Garden Projects 2

Good you got out there for a bit. That is a big job, just keep repeating how much better it will be when it is finally done.

i agree - big project there patti i will look better when it is done.

too lazy to take any pictures today - mulched the bed and dodged t-storms while cleaning out our gutters.

Wow - you may hit some fossils, Patti!

Or China. Patti

Patti - take good care of yourself and feel better soon!

Ric - I just went back through the thread here and saw a post way back there where you asked me a question about a morning primrose with a long tap root and whether we have them in Florida. I'm sorry I didn't see that post until now.......the answer - albeit probably useless at this point...lol.....is that I don't have those in Florida and so I don't have a clue! I have evening primroses here at the farm, but they are underground spreaders that are real travelers. I pulled the ones in front of the house out last fall and I'm still finding them coming up out there, like the ferns. Cool shot of the tropical paradise........you won't catch me down there during the summer months. You are quite the good son to be there working in that heat!!! Be careful....and drink lots of water!
Louise

I'm glad that we missed the hot & humid while we were at the iris convention. Nice wastebasket sized pink quartz rock at one of the gardens. I thought of all the rock hounds when I saw it.

DH and I planted the Acer Shirazz today, which meant before we could plant it, I had to move another maple and a bunch of other things to give it have a nice happy home. Looks good. I trimmed it a bit and we gave it some home made gold from our compost pile to give it a good start.

Bad news is that sometime in the last couple of days, I lost a nice gold bangle bracelet that my DH gave me about 10 years ago for Xmas. I hope it turns up in the fall clean up. No doubt it came off when I was weeding or pruning. I went through all the compost pile that I made in the last few day, no luck. Having been sick, I have been at home mostly. So it should be here.

I also divided and moved a bunch of hosta to clean up a bed that looked sad. I then decided that I need to move a couple of viburnums later in the week when we will supposedly have rain, so that will be a good time to do that. I noticed that a paeonia that I planted a few years ago in my hot bed turned out to be a pale pink one. I will wait until fall to move it. I thought it was going to be a red one. Wonder where the red one is?

Some of our primula continue to bloom. I moved a patch of Japanese ones that had finished blooming to a better spot this morning. I was able to divide a couple of them. DH and I did a quick veggie bed weeding and I pinched the tomato plants. They look good so far. No blight.

I also fixed a stone path by changing out some stepping stones for better ones that I recently found in the woods. When we built the house the mason laid out the stones on the edge of the woods that he was using in the terraces, so he could pick out the ones he wanted. A giant puzzle. When he was done we had a reject pile of stones that over the years DH and I have used to build all the paths through out the garden. But a few buried stones kept turning up now and again in the woods. We found a couple of good ones this spring.

Busy day, but now I am done for the day. DH did a major scrubbing of the rocks in the endless stream and is still out there working away. But tomorrow he is about to start working on our little sail boat, so he will be of no help for the week. Nut grass is taking over a couple of beds....hate that stuff. Patti

This message was edited Jun 7, 2010 6:11 PM

Part of the veggie bed. I still have a trellis to build. Maybe tomorrow. Always tomorrow. Patti

Looks great, Patti. Hope you find the bracelet.

Ouch, Patti, I hate losing valuable/precious jewelry that way. You're POSITIVE there's no way it could come off - until it comes off in the compost / weeding / whatever. Think positive thoughts, and your new tree is lovely.

Victor, me too. It will drive me nuts if I don't.

Thanks Carrie, I never take it off, but on 2 occasions it has come off unexpectable , but I found it immediately. I was unaware it had come off this time. In a daze for days while feeling crappy. Fingers crossed.

Here is my repaired walk and hosta bed. Patti

Finished the soffit and fascia, another 90*F+ day with showers. The showers felt good till the sun came back out and it felt like a sauna. We completed some painting and more yard work. We had the yard rather nice before they had a fire on mother's day last year and were out of the house till Thanksgiving. They have some strange laws down here. Since his home is in the new federal maps as a flood zone, (never has happened), my dad is only allowed to spend 20% of the home's value in restoration cost in a 12 month peroid. So much of the exterior work waits for the next round of permits, or I get back with more tools and equipment. If he were closer my son's and I could have completed the work in 2 months and billed only material cost. Catch 22 at it's finest.
Sorry for venting. Ric

This message was edited Jun 7, 2010 7:43 PM

Wow - that's crazy, Ric. Sounds like you're still getting a lot done. Good luck!

Patti - I sure hope you find your bracelet! I had a similar thing happen with a good outcome....Hank gave me my favorite gold earrings for Christmas one year and I lost one here at the farm when we were only coming up for weekends. We searched and searched and couldn't find it anywhere. A year later, I was stepping off the porch into the grass and the sun caught something shining....it was my earring - in perfect shape despite being mowed over and walked over and snowed on for a year! Take heart!! Your bracelet is probably easier to see.

Ric, hang in there!! Sounds very frustrating!

Lucy - hope you enjoyed the iris convention! Sounds like you saw some very cool things in addition to the iris's.......pink quartz envy.........:)

Whew, Patti, today was a working day for you....love the color of the Shirazz....take heart from Louise's earring....the bracelet will show up. Ric, can't believe those laws....catch-22 is right!

I think that I overestimated the size of the pq rock. More like a soccer ball than a wastebasket. It was inbetween a larger & smalled milky quartz rock. they obviously had been collected somewhere. Wisconsin isn't the rocky place you find here, but there are some glacier left hills. I gulped Wisconsin scenery the whole week. I last saw it 50 yrs ago & probably won't again.

your shirazz looks great patti - and i hope you find the bracelet!

Sounds nice, Lucy. Never been there.

here are a couple pic's of the new bed and wall as promised

looking down

new bonsai home

Cool. Is that rock painted??

no - it is black - pulled if off my wall it's a good one!

Beautiful new wall and Bonsai table. Love the curves. Patti

Another beautiful site on your property! Love the JMs...perfect for that spot.

Looking good as always, Bill


The spot where the pear tree was taken down last was left empty because hubby wanted to create extra parking if we needed it(he said for his boat, lol)
Well yesterday after I finished the bed with my JM he goes "well now you have to work on that over there(pointing to that empty spot) I thought you wanted it for parking?" I ask He asks " what would you do with it?" I guess I got that "look" in my eyes....he tells me he'll have to approve the plan though....

Hmmmmm what to do? what to do? Actually anything would look better than a round circle of weeds and dirt surrounded by grass.

Patti your JM is looking good. AS is the stone path and veg patch. Hope you find your bracelet soon.
Ric sounds like you have a lot of work to do and many road blocks in the way. Good luck with getting what ever you can get done. I am sure it is much appreciated.
Bill your wall and bed look terrific. Love that little table, fits in just perfectly there.
I will be interested to see and hear about your plans for the parking area Jen. LOL
Better hurry and plant it before he changes his mind again.

Looks nice, Bill. What's the tall tree? Beech?

That's just what I thought, too, Jen. Hurry up. Lucky you - a new bed

Wah, STUPENDOUS new bed and bonsai display table.

Hoping your bracelet turns up soon, Patti.

Glad you had a great time, Lucy, in WI.

I need to take pics of the area, to get some thoughts.

This area is the only way to the backyard(unless you go thru the house), so anything I put there has to be wide enough for the lawn tractor to get thru.

it is a birch with red leaves victor - it was on patti's want list earlier this season - had it about 5 years now - was flat on the ground after the ice storm 2 winters ago - and that is the story of the birch you were not expecting:) just happened to see it one day at hd.

started on the "last" wall yesterday - slow going so far only about 7' done in 2 days should have twice that - actually only 2 half days so maybe not that bad - still they are just not falling into place - also have a design issue, the other two back here are low walls maybe 2' high with a slight bend to them - this one abuts the wall down the property line which is 3' high - i have started where it abuts and will slope the wall down to the height of the other walls back here and only curve it at the other end - had to take down about a foot and height when i started this afternoon - still not sure how this will look yet.

and my good friend the black water snake scared the crap out of me sunning itself when i went to grab a few of the ws milk cartons to pot up what sprouted - he is telling his friends the same thing we both went in the other direction quickly.

Hee hee. Wimp!

if i ever have an ru and you show i'll make sure to catch one and set it free and see who can run the fastest - you or the snake:)

Better idea. I'll race you and the loser has to feed the snake by hand.

Count me out of that contest!

Hope that it eats a lot of rodents. Could use one here for chipmunks. I think that the woodchuck which I told to get lost today would be too big for it.

Bill - fantastic new wall, beds and bonsai table!! Great job! Yuk about the encounter! Hank spotted a garden snake in my friendship garden yesterday.......had to tip toe carefully today and make lots of noise. I know they're good, but darn it, they startle me and I'm not happy!

Great job and pics Bill, I like that table, it complements the Bonsai well.
My dad was sitting and looking out the living room window and says, go find that snake, I ask what snake (knowing he's been off the morphine for over a week). He replies, the one that just slid down the arbor from the front porch roof. I did go look, but not too hard, even though he said it was black. LOL
I know my resident black snake in my barn pretty much keeps it rodent free, and goes where no cat has gone before. Maybe I should name him Spock!!! Ric

lots of racers down there ric he may have seen one.

victor you would lose that bet.