October 25, 2012

Ahhhhh, what a difference a few days can make!

I am happy to say, all of the roses are now planted! Yeah! That doesn't mean that the rose garden is finished.... not even close, but it sure feels good knowing they are all in the ground. Now I need to spray the grass and kill it and then get the mulch down but that will come after the daylilies are planted.

Mentioning the daylilies, there are 316 tetraploids planted now and a nice group hauled up to the garden and clipped, and the row is dug out and just waiting to get started at daybreak, so I expect to have that number at around 400 when I start work this morning. The weatherman says we have rain moving in tonight and dramatic changes in the temperatures, so I want to get as many planted today as possible...... But alas, today is a work day! Hope you don't mind if I finish this tonight.

I thought I'd introduce you to my "family".... aka my pets. These are the critters that moved here with me from Ohio.

This pretty lady is inappropriately named ..... Homeless. She moved in with me about 8 or 9 years ago. Robby named her after about a month of her hanging out with us..... poor thing. As you can see, she is always worried about missing her next meal.

Did I hear someone mention supper?

And Mia has been with me for a bit over a year. She is simply bursting with entheusiasm, always wanting to be in the middle of everything.

She watches everything I do and tries to learn from what she sees.

Gee, Mom, I was only trying to help dig..... gardening looks like SO MUCH FUN!

Awwww, I knew you'd be thrilled that I was helping you.

Someone asked about the nighttime visitors and suggested a steel trap. Here's my steel trap!

Bet I scared you! My name is Brandy! I'm a dandy!

I like gardening too!

My name is Cuddles! I have been with Mom since I was 6 weeks old. Thank you Gail! I have loved my birthday present for many years! Almost sixteen years, in fact......

And then there is Momma Kitty..... such an original name for a barn cat, right? Or maybe I should say a "used to be barn cat". Mom wanted me to bring my barn cats to help control the chipmunk population around here, but once they were here, Mom thought my barn cats were so beautiful, she was afraid something would get them and "they are such nice cats", so Momma Kitty is now one happy house cat!  She thinks she hit a gold mine!

And we can't forget the other barn cat.... Fraidy Cat...... no she really isn't afraid of me, but got the name because the ex hated cats and kicked her off the porch several times so she became afraid of anyone other than me.

She was so thrilled over getting to move inside that she gave me a gift during the last Presidential

debate Monday night.......

Wow, I DID NOT need this gift......

And we're not done.... there is also Hershey....

And Chocolate.....

And we can't forget the fish from my water gardens.... lol

Now after all that, I will tell you, we planted 195 daylilies today.... not bad for a work day, huh?

That brings the Tetraploid total up to 507, so we're closing in on the halfway mark with them soon. That puts us up to 1878 daylilies planted so far. I moved here to Indiana the last of August. All the roses are planted, and the trees and blueberries.....

I don't mind telling you, I am tired........  and so is Homeless.

October 21, 2012

It seems like I haven't gotten much done in the last few days. We've had rain, and night visitors that kept the dogs upset and kept us awake most of the night so we haven't had enough energy to accomplish much. But I did manage to get Scott's rose, Fire Meilland, planted in a nice, prominent spot, and planted a few other roses. I have 9 left to plant. It has been too wet to work on the daylilies, since they are going into the bare garden and it is just too wet. But Mom trimmed the tops off nearly 200. Hopefully, in the morning, we can finish the roses and since they are calling for such warm conditions for several days now, we are hoping that will dry the garden out quickly and we can get back to planting daylilies. I can't tell you how anxious I am to finish planting daylilies!!!!!

But anyway, I thought I'd show you some different things. I have several hostas, and had accumulated about a dozen that were potted and needed to be put in the ground. I'd already planted most of the hostas before I actually got moved over here. Most of my hostas are "babies" so it will be a couple of years before they are big enough to enjoy very much, but while out in the edge of the woods planting hostas, I got to enjoy some unusual things.....

Here is a young hosta that is holding it's own against the fall weather we've had lately....

The pine needles are getting fairly thick and making a nice layer of mulch for the hostas. So many of the hostas have already gone dormant that it's hard to tell how many are actually out there....

You have to use some imagination here but I believe it should be pretty once they get a little growth.

Looking off to the right of the hostas there are several big pines and it makes an interesting scene.

I was really surprised over some toadstools that were growing at the edge of the hosta garden.... I have seen many of the white or grey toadstools in my lifetime.....

But I'd never seen anything like these beauties......

 There was one area at the edge of the hosta bed where there seemed to be a lot of fungi growing. Another growth was about as repulsive as these were pretty......

There are so many things to enjoy in nature if we just take the time to look.

At the lower end of the hosta garden, I've added a few other plants.... a variegated ivy, different ferns, and a couple of Brunerra plants.

   Now off to another subject...... besides plants, I collect rocks. Perhaps I should say, I collect certain kinds of rocks. I like unusual rocks and what better place to find them than in Indiana. Before I had any idea I would end up divorced, I collected a pretty decent pile of rocks out of some Indiana creek beds and hauled to Ohio to decorate my flower gardens. I am fascinated with a lot of fossils but my favorite rocks are geodes. There was no way I was going to leave my geodes behind, so once again, I gathered them up and I hauled them with me to Indiana..... lol   Not exactly a small collection, I might add, but I am already making plans for where I will use these.

You can see there are a couple of large piles of rocks in front of the shed. Here's a closer view of one pile.....

And you're wondering what is so fascinating about these rocks, right? Here is a closer shot.....

The large yellow geode is about the size of a volley ball. Other than the interesting shapes, another fascinating feature about the geodes is that so many of them can be cracked open to reveal beautiful crystals inside, or sometimes just unusual centers. Here's one that has been cracked open.



I will use these around flower beds and to decorate around the water garden I will build next summer.

Now, since it is nearly time to get up, I will try to grab a few winks of sleep...  lol. 

Till the next time......

October 16, 2012

Yes, I'm still walking...... just barely.

The seedlings and diploids are all in the ground now........... 473 seedlings and 894 diploids. Now for the big group - the tetraploids. I measured the remaining garden space and have room for another 650-675 plants. Awwwww, geez! Where am I going to plant the other tets?????

Before I can go on, I need to haul the empty pots from the garden back to the storage shed.

And there is still a pile of bean vines that needs to be hauled down to the brush pile. Once I am done planting, I have a HUGE brush pile to start shredding for mulch. Crazy me, I am actually looking forward to starting on it. And when you have this many trees around, there will always be limbs falling, especially after the aphids moved in this year. The next few years will show a lot of trees dying, we're afraid. But, hey, that will be free firewood and mulch. Yes, I know how to run a chainsaw. There are a few trees here that I will be cutting down in the next several months, I'm sure. But anyway, that was something that I bought right after I moved over here - an 8 hp Craftsman chipper/shredder so I am anxious to try it out..... when I ever have some spare time....  lol

And I still have 16 or 17 roses to plant. Scott's rose is getting a place off by itself and the others are the climbers that go along the driveway side of the rose garden. I waited on them because I knew I would have to measure where each plant goes to get them in the right spots to train onto the split rail fence.

The feel of winter is in the air. It was 37 degrees when I went out and finished planting the diploids this morning. That gives me a sense of urgency about the planting. But it also makes me want to stop and appreciate the beauty around me, since I know it can't last much longer. The trees are beautiful and there are still lots of blooms to enjoy.........

Several of Mom's flowers are still putting on a show......

And the roses are really trying to give me a performance before the end of the season.......

Fourth Of July is gorgeous, as usual......

Gypsy Dancer was also beautiful today!

Pink Double Knock Out...........

Sunny Knock Out.......

Seminole Wind.............

Rainbow's End.........

And here is Scott's memorial rose, Fire Meilland. All of these beauties were blooming today.

With all this beauty around me, it would be hard to not be happy and at peace.

And while I realize that the way I have had to plant the daylilies is not going to make a pretty garden, it should, at least, bring them through the winter in good condition. Here is a shot of a section of the newly planted garden......

Next project...... PLANTING THE TETRAPLOIDS!!!!!!

October 14, 2012

What a day yesterday. I was going to post last night but I'm ashamed to say, I fell asleep in the chair in front of my computer.

Yesterday was all about gardening and Mom and I were lazy about getting started. Mom said when the alarm went off, she was still tired and I was still tired so she shut the lights back out and went back to sleep. Wow, I couldn't believe it when I woke up and it was 7:30. I NEVER sleep that late!

Anyway, by the time we had our coffee and fed the critters and I cleaned the litter boxes, it was about 10:00 by the time we headed outside. I told Mom I wasn't going to try to dig as fast as I could go and be worn out in a few hours. I thought I'd pace myself and try to just keep working steady. My sister, Judy, came over to help and boy, all I can say is, I think we did a great job as a team. Mom trimmed the daylily tops back and wrote the list as they were planted, raked to dirt for the next row, plus carried pots over to the row where I was planting. And remember that I said the tiller quit? Well, Judy jumped in and started preparing the ground with this interesting little tool that has a miniature hoe on one side of the head and three blades on the opposite side of the head. She was a wonder!

All I did was dig the holes and plant the daylilies. Well, I did move the string and help Mom rake the next row down occasionally, plus carried a lot of plants over but I just kept digging, and digging, and digging........

We decided to stop and get something to eat around 3:00. I drug out the trusty little Hibatchi and grilled some burgers and hotdogs. Mom had been really curious about trying some veggie burgers so I had picked some up a while back when we were in Walmart. So I grilled 2 varieties..... Tomato and Basil Pizza Burgers and Mushroom Lovers Burgers. Judy's husband wasn't quite brave enough to try the veggie burgers so I fixed a few hotdogs also. Well, I can tell you, the burgers were delicious. As Judy said,  she was really surprised. Mom was pleased and commented that when we go to Walmart the next time, she will be buying more.

So after the lunch break, we were back at it and worked until it got dark. Well, I did take time to take some pictures since I knew you all enjoyed seeing them. It won't be much of a year for fall foliage but I decided to shoot a few pictures. We have a High Wind advisory today and there are storms coming so there probably won't be much left after today.......

But anyway..... enjoy!

And it just wouldn't be complete if I didn't let you see that rose up close, would it?

 And now, wasn't today all about gardening? Did you ever wonder what someone looked like after they'd planted 225 daylilies?

Let me tell you, it wasn't pretty! I'm not about to show you what it looked like when we finished the day with 265 planted!

Oh, and by the way, that puts us up to 1003 planted so far.... maybe 200 or so diploids left to go and I don't know how many tetraploids...... well over 1000, I'm sure.

And so the saga continues.......