together' and a 'Double Pink' and gave the other 'Red' to Bobbie. That had found some of the original Fovever and Evers in 1 gallon pots marked down to $3 the other day, so now they have some of the special ones too. During our visit to Mrs Phillips, we saw the most INCREDIBLE hydrangea. It is just the color I've been wanting, a deep purplish blue. It was so beautiful! She gave us 3 cuttings, which I have put in water to root. I'm hoping they root well, but I doubt I'll get the same exact color, probably partially due to her soil in that particular area. A total showstopper! She also gave me some cleomes, which I planted at the back of the annual bed.
Cityline Venice- couldn't let this beauty slip away twice
Part of the haul staying with me
After potting up a few things, I ran out of potting soil and we went out to Lowes to run some errands. Monday night I had been at the Woodruff Rd Lowes and seen a lacecap hydrangea 'Claudie' that was really nice, but I didn't get it due to money and space issues. I was hoping that maybe they would still have it and I could get it. When we got there, the store was pretty much wiped out and there were not many hydrangeas left at all. It turned out that ALL there shrubs were on sale 75% off. At that point, I just decided to get ANY hdyrangea that looked good and sort it out back at the house. All told it came to $30. I got:
3 Forver and Ever 'Double Pink' - 1 gallon
2 Forever and Ever 'Red'- 3 gallon
1 'Madame Emilie Moulliere' - 3 gallon (originally marked $4.98 instead of $14.98)
1 'Glory Blue' - 3 gallon
1 'Merritt's Pink'- 1 gallon
1 'Endless Summer'- 1 gallon
After that, we went down to the Lowes in Simpsonville to see if they had the same sale and what they had. NO SALE in Simpsonville, but they DID have the 'Together' totally double hydrangeas I had wanted to get for Mrs Phillips, so I bought 3 of them, 1 each for me, Bobbie and Mrs Phillips. My mom fell in love with a huge beautiful 3 gallon 'Cityline Venice' so I got that as well. Those FOUR hydrangeas came to more than the big haul on Woodruff Rd, but it was worth it to get the 'Togethers' and 'Venice' is a real show stopper right now.
Massive haul of six Forever and Evers- 75% off
I told Bobbie and Mrs Phillips that the 'Togethers' were 75% off... I gave them each a 'Together' and a 'Double Pink' and gave the other 'Red' to Bobbie. That had found some of the original Fovever and Evers in 1 gallon pots marked down to $3 the other day, so now they have some of the special ones too. During our visit to Mrs Phillips, we saw the most INCREDIBLE hydrangea. It is just the color I've been wanting, a deep purplish blue. It was so beautiful! She gave us 3 cuttings, which I have put in water to root. I'm hoping they root well, but I doubt I'll get the same exact color, probably partially due to her soil in that particular area. A total showstopper! She also gave me some cleomes, which I planted at the back of the annual bed.
Cityline Venice- couldn't let this beauty slip away twice
Part of the haul staying with me
Monday, May 26, 2008
planting camellia and so much more
This AM I went out and did things with Bobbie, so no work in the yard beyond watering. After a quick lunch, we went out to plant the camellia. The digging went fairly quickly and I was able to get the camellia positioned in well. I also decided that I was going to plant the two Stella D'Oro daylilies I had bought on either side of the camellia. I think they help give the whole area a more finished off look.
While I was out working on the camellia, some boys from a house up the street came by to see if I needed my grass cut. After barginning with them just a bit, we settled on $15 (what I had paid the guy who cut my phlox) and they came and got it done in about 1/2 the time he had. I told them not to worry about trying to edge it, as I could do that myself. The whole yard looks so much better with short grass. Also, I had done some more weeding this morning and spread some of the seed soil, then seeded in some grass. The grass being cut almost but a little mulch over those areas, so hopefully that will help conserve water a bit. After the grass was cut, I could see a big section in the center of the yard that was just bare dirt. So, I spread some of the seed soil, trying to spread it a bit heavier than I did in the shade area as the underlying dirt in this area is awful, then seeded in some of the grass seed I bought that is for sun areas. This area is going to be much harder to keep moist, it will require at least 2x per day watering, but again it is a relatively small area and should be doable by hand watering.
After the grass work, we went over to Bobbie's to have supper and get some lirope. I am not good with a mattock and Bobbie ended up whacking it out for me. I also stopped by Lowes, where cyprus mulch was $1.69 instead of the usual $2.00, so I got 8 bags.
I got home about 7:15 PM and needed to get the lirope planted around the edge of the newly extended foundation bed and also around the Bradford Pear and then spread the mulch. The lirope planted went really quickly because the dirt had all been worked before. I had enough to finish out the foundation bed and then some small pieces that I used to start planting under the Bradford Pear. Spreading the mulch around the newly planted lirope was a bit time consuming to try to get it to look good, but the rest went quickly and 8 bags were just enough to do the job.
I am quite exhausted after a very busy but productive weekend. I didn't get to the poison ivy though...
While I was out working on the camellia, some boys from a house up the street came by to see if I needed my grass cut. After barginning with them just a bit, we settled on $15 (what I had paid the guy who cut my phlox) and they came and got it done in about 1/2 the time he had. I told them not to worry about trying to edge it, as I could do that myself. The whole yard looks so much better with short grass. Also, I had done some more weeding this morning and spread some of the seed soil, then seeded in some grass. The grass being cut almost but a little mulch over those areas, so hopefully that will help conserve water a bit. After the grass was cut, I could see a big section in the center of the yard that was just bare dirt. So, I spread some of the seed soil, trying to spread it a bit heavier than I did in the shade area as the underlying dirt in this area is awful, then seeded in some of the grass seed I bought that is for sun areas. This area is going to be much harder to keep moist, it will require at least 2x per day watering, but again it is a relatively small area and should be doable by hand watering.
After the grass work, we went over to Bobbie's to have supper and get some lirope. I am not good with a mattock and Bobbie ended up whacking it out for me. I also stopped by Lowes, where cyprus mulch was $1.69 instead of the usual $2.00, so I got 8 bags.
I got home about 7:15 PM and needed to get the lirope planted around the edge of the newly extended foundation bed and also around the Bradford Pear and then spread the mulch. The lirope planted went really quickly because the dirt had all been worked before. I had enough to finish out the foundation bed and then some small pieces that I used to start planting under the Bradford Pear. Spreading the mulch around the newly planted lirope was a bit time consuming to try to get it to look good, but the rest went quickly and 8 bags were just enough to do the job.
I am quite exhausted after a very busy but productive weekend. I didn't get to the poison ivy though...
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