Making up for lost time.

I could not resist snapping this photo.

The hummingbirds flock to this bee balm, so I have planted it all over the yard.

The stillness of The West Lawn.

The frogs are having a marvelous time now that the intruders are gone.

The only place in the garden I enjoy the Gooseneck.

How can you not own a flower with the common name of Gayfeather. It is a must have in my garden.

Its always so still here. It also gets very chilly at night here, even in the summertime. Either The West Lawn sits lower than the rest of the yard or we have visitors from the past hanging out here. lol

Photos from the Lanai patio and garden.

This is a Hawaiian Ginger plant. I brought it back from Maui in 2007. I bought them at an ABC store. They haven't bloomed yet.

I got these from May's Greenhouse. Not nearly as exciting as Maui. However in a cold winter it is quite blissful to go there and hang out in their tropical greenhouse.

I tried to take a few photos of the water coming out of the terracotta planter. I have one on each side of the fountain. As you can see I was unsuccessful.

I am also still waiting for this little guy to bloom. I was shocked to see the purple Transcedentia growing right in the middle of my Bougainvillea.

Ready for the weekend.

This is the second year of this red Plumeria. It is suppose to bloom this year. I put some slow release fertilizer on it so we shall see how she does.

Looking south towards the doggies yard and you can see the greenhouse in the back right.
I am still proud of that little project. lol

The Heirloom Garden

A variegated Hydrangea.

I sowed a lot of Cleome seeds and have about 40 plants. I only have one that is pink all the rest are purple. I found that to be very odd.

The only pink one in a world of purple.

This is an Amaranthus I grew from seed. I have quite a few and think they will make a bigger impact when they get bigger. And yes I realize the photo is sideways. Sorry.

Balsam Impatiens and miniature Petunias. I love the tropical look of the impatiens.

Poison I say. LMAO

This is the Castor plant that I bought at the Biltmore. Hope this keeps the varmints out of this area.

Its blooming!!! Yeah

I have been meaning to post this and kept forgetting. Not today. This is water a big rain will do if you don't think ahead. Clearly I didn't think ahead. Oh well put it on the TO Do List. We won't discuss the empty planter that needs painted and a plant put in it. LMFAO

Where have I been

I am currently writing this entry when I haven't even finished my last entry. lol What can I say other than it has been a crazy couple of months. This last month I have been busy with renovation realities.
I spent at least three weeks up at my cousins renovating his entire house. Well at least the first floor. Then I spent over a week putting down Laminate floors in our house.
After neglecting my gardens for over a month, OMG can I say WEEEEEEEEEEDS!!!!

Before

After my hands were put through it.



After adding straw to help with the weed prevention and water retention.

My hands are about to fall off from the sheer agony of pulling so many weeds. I have always said that "I find pulling weeds therapeutic". However, not in this instance. I spent almost ten hours in the veggie garden. The good news is.... its done. Well, almost done anyway.
I put some straw down to help control the weeds and hide the newspaper. I think that newspaper in the garden is incredibly ugly. I have never done this before, but I have to say it works. I am pleasantly surprised by the good job in weed control the newspaper really does.
My disasters to report... the peas. omg. The first batch I planted on St. Patty's day had only three seeds to germinate. And the second planting had good germination but the heat just zapped the plants.
I am quite concerned with the potatoes. I have never grown them before and I think I did not give them enough water. Not to mention the weeds had taken over the garden. I am hoping they will do better now that I cleared the weeds today and gave everyone a good drink.
Here is a few photos of the last couple of weeks.

People might call these ditch lilies and think they are unattractive, I however completely disagree.

I am always amazed at the growth of these in a very short time. It is apparent that I need more photos of the lanai fountain and patio.

The Lanai garden is bursting with lily blooms. I love the bishops weed growing out of control.

I am hoping that my aunt will tell me that names of these lilies. lol

My ponds have not been the same since my little frog bandits made a mess of it. It is trying to come back to life. I walked over to see if my red water lily was in bloom and to my surprise I discovered all of my water plants had been pulled out of the ponds and thrown around the edges. I did not know if someone was trying to steal them or what was going on. The next morning I woke to my dog barking to inform me that someone was in the pond. To my surprise I found three little boys trying to catch the frogs out of the pond. It made me think of my own childhood and how I would have totally been digging around in this pond doing the exact same thing. They promised never to do it again. lmao We will see.

I have gotten a few new additions to the gardens this year. Here are a couple of new plants.
Blackout Lily

Endless summer Hydrangea

This lily is not new however, it has never bloomed before. I don't know what it is called or even where I picked it up. But she is beautiful.



This clematis is not new either but this is the first year it has decided to bloom.

I also wanted to post a couple of photos from my aunt. She has Plumeria blooming the first year.

Now I know what to look for on my Plumerias.

I think that is quite an accomplishment. My hat goes off to you auntie.
She also is fascinated with the Mullen plant. It is the tall plant on the right in the photo below. Does anyone have any info on this plant.

The Mullen plant is interesting but it is not quite my cup of tea but the garden is beautiful. Sorry auntie, but your Plumeria's are Fabulous. lol

Heirloom garden

It looks pretty sad here. lol

This garden bed is getting an enlargement. I have a lot of plants that need plenty of sun and not too many places in the garden to put them. That means enlarge current beds, or create brand new garden beds. This is more like a combination of both. I am enlarging this bed to more than three times the size of its current state.

As you can see I need to get some more stones for the border.
Most of the plants in this bed were started from seed. Cosmos, Zinnias, Celosia, Delphinium, Lavender and a packet of mixed seeds from the Biltmore. Not a very good photo but the best that I have at the time of this posting.

The new veggie garden.

It has been awhile since my last posting. I have been so busy working and playing in the garden it didn't leave a lot of time for blogging. I put out the bulk of the veggie garden on Sunday.
Tomatoes: Roma, San Marzano, Steak Sandwich, Red Pear Franchi, Early Girl, Jellybean
Peppers: California Wonders, Jalapenos, Ancho, Serrano, Habenero, Sweet Banana, Poblano, Cayenne, and a variety of mixed peppers.
Cucumbers: Straight Eight, Pickeling
Eggplant: Black Beauty, Oriental
Greenbeans: Top Crop Bush Bean, Contender Bush Bean, Kentucky Wonder Pole Bean, Burpees
Hybrid Mix
Squash: Yellow Summer Squash, Green Summer Squash, Butternut Winter Squash, Hubbard
Squash
Melons: Watermelon, Canteloupe, Silverline Melon
I also planted Jicama, Gourds, and lettuce.

I planted herbs and scattered them out next to plants they are to make good companions for. I planted the Oregano and Basil next to the Tomatoes. The Sage and Rosemary next to the Potatoes. The Chammomile with the Onions. The Parsley next to the Asparagus. Some Dill in a corner all by themselves. They apparantley do not play well with others. In the herb section of the garden I planted Cilantro, Thyme, Marjoram. I then planted Marigolds throughout the garden. Last year I planted marigolds around the perimeter of the garden. I thought I would mix them within the garden this year to see if I have better results. I am going to keep particular attention to the eggplant. Both Eggplant plantings last year were immediately eaten up. Harvesting of my cole crops this season has been zilch. Both the bok choy and Napa Cabbage bolted. There is always hope for the fall plantings. As for the Broccoli and Celeriac, both seem to be doing really well. I have never grown broccoli successfully. Granted, I have only tried twice. Knock on wood this year is a Broccoli success. As for the Celeriac and the Jicama I won't know how successful they will be until the end of the season.

I have high hopes for the potatoes. I have never grown them so this is a learning experience just like all my gardening ventures.