Things of Note

In the days before the crushing heat of summertime bear down and send me indoors sulking over a Margarita...magic happens, and there have been some things that I want to remember for next year.

The first apricot!

Last year my little apricot tree made one fruit, eaten by a squirrel. This year we got over 30! The stinkbugs tried to ruin my joy, but after I bit into this soft, warm, scarred beauty, I realized that I could share. They aren't pretty on the outside, but the taste is unbeatable!

Peruvian Lily
This is becoming one of my favorite flowers. She's been blooming since April and the end doesn't seem near. I can't remember how long she continues to show off, but I'll pay closer attention this year.

The first tomato was the cherry-heirloom Yellow Pear, she was ready for the tasting Monday, May 24. It was delicious. Everything is looking flush and full, though I'm afraid that harvesting the apricots will send the stinkbugs to my tomatoes! Some nasty red spidery thing knocked off 8 squash (not on the three sisters.) I never made it out to get dill for my companion planting...so I'll have to worry over the borer...daily. Last year the mum/dill combo did the trick.

The bean is passing up the corn!

I'm 5'3"...hardly "as high as an Elephant's eye" but I'm feeling mighty proud!

The Mexican Petunia is coming back predictably...but this shot has more meaning than that. The Redbud in the center will be down, transformed into yard art by the weekend.

Toadstool tea anyone? There will be one more seat for my new niece/nephew soon. I'm having 3 trees removed on Friday because they are dropping limbs and are infested with carpenter ants. The sycamore out front, the tree that made me fall in love with this old house 14 years ago will be forever transformed, and for that, I am truly sad.

The wild, garish color of the Canna Lily always makes me smile!

The darling of my heart, Dorothy Belle enjoying the lush lawn. I never thought it would come back after October's tour. We did loose our "honeymoon tree" an African Acacia that my husband grew from seed. I guess the honeymoon's over? Nod, nod, wink, wink. So, I've got a little empty spot...what to plant?

I like to get a shot of the window boxes early on because I know by fall the potato vine and sedum will be half-way to the ground and looking wild.

Impatiens
My friend Ila warned me about planting them in the ground..."they'll take over" she said. Well, she was right. Fortunately, like the Heart leaf Skullcap that tries to dominate the same area, they are both easily plucked out of the ground.

Black and Blue Sage, I've been seeing photos of her on nearly every other blog I visit...so I thought I'd chime in.

Buddleia

What a tough gal is Buddleia! I put in 5 little ones last fall, because I found them on sale. This year I had to move 3 of them because they got too big for their location and I was afraid I'd done the wrong thing because they were such fainting-ladies after the operation. Now they're blooming like crazy! Their blooms are just magical!

Sago Palm

Check out the size of the heart on this plant. Last year she took up a 5ft. area in my garden. She's coming back for an encore!

The baby fronds are soft enough to run your fingers through!

We're almost to the end of the spring planting/transplanting season and I have just a few things left to do before the girls leave for a month and spouse and I start working on the back fence, the lean-too on the chicken coop and...probably a bunny run. But, before the silence steps in and the workload increases, I'm enjoying the daily miracles in the yard and hope you are too!

Happy Gardening!

Wordy Wednesday...

Wanna bunny? I caved at Christmas and let my 15 and 17 year old daughters (see photo of irresponsible, yet angelic looking teens below to the left in bluebonnets) pick a baby bunny tiny enough to fit in their palms with the classic knee bending wails and promises of...I'll take care of them, you won't have to do a thing! Truth is, they are adorable. The fat one (Dasher, or dinner) squints her eyes when I give her a rub down and she is ohhhh so soft. But, they are uncomfortable in their tiny hutch, so we let them have run of the garden for several hours a day...and they're tearing it up. They dig holes everywhere, and eat everything. The only thing that's improved since they've arrived is the state of my compost, which is rapidly breaking down with the added poop. BTW, I can hear your thinking...fool. I know, I'm a fool for saying yes, but they are old enough to understand the word responsibility. Now...to figure out a plan...it'll be hard to find a home for them, and even harder to eat them...so, here lies the dilemma. I'm open to suggestions.

Bobble and Dasher

(see photo of bunny damage in GBBD post below)

I got several comments about the state of my Pride of Barbados in the Bloom Day tally, but this little guy came as a total surprise. This is the only surviving Philippine Violet out of 6, that I had planted over 2 years ago. I'm chalking up these tropical beauties to my lazy gardening skills. I came down with a horrid spring bug, that lasted over 3 weeks, plus took on a full time job, and am handling the majority of the household/teen drama duties due to loving spouse, who also works full time and is a full time PhD student...who today is taking his orals today, followed by a week of comps and lengthy research papers due...pruning was at the bottom of my list...well, all winter and up until this past weekend. (how's that for a run-on?) I believe that's what saved these plants...the shrub overgrowth around them insulated them from the cold where as the other's got zapped. The violet was completely covered by the neighboring Powess Castle, who provided a blessed fortress...thank you, from Ms. Violet.

Also discovered, while yanking out the aggressive Heart leaf Skullcap, this lone Brugmansia, one of 3 that made it! Oh, the turtle wins this race! Hurray for lazy pruners, say the weenie, faaancy plants and me.

And coming up strong is the Sago Palm! Hurray...nothing there to protect her, but after a long pruning...the first set of fronds is coming up strong. I thought the one out front, on the hell strip was a goner, everything brown so I pruned her down to the poky coconut shaped ball that she is without her hair-doo and thought I'd yank her out, roots and all when I had more energy...she's back too!

This last shot is a progress report on the three sisters, my only spring project. My mother gave me a package of Three Sisters, with instructions...so, I thought I'd give it a shot. I never knew exactly how the setup worked even though I'd heard about it since Jr. High geography class and I'm assuming a lot of gardeners don't know either...thinking...you put 'em all together and see what happens. Well, here's the deal. You first plant the corn, then when it's 4 inches high you plant the bean about 6 inches away. When the bean is up and sprouts, you plant the squash 6 inches away, in a triangle. Now the Indians planted them with a fish, I just used fish emulsion. The idea is that the bean uses the corn as a trellis and the squash keeps their feet cool by providing an umbrella to their feets. Then there's some chemical thing that supports the three of them...that part I still don't have down...but right now I'm just tickled pink about my girls! They're almost as tall as I! I didn't know what would be the best location, so I have one set in a pot, and one on the other side of the culinary garden so when the corn tassels, I'll have to run around like a bee pollinating the three locations...lesson learned, also it was just dumb on my part to put this group (the one in the photo above) on the outside of the gated garden because I've already had to chase chickens and bunnies away!

Wanna bunny?

So, tonight...after the cohort defends their ground, they're coming to my garden to celebrate and imbibe some of spouses Double Chocolate Stout (funny how he finds time to brew but not clean huh?) and BBQ. Knowing this was coming, I made my first trip to the nursery this year...FIRST...can you believe it? I laid down 100$ to replace my hanging baskets and fill my window planters and rock garden out front, picked up some soil and a 20ft. piece of hose for one of my water collection stations and I'm promising myself to keep the dollars to a minimum because we're still trying to recover from all the spending last year before the garden tour...this will be tough...because I've missed several plant exchanges this spring, including Elayne Lansford's exotic plant exchange that happens only once a year! I usually come home with the pick-up truck bed cram packed...but the garden looks pretty good considering my lack of time. 7 more days teaching school...and then WEEEEEEEE, summer vacation and back to my favorite time and place...homestead tv and tending the tenders.

Happy Gardening!

If you want a bunny, or know someone who does pleeeeeease let me know!