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Recent Entries to this Blog
Can't believe I haven't written a blog entry in two years
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toni's Blog
One of my Iris ladies and a surprise
Category: FRED - the garden | Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 2:42 pm There are 5 of these in full bloom this morning and I lost count of the buds in various stages of opening. I think there will probably be almost 50 by the time they all open up. Certainly wish they would open all at once but staggered openings will give me a longer time to enjoy them. Gosh they smell good. 
The surprise....I knew I had several white/yellow (either Japanese or Dutch) Iris out there, they just finished blooming and silly me I hadn't learned to use the camera then and never got a picture of them. But this morning while thoroughly enjoying the fragrance of the new Iris ladies I saw this one peeking up at me from almost underneath the bigger girls. 
This blog entry has been viewed 573 times
It is official
Category: FRED - the garden | Posted: Tue Apr 04, 2006 5:35 pm My first blog entry explained how Fred - the garden got his name....now he will have a sign hanging on the corner of the house to make it official. I need to let the clear varnish dry before it can be hung up. 
This blog entry has been viewed 487 times
Faerie Garden Chair - Pictures
Category: FRED - the garden | Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 8:53 pm Chair and garden are done. The chair colors are buttercream (pale yellow), orange and hunter green. The spindles on the back of the chair that you can not see are the hunter green ones. Our camera is not very clear....or it could be the picture taker herself, but I prefer to blame it on the camera. The garden includes, Wooly Lambs ear, white Oxalis, cascading Rosemary, creeping Thyme and in the center is as Lavender. I planted plugs of Irish Moss in three places hoping it will eventually cover the bare dirt and make a comfy place for the fey to have a tea party. 
This blog entry has been viewed 558 times
Good Golly Miss Molly
Category: FRED - the garden | Posted: Mon Apr 03, 2006 1:17 am April 2nd and the temps are in the 90's, the hot air from Mexico has arrived early this year and formed it's cap over us. That means the temperature at ground level must reach the low 100's to break the cap before rain will have a chance to move across us. This thing doesn't usually start to hang around until June and after. Got the cucumber seedlings in the ground today too, had to get them in the ground before the full moon. I made the mistake of planting them last year in the wrong moon phase and they were a dismal failure even before the drought started. Anyway, I went to the garden center yesterday and found Patchouli plants that I was afraid I had missed the chance to get....got three in the ground this morning. Along with a Santolina Virens....Green Lavender Cotton....never had one before and it certainly smells nice. Also got a Red/gold Yarrow, two white oxalis and found two of the eyeball plants that pinkiered had mentioned in a forum post a couple of weeks ago. Really cool, I have one planted out back and will plant the other in a pot out front tomorrow. In early March I was given a semi-ratty old wooden chair to use to hold a faerie garden. Bought a cascading Rosemary, creeping Thyme, Lambs Ear, small Lavender and some Irish Moss. One of the white oxalis will go in there too. Still need to find Lady's Mantle and Sweet Woodruff, but I know of garden center a few miles from here that usually has those two. I painted the chair, buttercream (pale yellow), orange and hunter green. Just need to spray with sealer, let dry and get the plants in their planter.......and decide where to put it. Also found a couple of my hollyhock youngun's that are blooming already, my roses are in full bloom and all the perennials are climbing to the stars with all this warm weather we are having. The chocolate vine is even finally putting on some growth. I hope to get several pictures taken and posted on the forum this week. Plants, garden "art" and the plant markers I made from plastic CD holders. This blog entry has been viewed 617 times
Married a Looooooong time
Category: FRED - the garden | Posted: Sat Mar 25, 2006 2:15 pm My husband and I will be celebrating our 26th wedding anniversary on May 22nd. There are times when May 22, 1980 seems like only yesterday.....then there are times when it seems like an eternity ago. But over the years we have given each other the same Valentines Day cards and Anniversary cards several times, finished each other sentences, and all those things that "old married people" do. This year we were able to use our income tax refund on eye exams and glasses,first time in about 4 years it hasn't been needed to pay for major car repairs or replace a major appliance instead. Of course, I do need a kitchen stove, but I am liking not having to do a lot of cooking so I refuse to take seriously the need to buy one yet. So yesterday we (including our youngest daughter) had the eye exams and spent a while wandering thru the hundreds of frames available. We got quite a few laughs at what some of them looked like when we put them on, some caused gasping and gagging too. We all finally found pairs that we liked and sat down to have the necessary measurements taken and orders filled out. Amanda and I were with one young man, Randy was with the other one. When we got to the counter to pay we realized that he and I had chosen the exact same frame in the same color. I had been looking thru the womens frames and he had been in the mens section but the one we both chose was a unisex frame. This blog entry has been viewed 580 times
Worms, a Snake and the Hawk
Category: FRED - the garden | Posted: Wed Mar 08, 2006 9:43 pm I don't often get to spend 4 hours working in the back yard but with the sky darkly overcast preparing for the spring storm moving our way this evening it was just too good to pass up. Allium bulbs are in the ground and the Sweet Broom plant is nice and snug in her new home. Moved the Hyacinths out of the various garden locations into a large bucket.....I now have a Hyacinth Bucket, "noooo it's pronounced Bouquet". Yes I watch a lot of British sitcoms on our PBS station. The cucumber seedlings have broken the surface but the other seeds are taking their dear sweet time. Too impatient I know. Found lots of worms while digging thru the flower beds pulling out weeds...always a good sign. Found a baby garden snake curled up under a brick I moved to clean up the edge of a bed....also a good sign just quite startling. I needed to work where he was, so he took a flight across the yard to a more out of my way location. Now the Hawk, not such a good sign for the birds who were enjoying their lunch at my feeders but really cool to watch. I was working on a bed and had my back to the feeders that were alive with a noisy lunch crowd....heard the swooshing sound of 30-40 birds ranging in size from sparrows to large grackles all taking off at once. Nothing really new, I figured one of the local cats had been sighted by the lookout bird. I had to empty my bucket of weeds, figured I would chase the cat off while I was up. Couldn't find the cat but looked up to see a good sized Hawk circling over the area.....three doves in the Hackberry tree and not another bird in sight. Several minutes later I heard the noisy diners return so I knew the Hawk had moved on. This blog entry has been viewed 602 times
In Like a Lamb
Category: FRED - the garden | Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2006 6:44 pm March is definitely coming in like a lamb today. Nary a cloud in the sky and warming into the mid 80's. Most of the new herbs are planted now. I didn't know that another name for Tarragon was Mexican Mint Marigold....I have had one of those for a couple of years and love it, now I have three. I put almost all the herbs in containers. I can move them around with the sun as the trees leaf out besides I really want to grow some vegies this year and need the ground space. Got the cucumber seeds in pots this morning. Went back to the old standard variety for pickles this year. I attempted some white cukes last year, even before the rain stopped there was trouble with them. They flowered but only 4 blossoms set fruit.....can't make many jars of pickles with only 4 cukes. I need to get the Okra started and maybe more cotton this year. I am also going to try a Three Sisters garden plot. It is a Native American form of planting corn, pole beans and squash in the same hole. The corn stalk becomes the pole for the bean vine to climb and the squash vine circles around the base to act as mulch to keep the weeds down. I have six red Freedom hedge roses that I planted long before I really started gardening and before the Hackberry tree got so large. Three of them just don't get enough sun, my oldest daughter wants them in her backyard so I cut them way back a couple of weeks ago to make it easier to handle when moving them and they are really starting to put out new growth. Guess they liked it. The three I am keeping are really bushing out too, won't be long before the buds form. AND the Sweet Autumn Clematis is coming back!!! It didn't do very well at all the first or second year it was planted so I figured last years drought would have been the end of it. But there is new growth all up and down the vine and the vine is getting longer. Working in the front yard on Monday I found two acorns that were beginning to sprout. The squirrels had planted them where I didn't want them so they are now in a big pot out back to see if they continue growing. Really hope they do, we sure could use some trees in the front yard. This blog entry has been viewed 527 times
Just singing in the rain
Category: FRED - the garden | Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2006 11:24 pm thank your lucky stars that you don't have to hear me tho. We are only getting about 1/2 inch but it has been a slow steady rain almost all day. Of course this was the first chance I had to go to one of the best native/organic nurseries in the county. The herb section is covered so I was able to shop and stay fairly dry. It was certainly pleasant listening to the rain hitting the plastic roofing and the ocassional splash of water hitting the top of my head and running into my eye was fun......no really, I truely enjoyed it. FRED will soon be home to more plants..... Pennyroyal where our dog has to go thru it to come inside Curry....I don't cook very much but the plants smell soooo good Thyme, again I don't cook but I like it Feverfew, good for headaches so I hope to dry it for tea when needed Tarragon, my oldest loves it in flavored vinegar Lemon Balm, again I love the smell Sage....purple sage actually Peppermint, again for tea 2 sweet pea vines that I think will be turned loose to cover the windmill one pink phlox (yes I hate pink and yes I bought a pink one, call me weak when it comes to pretty plants) 3 scarlet geraniums for the planter on the front porch Next week will be wonderful gardening weather here, close to 80F by the end of next week. This blog entry has been viewed 495 times
Fred's Birdy Bed-n-Breakfast
Category: FRED - the garden | Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2006 8:34 pm We had a king-size bed headboard in the backroom for several years that my daughter didn't want with her bed, so we attached it to the back wall and started adding the birdhouses. The two on the right have seen many babies over the past 5 years, especially the smaller one. One Momma sparrow hatched at least 10 babies in it between April and June of last year. The red two story one in the middle must be cursed or may sparrows don't like the color red, it has been there as long as those other two but never been used. The two on the left were just added last month, but already have had Mommas checking them out for their families this spring. The houses face east so they get the morning sun in early spring, then when the large pecan tree nearby leafs out they are shaded from the summer heat. The eave overhang is quite deep so they are protected from the rain too. My washing machine and dryer are in the back room just to the left of that wall and with the window open in spring I can hear the babies cheeping and keep an eye on their progress while doing the dreaded laundry. 
This blog entry has been viewed 718 times
Wooohooooo, it's raining again
Category: FRED - the garden | Posted: Sat Jan 28, 2006 7:14 pm It will seem strange to most that I would be so excited about rain. But last Sunday we had 3/4 inch and today we have had 1 and 1/2 inches. While this is pretty much what we normally get in January, it is also more than we had in the last 5 months of last year. We are also having well above normal temps this winter and since the longrange forecast for our area is continued above normal temps for the rest of the winter I have declared it time to buy and plant. A dozen new Daylillie bulbs (6 yellow, 6 purple), two Patchouli, 3 chocolate mints, two Indian Hawthornes and a Lavender have been added to FRED. Out on the front porch I added a red Primrose and a new Rosemary to replace the potted one the freeze got last month. I need to refill the large tub out front with more red Geraniums as soon as they are in the garden center. I am also going to get some seeds potted next week. I was given some watermelon and wisteria that I want to see if they sprout. Also have some gourd seeds from the birdhouse gourds I bought a couple of years ago and painted for gifts. I don't know what the "shelf life" is on these but I thought I ought to try anyway. This blog entry has been viewed 497 times
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