A time to grieve

This is a more difficult blog for me. I try not to get too personal on my blog, but sometimes more than a general synopsis is needed. I had found out that my cousin had passed away. Although I was not very close to him, he was my cousin. I would see him at Holidays and reunions. We lived in different towns, ran in different circles, and he was a few years older than me. I knew I needed to go and pay my Aunt Lois (his mother) a visit. I usually do not do well in these situations. I find myself stumbling over the right words to say. I try to just laugh through life. I deal with most everything in my life through humor, I think its the best way not only to heal, but to live. Now I am not talking about doing a stand up routine in my aunt's living room, but rather, keeping the conversation light. I will have to say, it was a very powerful visit for me today. I was worried about my aunt, and I need not be. She is a rock, and I stand in awe. I was so impressed by her strength through such a dark time, that it made me stop in my tracks and really see her. That might sound ridiculous, but I am the one telling the story, so deal. lol There has been a lot of drama between me and a number of my other aunts for host of stupid reasons I will not go into, I forgot, my entire family is not out to get me. Wow, that sounds paranoid. Anyway, our family dynamic is too complicated to go into, but Aunt Lois is the shit. She has always been there for me in some capacity. Its funny how the death of a family member makes you really look at yourself and others. Aunt Lois has always given me respect, and always reminded me to laugh, for that I am truly grateful. I would love to be able to create a place in her gardens, that she could retreat to, when the world seems to be caving in. A spot to relax, be tranquil, reflect, remember, and most importantly, to laugh. I love you Aunt Lois and my heart goes out to you and your entire family.

Twinkle lights

I was messing around with my camera, trying to figure out, exactly how to capture the twinkle lights.

It looks much better in person however.

Sorry for the blurriness.

Morning munch

Our friend decided to come and great the phoenix crew one morning. I realize that the photos are very cloudy, it was early for god sakes. I had not even had a cup of coffee, and it was a muggy bitch outside, and immediately fogged up the camera lens. oops.


He is very brave, and was determined to snag up all the mulberries. I say good for him, maybe he will leave my flowers alone.

August happenings

The Plumeria has been blooming all summer. This reality makes me very happy.

How gorgeous is this? This does not help with my obsession.

This set of blooms are more fragrant than the first set. I could not tell you why.

The Luna Pink Hibiscus has been a better performer of blooms, than the Luna Red Hibiscus. Again, I have no idea why.

Honey's Petunia patch 2010.

One of the plants that I dug up out of Cat's yard when she moved. I forgot what kind of Spirea this is.



I planted these in a number of places in the gardens.

I moved the Bloodleaf Iresine and Plumeria, I moved to the heirloom gardens.

If you recall, I bought this Plumeria from the farmers market last year, and now she is going to bloom. I can't wait to see what color she is.

"Polly" is having a stellar year. I was worried that I had almost killed her over the winter.

This Arrowhead has gotten out of control and I love it. She could not be happier.

The Purple Queen had a couple of days of stress, but she is bouncing back. She gets a little fussy when you move her, or change her lighting in anyway.

Honey bought me this White Bird of Paradise. I don't think I have time to get her to bloom this season, but there is always next year. She is a looker, even without blooms. Thank you Honey.

The Hawaiian Ginger is going to be a big bloomer this year. I have counted 5 buds on this plant, and last year she only had one.

This plant only has two buds, as of yet. She is doing better than last year, because she also had one bloom last year. I think because she does not get as much direct sun as the other plant, she has less buds.

"Othello" Ligularia

I am still waiting the seed pods to start forming on the Castor plant. I am going to plant quite a few of these next year. I forgot how much I enjoy their foliage.

Anybody know what this is? She came up on her own, which makes me think Weed. Weed or not, I would like to have more of them.

The Scarlet Ohara Morning Glory. I bought these seeds two years ago and couldn't find them last spring, but as luck would have it, found them this spring. They are aggressive climbers.

Moulin Rouge Sunflowers, my personal favorite.

Honey loves the giant sunflowers the best.

Someone told me that the 4 O'clocks will reseed themselves. I hope this is true. I am going to start some more by seed next year, just in case.

The Mandevilla cannot decide if she wants to be red or pink. Either works for me.

This ones for you Honey.

The Celosia decided to reseed herself. She is not very impressive to be honest. But I should give her a little time.
You thought I was done with these photos, but noooooooo.

I will say that the Luna Red Hibiscus is showier than the pink but the blooms are more elusive.

Wedding day photos

I know it is long since over, but I have yet to post any photos of Glenn and Amybeths wedding. It was a crazy busy day, and one I would never do again, without getting paid. lol I thought it turned out beautifully. My one giant bitch of the whole day, it was hotter than hell. OMG I thought we would have some people dropping from heat stroke, but we lucked out. Everyone seemed to have a good time and I heard nothing but positive feedback. I also think Glenn and Amybeth could not have been happier. I want to take this time to give a big shout out to all who helped with this. You know who you are. Thank you.

The wedding cake. I thought it turned out beautifully.

I made these curtains so the bridal party could be behind the curtains without the congregation being able to see them. You have to have that big moment for the bride. I thought they turned out great and did the job they were made to do.

This was for the wedding cards and also held the little bags of grass seed. Yes, we threw grass seed at the bride and groom instead of bird seed.

The wedding arbor. The table that would hold the Unity Sand vases was Aunt Josie's.

Here is a closer shot.


The Gay Kegger. You have to try the Red Devil Monkey Juice.

This was the center of the Bride and Grooms table. The candelabra and the bride and groom Avon bottles were also Aunt Josie's.

The forecast called for rain on wedding day. It did rain a couple of times during the set up of the wedding, but then it was dry. Helene jumped in on the wedding day and secured us with the tent. I don't know how we could have pulled it off without it.

A close up of the buffet table, before it was completely ready.

Random thoughts for today.

I can certainly feel all the hours that I have put into the wedding preparation. The good news is, the wedding is almost here, the bad news, I have so much still to do. I wanted to slap up a few pictures on the blog, because I do not know when the next posting will take place. The lights are completed, for the most part.

The statue is getting ready for her close up.




Of course, when I do not have time for anything else, this rhodo decided to have issues. I think this plant might have been root bound when I planted it, and now I am suffering the consequences. I plan on lifting her up today, pruning the dead off of her, and making sure her fine roots are able to do their job. Time will tell, wish her luck.


This is all going to go.

Bambi alert

The same day I brought the new plants home, I had placed them in the yard where I wanted them, however they were still in their containers. I walked around the house to find this determined deer walking right toward my new plants. Of course he took one look at me and decided to take off. I knew that he was heading right to my veggie gardens. There he is having a buffet of apples, from the tree between my veggie gardens. After I took this photo, he saw me and took off in a rush.

Bridal Table

I started playing around with the bridal table. I could not decide what exactly looked the best. I actually like the darker color over the white table cloth, with a splash of lavender in the center. However I am not planning on using that large piece of material in the center, I just needed to see the colors together.

Then we have the lavender on top of the white table cloth with a splash of purple in the center. Again just checking out the colors.


I have decided to blend the two. You will have to wait until the wedding to see the results. Pay no attention to Dad and Chrissy's feet in the picture. Not to mention all the crap in the chairs.