Monday, June 29, 2009

I Love Progress


Hello everyone! We got the grass dug out of the new back bed this weekend. Poor Jamie ended up doing every bit of it by himself! Our helper was a complete no show, the bad part is that he was just across the street. Soooooo, it took two days to get the grass out. Jamie and I worked until noon both days at that point the heat was unbearable and we had to stop. I helped, but Jamie is the one that did all the hard work. I was forced (by Jamie) to sit on a bucket and pick grass out of the dirt. That grass was terribly hard to get up… very, very hard. When we stopped Saturday Jamie’s hands were covered in blisters. Sunday he got up, wrapped his hands in gauze bandages and kept digging until he was done. What we were willing to pay for help would have averaged out to almost 20 dollars an hour. I can’t believe we couldn’t find anyone dependable to assist us. Anyway, I digress. We still want to tweak the curves a little, we aren’t completely satisfied with the shape yet, but the worst part is behind us.

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We still need to amend the soil, but right now the ground is just way too hard to do it. We are going to have to wait for some rain to come and soften it up.

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I also strolled around the yard looking for some decent color to share with you. The pickins’ were slim, this is all I could come up with for now. The 'Raspberry Wine' monarda is still holding up.

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We bought three monarda to go in the garden. I thought two of them had died, but 'Dark Ponticum' made a comeback after it was a no show last year.

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A nameless Daylily...

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'Honeycomb' a sweet butterfly treat, but where are the butterflies?

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'Double Decker' coneflower. It's only "double decked" once for us.

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Last but not least, a sun faded Hibiscus.

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Thursday, June 25, 2009

A Break From the Heat


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Doesn’t that picture look refreshing? These are photos that Jamie took at Chimney Rock Park on our vacation. I thought with all the heat you guys might enjoy a little cool water. The mist that you see in the air is the clouds in the mountain tops. Enjoy the pictures while I fill you in on the goings on in the garden.

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Yesterday I thought I would brave the heat and snap a few photos for you. It’s been so hot outside this week I haven’t even walked around the garden. Tuesday the heat index was 110° and it was just miserable outside. I thought surely I would at least find something that I could take a picture of to share with you. Regrettably the garden is a sad sight now.

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We are fortunate to have had the good sense to install a fairly complicated drip system last spring that waters everything in the entire yard for us, front, back and sides. With the exception of a couple of new plants that have been put in the ground recently. The hanging baskets, planters and even the birdbath are connected to it, so it all gets water. Even so, the sun is taking its toll on the plants. Yesterday as I walked around I found the plants blooming their hearts out only to have their petals dried to a brown crisp. Even the foliage is bleached shades of tan and yellow every where you look.

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Not to worry, these temperatures can’t last forever. The rain will come; dead and damaged foliage and blooms will be removed and replaced by vibrant colors. All will be beautiful in our little Eden again and the blog will be filled with vivid photos. Saturday we start to work on the new bed again. Wish us luck and a speedy completion!

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Friday, June 19, 2009

Gardening Gone Wild Photo Contest


The Gardening Gone Wild June photo contest is the Rose. Here are a few of my favorite rose photos. Good luck to everyone.

Rosa banksiae 'Lutea'

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Climbing Hybrid Tea Rose 'Peace'

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Climbing Rose 'New Dawn'

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