EileenT's Blog at GardenStew.com

Flowers

EileenT — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 12:12:48 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Sun Apr 10, 2011 4:12 pm (GMT 0)

Here are some photos I've taken recently. The poppy is growing wild at our local nature preserve.

California Poppy ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

Violet ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

New place, new garden

EileenT — Tue, 05 Apr 2011 20:19:06 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Wed Apr 06, 2011 12:19 am (GMT 0)

It's been a long time since I visited Garden Stew and so much has happened in the past year. After working so hard on the gardens in the old place, we took advantage of an opportunity and bought a lot in a gated retirement community in Ojai, California and ordered an adobe manufactured home from Phoenix, AZ.

I didn't have much space for a garden but managed a small courtyard in the front and a back patio from our bedroom. I hired a landscaper to put in the hard scape and a few plants but I'm busy now trying to design something a little better.

We have an adobe wall in front. It was made out of sandbags and stuccoed over. I planted a started honeysuckle vine to grow over the wall. I also have a couple of starter Clematis for the wall around the patio in the front. Our lot is a corner lot flanked by walls with a large oak tree shading one side of the house.

I've inserted some photos of the front. I'll take some of the back soon and share them with you.

House front and stucco wall. ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

Courtyard and gate. ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

Courtyard fountain. ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

Courtyard, steps and patio. ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

Blue front door in Southwest style. ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

Front porch with Boston Fern. ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

Flower in back yard. ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

Close up of Croton. ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

Half Finished

EileenT — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 13:34:12 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Sun Apr 11, 2010 5:34 pm (GMT 0)

I've completed planting half the ledge. I have about another 20 feet to go. The hardest part is removing the sod but I'm taking it slow and easy. I had a real hard time under the lemon/lime tree as the long spikes kept sticking me and bees were doing their thing. But I managed to get the sod out without too much damage to my body.

So far, in the sunny area I planted Bougainvillea, Yucca, Agapanthus, Day Lily's, Bird Of Paradise, Lavender, Plumeria, Geraniums and Creeping Charlie as ground cover.

In the semi-shaded area, I planted the 4 banana trees that weren't doing well in the sunny dry spot, Yucca, Lavender, Day Lily's, Croton more Geraniums and Creeping Charlie.

Hope to have some photos soon.

Re-making Entire Garden

EileenT — Thu, 25 Mar 2010 18:12:16 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Thu Mar 25, 2010 10:12 pm (GMT 0)

I've decided that I have to revamp our back garden. It's completely out of hand. I've been pulling out plants, digging up sod and putting soil conditioner into the dirt. I moved 4 small banana trees that were dying in very dry bad soil. It's going to take another week of work to finish it and my 60 year old body is telling me that I'm nuts. I'm tired and sore and my hands are swollen. But it's all going to be worth it when I'm finished and have a new beautiful garden.

Orchid and Bougainvilla Photos

EileenT — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 13:19:03 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 5:19 pm (GMT 0)

Here are a couple of photos I took yesterday.

( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

Calla Lily photo

EileenT — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 03:22:12 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Tue Mar 23, 2010 7:22 am (GMT 0)

Here's a photo I took the other day of the only Calla Lily blooming right now. I have several mature plants but only one is blooming. The rest of the garden has gone wild and needs a good cleaning out and fresh mulch. I see a lot of work ahead!

Calla Lily from my garden. ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

What A Year!

EileenT — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 15:10:49 -0500

Author: EileenT
Posted: Fri Feb 12, 2010 8:10 pm (GMT 0)

Wow, I can't believe it's been so long since I last wrote a blog entry. We've had quite a year filled with family emergencies and I'm afraid my gardens suffered.

So, for the next month or so, I'll be out in the yard every moment I can spare, weather permitting. One of my flower beds needs to be completely re-planted. I have to recondition the soil first and then use different types of plants. I wasn't able to water much last year and that poor garden gets nearly full sun all day long. The only thing that made it through was a lavender plant. I wanted to put drought tolerant plants in that area anyway so this is the perfect time to do it.

The rest of my gardens need weeding, pruning, plant food and vitamins. The recent rains we've had perked everything up and it's nice to see green again. A welcome surprise was to see how much my garden path flower beds have filled in. The Calla Lily's and Creeping Charlie has taken over and it looks very nice and full now. I need to prune it back a little and add mulch but I think that's all.

I want to make a flower garden filled with colorful perennials. I have just the place for it and a small garden statue that will look nice in the middle of all the flowers.

That's it for now. Happy gardening, everyone!

Eileen in southern California

Drought tolerant plants

EileenT — Sun, 05 Jul 2009 18:45:22 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Sun Jul 05, 2009 10:45 pm (GMT 0)

I finally finished my bathroom remodel and decided to treat myself to some new plants. I've been wanting to plant drought tolerant plants and so I went to the local garden center and bought several pots of different plants. We have an upper ledge to our yard that has dying grass and on one end is a palm and the other end is a small banana tree grove. In the middle is a lemon and cherry tree.

I plan on putting different gardens in between these focal points and will include a lavender garden, day lily garden, a shade garden with mixed plants and a sun garden with mixed plants. I'll fill it all in with mulch to cover the grass. I don't know how it will all look in the end but I love planning the gardens and buying the plants!

Photos of my kitchen makeover.

EileenT — Mon, 25 May 2009 17:14:14 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Mon May 25, 2009 9:14 pm (GMT 0)

Here are photos of the makeover. The previous owners had installed brick facing on the walls. It was horrible as it had jagged edges and was uneven around the windows. The outlets hadn't been moved to the top of the bricks and so were recessed and hard to use. The cabinets were yellow with age.

I removed all the bricks by using a hammer and pounding them to pieces. I did that on and off for a couple of weeks as I had to rest a lot. Once that was all removed I had to sand and clean the walls. A nice coat of blue paint brought new life to the kitchen. I rested a few more days before tackling the cabinets and they took almost an entire week as I worked slowly. The final touches were the new hardware on the cabinets, painting the stove hood, and installing stainless steel tiles. I bought a navy blue curtain for the window. I love the look. But most importantly, I was able to work hard without my back hurting and for long periods of time. I did wear my back brace throughout most of the work. I know now that my physical therapy worked and my stamina's improving. I'm thrilled to be able to do things that I haven't been able to do in many years.

We still have more work to do in the kitchen. We need to replace the counter top, lights, sink and faucet and get a disposal and dishwasher. But until we can afford to do that, we're happy with the makeover. I'd like to mention that this is a 30 year old double-wide mobile home. The kitchen is very small - more of a galley. I think the white really brightens the kitchen and makes it look more roomy. Also, I did all the work by myself (Hubby's helpless when it comes to being handy.) And I had spinal fusion surgery a year ago. So, I'm doubly proud of myself and the work I did. Oh, and I'm 59 so the spring in my chicken left a long time ago ~ LOL.

Here are before and after photos.

BEFORE:

Kitchen before photo ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

AFTER:

Kitchen after makeover. ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

Yards a mess!

EileenT — Thu, 21 May 2009 01:28:51 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 5:28 am (GMT 0)

I've been so busy remodeling the house that I haven't had a chance to keep up with the garden. I have weeds everywhere and many of my plants need trimmed. I feel kind of overwhelmed at the moment as there's so much to do both inside and outside the house. At least my back's doing well. I've been working pretty hard and haven't had any pain just the normal old age stuff. I'll be glad when I'm caught up with the yard so that I can enjoy my garden again.

Inexpensive Bench Cushion

EileenT — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 22:20:02 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Sat Apr 18, 2009 2:20 am (GMT 0)

I needed a 5' cushion for my glider and didn't want to pay $30.00 or more for one. I had old memory foam I was saving and decided to use it for a cushion. I bought a vinyl tablecloth, cut the foam to fit then wrapped the tablecloth around the foam, just like wrapping a present, and then duct taped it in place. For $3.50 I have an easily made, nice, comfortable and weatherproof bench cushion for my glider.

Here's a photo. It's not fancy but it does the trick. (Don't look at the weeds!)

Inexpensive Glider Cushion ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

Proud Grandma alert!

EileenT — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 22:49:26 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2009 2:49 am (GMT 0)

My granddaughter was at the World Irish Dancing championships in Philadelphia this week. This is the biggest international event in Irish dancing and the first time it was held in the United States. Well, my granddaughter competed in the girl's figure dancing for her age group 11-13. And they won first place! Out of all the groups from all over the world, they won! Here's a photo taken right before they went out on stage. My granddaughter, Alara, is on the bottom row, second from left.

Eileen

World Irish Dancing Competition( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

Garden Bench

EileenT — Sun, 29 Mar 2009 03:02:41 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Sun Mar 29, 2009 7:02 am (GMT 0)

Garden bench ( photo / image / picture from EileenT's Garden )

This is a little bench that someone was throwing out. I recovered the seat in vinyl and it sits in my garden. I love the look!

I want a pergola.

EileenT — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 02:26:47 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Sat Mar 21, 2009 6:26 am (GMT 0)

My patio needs a pergola. I've been trying to think of an easy design for me and hubby to build. I can't do much and hubby is about as handy as my blind dog, so it has to be really simple. I was thinking about using lattice as the roof and just nailing the lattice to 4X4 poles. I'm wondering how sturdy that would be. It doesn't have to be a big pergola but I would need side and center supports. Maybe I can find a ready-made pergola that just needs put together. If anyone has any ideas I would really appreciate hearing them!

Spring like weather

EileenT — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 02:40:02 -0500

Author: EileenT
Posted: Wed Mar 04, 2009 7:40 am (GMT 0)

It was so nice over the weekend that I was able to get out and do a little gardening. I basically moved around some plants and dis some weeding but I enjoyed being in the sun and getting my hands dirty. I feel bad for all the folks getting so much snow right now.

I'm going to physical therapy twice a week right now and I feel very positive about my back being completely healed. It will be a year next month since my spinal fusion and it's been a long year but well worth it to be pain free. I have a lot of plans for my garden this year and can't wait to get to it!

Destroyed Calla Lily

EileenT — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 02:16:48 -0500

Author: EileenT
Posted: Fri Jan 16, 2009 7:16 am (GMT 0)

Something very heavy crushed one of my Calla Lilys. I'm really not sure what to do about it but I'm hoping the stems will magically straighten. I don't think it was Joey as he's blind and never crosses over the garden borders. This looks like something heavy fell on it and I think maybe a raccoon fell off the roof as that's happened before, although, I didn't hear any fights with the local cats.

So, tomorrow I'll spend some time out in the gardens and stake up the Calla Lily, clean up the limons that have blown off the tree and sweep up the patio. We've had very warm windy weather and I even had the air conditioner on for awhile a few days ago. They say this weather will continue a few more days.

I had to have x-rays of my back as I was experiencing pain and thought it was from the hardware in my back. It turns out that the arthritis in my hip is acting up. I can handle that and will begin aquatic therapy next month. I'm still taking it slow working in the yard but can do a lot more now and am really itching to put some new plants in. This false "summer" makes me want to get out and do some work.

Nice Weather And Yard Work

EileenT — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 19:11:15 -0500

Author: EileenT
Posted: Fri Jan 09, 2009 12:11 am (GMT 0)

It's been very nice out the past few days so it's a perfect time to clean up the yard. There are several areas needing weeding and I can do that as long as I keep my back brace on. I also want to transplant a few plants and move some Creeping Charlie over to a bad spot that won't grow much else. I need to get hubby out there to prune the lemon tree, Bougainvillea and a palm that's taking over one corner of the yard. I'm happy to see that the Calla Lily is taking over 2 of my flower beds that border the path into my back yard. I can't wait to go out and buy some new plants.

Cleaning Up The Yard

EileenT — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 02:08:13 -0500

Author: EileenT
Posted: Mon Nov 10, 2008 7:08 am (GMT 0)

It's that time of year to clean the yard and plan on next year's gardens. I'm so happy to be pain free, finally, and I can't wait to really get to work out there. We had quite a bit of wind last week and I spent a couple of days cleaning the yard and doing a little weeding. And we had rain! We need a lot more to bring our water tables up but the plants loved the rain.

I finally figured out my Calla Lily problem. The roots were hitting somthing hard (maybe cement or hard packed dirt) and couldn't go any deeper. So I moved them into my new garden and I'll have hubby dig down in the old garden and see what's down there. Until then I have pots of plants in the old garden. I can't wait until my next trip to the garden store!

Got the doctor's okay!

EileenT — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 18:10:18 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Thu Sep 18, 2008 10:10 pm (GMT 0)

I'm officially allowed to do very minimal yard work. Yay! I didn't tell my doctor that I've been doing that for awhile now but that's okay. My back is healing well. I just have to be careful. I sat on a stool last evening after it cooled down and weeded the back garden. It was a mess! I also trimmed the banana trees and gave everything a dose of plant food and vitamins. I was so happy working out there. I plan on buying some plants this weekend and put out some new pots on the porch.

Gardening Is Healing

EileenT — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 16:18:17 -0400

Author: EileenT
Posted: Tue Aug 19, 2008 8:18 pm (GMT 0)

I was able to get out over the weekend and get some gardening done. I didn't overdue it and felt so much better just getting out and playing in the dirt. It really lifts my spirits just to see how the flower gardens are doing, weeding them, planting some seeds and feeling proud of my work. It's definitely healing!