Two in One Day?

Second post of the day!
I just noticed that I never blogged about the photos I took earlier this week (even if it feels like I did).

The raised vegetable beds, above.  They're in their new spot behind the garage.  Near a water source.  Out of sight.  Inside the yard (not that that will deter deer or rabbits, if they're so inclined).  They're not completely finished, yet, but at least they're in the right place!  (The bigger of the two blueberries is in the background.  I hope we'll actually get to enjoy some of the berries, this year.)

Here's my pile of rocks and old pieces of shingles.  (There are more rocks, but this may be enough.  I won't bother carting around more until I'm sure.)  I'm still not positive what I'm going to do with them... I need to decide soon, though, or the weeds will begin to grow in/around them. 

The trees are beginning to put on leaves.  Amazing how they can go from bare to well-covered in just a few days' time!

The bridal wreath with the tiny flowers is looking lovely.  The one next to it with larger clusters of flowers isn't so happy, right now.  Maybe it's just getting a slow start.  Otherwise, I need to remember to prune it back to the ground.  (I think that could help rejuvenate it.  Just need to determine when to do it.)

The viburnum that had just barely poked out a few tentative leaves, last week, is now greening up nicely!

Earlier this year, I cut a few ill-placed new-growth branches from this shrub.  At first, I was just going to toss them on the burn-pile, but then it occurred to me that they might possibly root.  I stuck them in a pot of soil, then (after days) thought maybe water was the better way to go about it, so I brought them inside and stuck them in my favorite old-jar-turned-vase.  Just when I'd decided they weren't actually going to do anything-- roots!  (I don't know that I've ever successfully planted something that I've rooted in water... I think maybe I tend to wait too long to plant them.  Still, it's exciting that they even grew roots!) 

The Japanese magnolia has been giving us a nice, long show.  The one in the front isn't quite as impressive, but it's newer.  It should improve with age.

The wild iris has been growing steadily, along with the in-ground daylilies (not pictured). 

We had three white iris blooms all on the same morning-- then this one the next day.  Funny how they are so perfectly in sync!

The creeping phlox from Mom's garden is still going.  :o)  (This should be an easy plant, from what I understand, but I managed to kill the one I had before... We can only hope that I'm a slightly better gardener than I was back then.)

The achillea Mom gave us is growing!  (And a good thing, too, because the seedlings look so pathetic!  So spindly!)

And that is all for now! 

Plantasia 2015

Mobile Botanical Gardens' Plantasia spring plant sale is going on this week (through Sunday).  We decided to check it out-- the first time we've gone to one of their plant sales.  It was busy and warm, and there were at least a couple of things on the posted "plants for sale" list that I simply couldn't find (though if I'd been persistent, I could've asked until I found someone to either show where they were or explain that they were sold out).  In any case, there were plenty of plants to ogle, even without those fancier varieties of echinacea.  ;o)

I'm not sure how their prices compared to nurseries and home centers...  Some things (the fruit trees, maybe the hydrangeas) seemed a little high to me, but others felt like a fair price-- especially considering that plants are rarely cheap, unless you catch them on clearance.

We decided to splurge and bring a few things back home with us.


Hibiscus mutabilis "Plenus" (double)
Confederate Rose
A Southern heritage plant.  The flowers start out white, then turn pink and darker pink through the day, and the petals on this one are supposed to be double.  I think Mom used to have a confederate rose in her garden... At least I know I remember her talking about them.  (If this one does well, I can give you a cutting, if you need one, Mom!)

Carex oshimensis "Evergold"
Japanese Sedge
Donald liked this one.  Evergreen, variegated, grass-like plant.  Good for a shady spot.

Salvia purpurea
Mexican Purple Sage

Ruellia elegans
Red Mexican Ruellia
This and the salvia listed above are supposed to attract hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies.  I'm not sure how cold-hardy the Mexican purple sage is, but we'll give it a try...

Dryopteris ludoviciana
Southern Shield Fern
For the shady north side of the house.  I hope it will be satisfied.

Louisiana Iris "Jeri"
I really want this one to do well!  The flowers are supposed to be a rich, "grape purple". 

Baptisia australis "Purple Smoke"
False Indigo / Blue Wild Indigo
This is another I'd love to see succeed.  Need to remember that this one is best not to try to divide-- or transplant after it's established.  Apparently it has a deep taproot, so it's a good idea to choose its spot carefully, remembering that it can get large (3 to 4 feet tall and 2 to 3 feet wide).

Bambusa multiplex "Golden Goddess"
Golden Goddess Bamboo
Clumping.  Non-invasive. 6 to 10 feet tall (and wide), depending on who you ask.

Chasmanthium latifolium
River Oats / Northern Sea Oats / Indian Woodoats / Spangle Grass
Some people complain that this reseeds too freely, so maybe it's best not to include in the main flower beds... If nothing else, I think it would be pretty along the edge of the shed... maybe around the edges of the fire ring clearing.  The thought of the grass and seeds rustling in the wind was too enticing, so this was on my "look for" list going into the sale.  Maybe I'll be cursing them in a year or two. ;o)



Photos of the new plants:

Now to plant them... ;o)

Spring in Full Swing

This weekend, we set up the last of three vegetable beds in its new place behind the garage.  (Photos next time?)  They still need some more soil, but they're in place.

Then we started working on clearing some brambles/wild blackberry briars from the southern wall of the house and taking out some of the scrub growing along the fence on that side of the yard.  We could be fancy and call it a wilderness garden or something similar, but it's actually just a mess.  An invitation-to-snakes garden?  The clearing-out helped, but it still needs work.

Somehow, we went from chilly to hot almost overnight.  The temperatures are nice enough if you're sitting in the shade, but work of any description (especially in the sun) is a very sweaty and exhausting proposition.  Highs in the 80s already!  Weeds popping up everywhere!  Time to get serious about mulching.

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Photos!

Daylily seedlings in their new home on the covered patio:

Attempting to propagate ivy (to grow on the lattice wall of the covered patio):

Blueberry blooms:

Azaleas about to burst into bloom:

Tiny daffodils:

Aloe plants coming out of the garage again:

White loropetalum in bloom:

A new plant-- blue sea holly:

Another new plant-- red-hot poker/torch lily:

A new climbing rose ("Joseph's Coat") for the planned arbor by the main gate:

Green anole on the ivy trellis:

Planting and Moving Pots

Last week, I planted a bunch of things Mom gave me pieces of from her garden.  There were several volunteer yellow Knock Out roses, divisions of the daylilies that Carrie and Victor grew from seed, a piece of pink-flowering creeping phlox, Mexican heather, a branch of Encore azalea that had rooted itself, and one or two things we didn't know the names of. (After doing a little googling, I think the unknown plant may be achillea, which is one of the plants I'm currently trying to grow from seed. Coincidence!)

Placing those plants has made me excited about the prospect of one or two other projects for the garden.  For one thing, I'm gathering up stones from various piles around the yard.  A small rock garden, maybe?  Just off the back porch, beside the proposed site of a small patio.

This weekend, I moved the seed pots outside and brought out the plants that spent the winter in the garage.  They're all on the covered patio, where they can acclimate.  (Judging by the forecast, though, I may need to move the delicate seedlings back under cover.  We're expecting a lot of rain.)

Below, photos from last week.   Pink loropetalum, white loropetalum (witch-hazel), daffodils, camellia, Japanese magnolias, and periwinkle (variegated vinca). 

Green Seedlings

Last week, I planted the last six daylily seeds-- the late sprouters.  One of them still hadn't sprouted, but I stuck it in the pot anyway, just in case. (Can't do any harm to try.)

Many of the already planted seeds have put up their first green shoots.  (Exciting!)  I counted over 90 this morning.  At this point, they seem to grow before your eyes!  They're bigger by mid-day or evening than they were in the morning. 

Now I'm just waiting for the weather to warm enough that they can be moved outside.  They're making do on our breakfast room table, for the time being.  There, they get the full benefit of the bay window and are beyond the reach of a curious Luna.  Fortunately, we eat on the couch, in front of the TV ;o) so they're not in our way.

Here are the daylily seedlings on Thursday-- just a few barely poking up:

And here they were Sunday night:

On Friday, I planted a few more envelopes of seeds.

We're waiting for signs of growth of blanket flower, butterfly flower, salvia (blue bedder sage), purple coneflower, cupid's dart, achillea/yarrow, and snow-in-summer.  I'm skeptical of a couple of them, but we'll see what happens!  There are more to plant, but by the time I stopped, the table was almost full!  Time to set up a couple of TV trays by the windows, maybe...

...The table, crowded with potted seeds:

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There aren't many things blooming, this time of the year.  (Not in our yard, at least.)

A pink camellia:

These, I thought were called "summer snowflakes", but they always bloom in spring, and now I've read that there's such a thing as "spring snowflakes", too, so maybe that's what these are:

New growth from the "wild" iris (yellow flag)... These bloomed so prettily last year-- the first time I remember ours ever blooming.  I hope they'll repeat the performance, but even if they don't, their leaves are nice-- especially in early summer. 

The ivy is slowly conquering its trellis:

This is what it looked like in September, so it really has grown over the winter:

I'm considering putting a few containers of ivy along the lattice wall of our covered patio.  I'd like to cover the lattice in something that flowers, but that spot doesn't get much sun, so options are limited...  We did get some cardinal climber (cypress vine) to grow there, but I'm trying to avoid that plant.  It's a little too invasive for my tastes-- for that particular place, at least. 

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I still haven't done the mulching that needs to be done, and weeds are already beginning to take over some of the flower beds.  (*sigh* I mean, really?  It's only the beginning of March.  Stupid weeds.  Also stupid rabbits that are sneaking in and snipping off the leaves of my poor daylilies!  Anyone hungry for rabbit stew?) 

Today's been overcast, but warm.  The catch is that it's also humid.  Yuck.  Tomorrow will be a repeat-- but by Thursday and Friday, we're expecting highs in the mid 40s.  Crazy weather, but however crazy it is, I need to get out and work in the yard this week. 

Oh, and the reptiles and insects are beginning to emerge.  One of the nice, warm days we had recently, I spotted a wasp and a couple of those dratted carpenter bees out and about-- already scouting for wood to destroy.  (We need to get our bee traps in working order!)

The green anoles are showing themselves again after a month or two of the disappearing act.  We've seen garter snakes twice in the past month.  While I was down on my hands and knees, pruning branches in a tight spot under some crape myrtles, I looked down, saw a snake wriggling right below me, and divided my energies between shrieking and scrambling backwards.  ;o)  Fortunately it was just a garter snake, but not a very pleasant way of finding one!  Then this weekend, Donald found one right on our kitchen doorstep.  It was an aggressive little thing, striking at Donald as he relocated it with a shovel.

While we're out getting started on springtime yard work, it's good to remember that we're not the only ones taking note of the warming weather.  ;o)

Scary Donald (and More!)

We recently bought a chainsaw, so Donald ordered some protective gear to wear while using it:

Luna wasn't too sure about that creepy helmet with the face shield...

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I've sniffed out a few more stinkhorn mushrooms since the first one, but so far, it's not too bad.  Maybe we did a good job removing them last year, and this season won't be as stinky as feared!

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Psst!
I'm not blogging here much, these days, as you may have noticed.
The more active blog, at the moment, is over here.  Be warned, it's mostly crafts-oriented.

Graham Creek Nature Preserve

We took advantage of the nice weather to go see Graham Creek Nature Preserve (in Foley) for the first time.  (Click through the slideshow above, if you'd like to see the rest of my photos.  Donald took some, too, but we haven't processed those, yet.)

Our verdict:
It's not spectacular-- no stunning waterfalls or other breathtaking views--  but it offers a nice little nature hike.  Also, it's still under development, so it should get only better with time. 

We took the 3-mile walking/cross country trail, and that was enough to remind us that it still gets warm in the middle of the day in September-- just enough to work up a good appetite for lunch.  There are a few "open-air" picnic tables, and there are probably more under the pavilion, but we didn't look.  (There were already cars parked there.)  The picnic area was a quiet, peaceful spot in the shade.  Of course, this was a Friday morning in early fall; it might be less quiet and peaceful on summer weekends.  ;o) 

Oh, and before I forget, the trail we took was very easy.  There was one wet spot near the beginning, but other than that, nothing remotely difficult.  Very level.  Wide pathway.  Mostly shaded (but that depends on the time of day, of course).  Grass cut short.  The grass was a little taller in the parts of the trail that skirt around the open field, but not terrible. 

A good part of the trail involves walking around the edge of that huge field.  I wasn't sure how I felt about that choice.  It seems a little boring-- but on the other hand, you have a view instead of being closed in on all sides by pine trees (as you are for a short portion of the trail).  Upon reflection, I think it provides some interesting variety from the typical "forest hike".

In addition to the walking/hiking trails, there's a 7.5-mile bicycling trail, lots of streams for canoeing/kayaking, a (developing) frisbee golf course, a small play area for children (also looks to be developing), a large open field (or two) ideal for kite-flying, and a very nice "bog" landscape where there were many pitcher plants growing. 

(Sidenote:  If you're interested in seeing pitcher plants in our area, I'd recommend the Graham Creek Nature Preserve over Tarkiln Bayou.  Maybe we've just had bad luck/bad timing with Tarkiln, but they never seem to have nearly as many pitcher plants as this place did-- and here, instead of being on a railed boardwalk, you're right on level with them, which is nice if you want to get a closer look or take photos.)

The preserve is open from dawn until dusk-- but someone had a little pop-up tent set up, so I guess that camping is allowed.  (Not sure...) 

There's no entrance fee (yet).  

It looked like they had fairly nice restroom facilities, but we didn't check them out.  Still, nice to know they're available!

We saw a couple groups of people working while we were there-- one building something (no idea what) near the entrance and another setting up obstacles for a special running event that's coming up soon.  (The "Creek Crawl".  Click "Events" on the page linked above for more info.)  Not long ago, they had another run-- something about zombies, where volunteers dressed as zombies tried to tag the runners.  (No thanks, but can you imagine the adrenaline rush of running from someone?  ...Knowing that they're not actually going to hurt you would keep it from being a nightmare, but being chased/grabbed at would still kick those legs into gear.)

I'm interested to see how the preserve grows and changes.  We could use more places like it!

Deer Me! Is Autumn Finally Here?!

A couple of afternoons ago, smack dab in the middle of the very broadest daylight, I happened to glance out a window onto our backyard and see-- a deer.  Inside our fenced yard!

Donald grabbed the camera and snapped some photos:

As deer go, this wasn't a very large one, I guess, but still! Right in our backyard in the middle of the afternoon.  What a surprise!

Once Donald had taken his photos, I picked up Luna and held her to the window. Nothing wrong with her eyes, at least. She saw the deer immediately and set off the alarm of growling and barking.

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Today, we're enjoying our first real taste of fall weather.  It's so nice.  The windows are open and I ventured out with the camera.

Remember the daylily seeds we planted earlier this year?  Those tiny little things growing in yogurt cups?  Most of them are getting to a decent size for young plants. Here are some of the pots:

The English ivy has been growing, too. It feels like it's growing slowly, but then again, I'm not sure how quickly ivy in the shade usually grows. In any case, it's progressing:

Here's another angle, showing that there's still plenty of territory for it to conquer (and also that the box it's in needs another coat of paint):

By way of contrast, here's the passionflower vine, which has gotten huge this summer:

No flowers at the moment, but it did a good job earlier in the season, and it's been attracting Gulf fritillary butterflies, a species that depends on passionflower for part of its life-cycle.  

Cosmos...

Autumn's arrival always reminds me that it won't be long before the spiders take over...

A smiling Trixie...

And a smiling Luna...