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......