I dont know about you guys but this is one of the most stressful weeks I have had in a long time. I am more then looking forward to the long weekend ahead. I had to take a day off but to me Good Friday is a day for thinking more then working... (and maybe a little weeding in the garden .. .. .. )
I have two baby tomatoes!! Nothing else is even in bloom yet but these two Black Plum Tomatoes are in bloom already and I have two little fruits on there... Not much else in the garden right now.. Lantanas are all settleing in place and most everything is doing just great.
We do not have any major plans for the big weekend beyond church church and more church. Esther is going to be a big part of a production that they are doing so most of my time will be there helping with that or caring for Chi..
What is popping in your garden? How is your week? And what are your plans for the weekend?
Sit back and chat a little - Mitch
Come and Sit a Spell... Mid April
Lots of little tomatoes here too and sweet peas I thought were going to give up the ghost due to heat are putting on a final flush.....I'm going sleep and be thankful for 3 days off myself...and putter in the garden although everythings mulched and doing well.
Debbie
Last week was nuts. I had 3 evenings filled with PTA activities. Mara (my 15 yo) was supposed to go on the band trip to Breckenridge but didn't turn in an assignment in English. It was probably a blessing that she didn't go since 2 kids came back with broken wrists.
I'm still trying to move things out of the greenhouse & into the yard. My brugs & citrus are still in there. I've got oranges! They're almost marble sized. I've done some planting too. I'll be going back to work (was laid off last July) soon & need to get as much of my pot ghetto taken care of as possible.
I recently finished this bed - I had to do something to hide the utility box. There are 4 clematis' on the fence, an beautyberry in the back corner, nicotiana & some other perennials.
I'm going to a friend's crawfish boil on Saturday. I plan on pigging out!
I can't decide which side of the fence I like better here....so I straddle the middle! LOL
This message was edited Apr 11, 2006 6:13 PM
That will do a good job of hiding when it fills in. Where did you find the hinged tall fencing? That would be good to put around some trees for vinesat the back of my yard if they weren't expensive.
I love your Sweet Pea Vines! I guess it is a neighbor that is sharing the beauty?
Oh, I forgot to share my weekend plans. We are going to have a Easter egg hunt for my Great-neice and Great-Nephew on Saturday. It will be their first year walking at Easter! I found some cute plastic eggs in bunny and carrot shapes and painted designs at Dollar Tree. I bought them small sand pails for the hunt. I am leaving the Easter Baskets for the parents to do. I have balls, and stuffed bunnies, and books for the prize egg finds.
I have been busy cleaning house, and gettting the yard and deck company ready.
This message was edited Apr 12, 2006 6:02 AM
Sheila, I found them at gardners.com I think. There are 2 of them. They were on the expensive side, but I have had them for awhilte. I folded the ends up on one end to make a gate. There's also chicken wire nailed onto the back fence & I put a moonflower there.
Sounds like your egg hunt will be fun. That age is full of wonder for little ones.
Debbie, love your sweet pea! I think I like the right side though. :)
Sheila that hunt sounds like fun! I found something like those tall ones at Big Lots but did not pick any up - they must have been a good 2 and half to 3 foot tall - very nice and good size.
Sandi - I have used that chicken wire trick more times then any other - I love to make my all wood fence just get coved in the stuff. Watch out though - the fence gets older faster and I have some holes where I used it for two years.. from the water getting held closr to the fence I guess? Then again I have a much older fence!
I have been simply exhausted, but exhilarated, from last Saturday. I had my first garden party, ever! Since some of my family was going to be in town, I invited more family and a few friends. Even though the garden isn't near finished, my family knows the difference between what was, and what is. The weather couldn't have better, and two very dear friends just made things happen. They made sure people had something to drink, the table was kept full, and everything flowed smoothly, which gave me the opportunity to take people for "tours" of my small space. It was so fun, and my Brenham sister and BIL now want me to help them plan their front yard!
I'll have a quiet weekend, but will be playing in the dirt, for sure. I also want to try to get some projects done: paint some tile signs for my butterfly cafe's, build some critter houses, and do some work on wallpaper removal (yuck!)
Oh, I planted hollyhocks this year, first time to grow them myself. They were taking so long to bloom and were shading my sun-loving vines, so I cut down all but one. It is now higher than my gutter, and has 5 flowers, with many many more buds!
I have an area that not much grows in because of spring rains. I thought I could build up a raised bed at the base between the three small trees and put some type of wire to allow vines to grow on. I am hoping to get a Brug in trade at the RU. I love the Datura and have lots of room to expand before DH says stop. LOL!
We decided this week that we are going to fill in a temporary Koi pond instead of building it up as we talked about. Then he will make it into a cactus garden. We want to keep a waterfall there however, so we decided to put in one of the ones that have a creek that disappears into rocks. We do our own work in the yard, so it is not as expensive as hiring it done, and so much more rewarding. However as we and our bodies get older I am deciding we need less "things" to tend to.
Oh, and before I say goodnight, I wanted to show my great find a year or so ago at Big Lots. I think it was $59, but that was way less than I had seen them for at garden centers. I loved the shape and it also had grapevine black Unfortunately the wonderful Star Jasmin that almost had it covered died back this winter. I torn it off and cut it back, but I see where new shoots are sprouting!
Sheila wow what a view... and you are going to fill that pond in? I dont know that I would be able to do that... cactus gardens are a lot less work and with the rain we have had might save the water bill some too...
Mitch
SHEILA! that is gorgeous, you are going to have to let us come and visit that beautiful yard of yours!
Josephine.
Sheila,
Beautiful view! Can't imagine filling in that pond, but also understand about only having so much time and energy :-)
Sharon
Mary I am very glad you had your garden party, it surely looks like they awere all impressed as well they should be, Congratulations.
Josephine.
Yes Mary a big congrats... It is nice to be noticed for all the hard work we pour into our gardens.
I wish you guys would all come down here for a garden party. Maybe we could do a swap here?
Wow, Sheila, that is really beautiful! Glad to hear the star jasmine is coming back, mine is starting to bloom now, and it smells so nice when I go out in the backyard. What are you going to do with your koi?
I want to do one of those disappearing fountains, too. Nelson's Water Gardens in Katy will have a talk about how to build them on April 22nd, and I'm hoping to go. I have a pot, a water reservoir, and a pump, all I need to do now is find an appropriate place!
OH,,,,NO,...NO...That is not the one we will fill in. Thanks for all your compliments. We had put in a temporary pond where we had once had this poly pre-formed pond. It was taken out and we had left it bare for a while, then dung down a couple foot and built up the wall around it a bit more, threw in a pond liner and built a bio-falls out of a rubbermaid tub. It was mainly for us to put the Koi into while we did some maintenance on our large pond after a flood dumped into it a couple years ago. Then I used it for some pond plants until I swaped them at Arlington last year. We had the idea that we would enlarge it, but have changed our minds. It will be filled in and used for DH's cactus since it is in full sun. Looking for a picture..... Here is the small one in it's glory day. It now, looks quite sad. It is at the end of DH's shop/potting shed, etc.; good view from the deck, so we need to bring it back to something worth looking at.
Well Sheila, that still looks pretty good to me.
Josephine.
Lol, Sheila, I know we were all thinking, "That's a temporary pond!?"
LOL Sheila, I am very glad that we were thinking of the wrong pond, because it is just too pretty! We've talked about doing a pond but can't decide where it should be, so for now we're just adding flower beds.
Sharon
I also may have an extra brug cutting or two -- not sure yet because I just repotted and some may croak, but if there's extra, it's yours.
This message was edited Apr 14, 2006 12:57 PM
Looks better then my real pond... maybe I need to to help me but a temp one too..... (lol)
Well that was what it looked like a couple years ago. This is it's ugly self now. See why I want it gone?
Oh, I would love a brug!! I see you live in Mansfield, do you know Posie4U?
Now that looked more like mine! (not really but it needed a lot of work)
Now I have a smaller preformed round thing with plant shelves... nice and cheaper to keep the way I want it to look. the hard part was the filling back in... wow that takes a lot of work...
Josephine, after Easter, and a little more organization, I may invite a few of my DG friends for an afternoon walk in the garden. I have a vacation schelduled soon and then unfortunately in a month or so, under go hand surgery. I just got a diagnosis this week of carpal tunnel on one hand. So I am a one-handed gardener and slow-typing stressed person right now.
I have one that one pre-formed had a waterfall into. The large one sprung several leaks, but I still have the one that is about 3" diam. and 18" deep. I set it into a new bed last year and DH took a photo from the deck. He cristened it the "nose garden". I am working to change the shape of that one this year! LOL!
Yep that is just like my new pond.. but add a few more plants! what can I say I kept most of my plants... oh well it needed something right?
Love the shape of that one - maybe just push the sides out a little to be more of a gentle curve rather then the Bell Curve?
Shiela, I can see now that it won't break your heart to transform the pond, the way it looks now, into a cactus garden, it will probably be very pretty.
I am sorry about your having to have surgery, I hope it will heal quickly.
We would love to come and see your garden. I think it is beautiful.
Did you ever get your composter?
Josephine.
Yes, I got the composter! My gardening friend (that is my boss), and I bought each other one! LOL! We haven't gotten anything real fine out of it yet, but it is getting close. The next will be better from what the brochure says. I guess the container is seasoned and it won't take as long to start the next batch.
Well! congrarulations on your composting.
Sheila, I think that your temporary pond looks like a good water frolic feature! Lol about the the "nose garden", you should plant fragrant plants in that. Sorry to hear about your carpal tunnel. You should invite everyone over after your surgery, for a day of work!
That sounds like a great Idea Mary! Of course you feel safe in saying that since you are too far to come! LOL!!!
My plans for the nose garden is to connect it to a bed that circles a tree to the left, but there is a drainage problem with runoff from that side of the house. So we are digging a dry creek bed between the two and will line with plastic and fill in with rocks. It will dirvert it from the Koi pond which is on a lower level of the yard.
Sheila! Why on earth would you think that I might not drive three hours one way to work in your yard, lol?
My son will be up to visit Sunday, he's going to help me move my Knockout rose to the front yard. That will free up space in the River Birch bed in back for the salvias that have been sitting patiently in their pots, waiting for some soil to call their own.
Next Easter will be too soon for an actual Easter egg hunt with my grandbaby, but we'll find a way to have some fun!
Found this "guadian hunter of the hollyhocks" this morning.
Hi ya'll. We are going to see DH's sister and family later today. I would rather stay here are enjoy my yard, but oh well. We are in the process of remodeling our bathroom. We had a separate shower and tub. We never used the tub. I got in that tub twice a year only to dust it. So we took it out to make a bigger shower than what we have now. The shower we have now will become a closet. So the tub is sitting out behind the greenhouse.
When I asked DH if we could get it out in one peice and use it for a raised planter, he looked at me like I'd lost my mind.LOL But then I suggested that we use for part of the pond system (we have one part of it already built). The wheels started turning and it looks like that might actually take place. SheilaFW has been in on this part of the discussion in the pond forum. But that won't happen for sometime, because we have a lot of work to do in the bathroom still. One thing at a time. I would much rather stay here and work on my RU projects, but I guess we'll go do the family stuff.
Have a wonderful Easter and relax. We all need a day off occasionally, even though we don't look at gardening as work! LOL!
Here's a link to what's going on in the "backyard" these days.
link:
http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/592621/
Debbie
Shelia gave me the three of these ... I wanted them for the garden but once they got home Esther took them and turned them into photo frames for our parents back to our great great great grandparents! So I thought I would show them off... she worked hard!
2
and 3
last pic! We had a garden vist this morning.. .. .. I sure hope he stays! He is a good 6 inches long - by far the biggest we have seen here.
