All Buds

All four buds on the amaryllis are now open!




















Guess I'll try to keep it for next year, too--Amaryllis.com says I can ;)

Blooming!

Friday evening.





Christmas Day in the morning.

















Sunday.



Monday evening.

Amaryllis on the Way

From Thursday evening and Friday morning...

Winter Interest

The yard is covered in a blanket of snow. Nice after a summer and fall of serious drought. So, not much going on outside except for the birds scarfing down as much seed as I put out for them and the new neighbors' new boxer who apparently loves the sound of his own barking quite a lot.


Meanwhile, indoors, the folks gave me an amaryllis. They gave it to me Sunday instead of waiting for Christmas Day, as it seems poised to open at any moment. Check out the progress so far: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday morning and evening, and this afternoon.

Fall Color

This is why every yard should have a sweetgum tree! Somehow a photograph never seems to capture the true colors in my yard, but these come pretty close. I know a lot of people hate the not-so-sweet prickly seed balls that drop from the sweetgum tree, but they are a small price to pay. Of course, mine are not near the sidewalk or driveway, so I don't have to sweep them up!


Learn more about sweetgum trees from the Florida 4-H site and the Arbor Day Foundation.

Been a While

Since I have spent most of my evening hours watering through the current drought, I have been neglecting my online space! It is so dry my yard has fissures. Yes, fissures, not just measly little cracks. Argh. Sorry, lawn, you're on your own. I know you'll be back regardless, but the trees, shrubs, flowers, and veggies not so much. They get the attention.








Meanwhile, the poison ivy is doing just fine with no help from me. Wish I'd seen it before I yanked out the one next to this. I think I caught it in time, washed with Tecnu, hoping to avoid the rash this time...






The hummers are great fun to watch. Most of the time there is only one at my feeder. When two are feeding together, it is a male and one of his ladies. Seems they are very territorial creatures, and a male will guard a given feeder for himself and his family only. I have seen a couple of males fighting here with some regularity. They are very scrappy!


Not sure what this pretty little white flower is. It is on a vine. I saw a huge, huge stand of it near the Buddy Walk path today. Covering a big pergola. So, maybe it is something worth encouraging?

The cosmos volunteered this year. So, they get some water :)

Second crop of cilantro. Seems like it is happy in this pot. So, that's where I will plant it from now on!

Who Says Crepe Myrtle Don't Do Well in Zone 6?

I know my yard is not "normal" -- you never know what will do well here that isn't supposed to and vice versa. And almost everything blooms two weeks after everybody else's on the street. But, I am really happy with how well these crepe myrtles are doing here!

I also have rosemary on the west side of the house that over-wintered just fine and looks very healthy this year. I guess the micro-climate is okay. Of course, both areas have a nice covering of oak leaves through the winter to help protect them from the coldest weather. (Gotta love the oaks that wait to drop their leaves until AFTER the City stops leaf collection.)

Garden Lights

I confess. I am a sucker for solar garden lights. I mean really, how could you resist these cool pink and green outer-space-looking things to go with my swirled gazing ball? I did restrain myself from getting a blue one...

Everything's Coming Up Roses

Yellow, deep pink, pale pink. Gotta love those knock out roses! Nice to see the yellow one really taking off. Hopefully the deer will leave it alone for a while.




Oh, and a rose of sharon, too!

What Makes Summer Worthwhile ;)

Need I say more?

Baby Melons

See the teeny watermelon hiding among the chard? There are about 10 of them peeking out throughout the garden. Like the zucchini, this is supposedly a dwarf variety, like those cute little "personal" watermelons the grocery stores have been carrying. Looking forward to trying one...

Just got my fresh chickens from the farm. What with the giant squash, along with onions and garlic, in my produce share, I see a cacciatore in my near future. Just need some mushrooms. And I want to try that Moroccan chicken from the class at Jungle Jim's last week. I guess I'd better get cookin'!

Gad Zukes!

We have ZUCCHINI! Again, these are supposed to be a "dwarf" variety, but with the size of the leaves I am finding that a bit hard to believe. "Perfect for containers" the package says. Really? I don't think I have a container big enough for this plant. So far, two zucchinis have appeared. One is about 8 inches long, the other about 10. I swear they were not there Monday. I think I will wait until tomorrow to pick them.... Tempting fate, I know!

Fruits and Veggies to Be

The neighbor came to the fence today while I was weeding (and sweating in the miserable heat and humidity at 10:30 a.m.) to suggest first that I run through the sprinkler (tempting) and second I get her sons to dig me a bigger plot outside of my cold frame. I explained that keeping the garden in there keeps out the rabbits, and she agreed that made sense.

Check out the tomatoes and apples well on the way. Watermelon and zucchinis in flower. The pumpkins are in flower, too, but the flowers are hiding under the giant leaves trying to take over the side of the driveway.

















Meanwhile, the rabbits and squirrels are frolicking all over the yard. I do not know where they get the energy in this heat ;)

Where Does the Time Go?

It has been almost 6 years since I bought my little house in my giant yard. Hard to believe -- so much has happened/changed since then. It seemed like such a grand adventure at the time, to have a whole acre to plant whatever I wanted! After living in apartments for years and only having small containers, I was so excited to put down roots literally and figuratively. I had no idea how much work it would take.

I feel truly blessed to have a great company to cut the grass, clean the gutters, and do the occasional heavy job. Meanwhile, I keep putting in more beds for the guys to mow around. I know I must drive them crazy. Next up is a path from the driveway to the bird feeders. Can't wait!

Check out the River Birch I planted that first year. It was just a twig from the Arbor Day Foundation tree store. Pretty cool, huh? I have always loved birch trees. Of course, I planted a water-loving variety in one of the few dry spots in the yard. But, someone told me he dumps a gallon jug on his each morning, and it has done just fine. I don't get out there every day, but I don't neglect any of my trees during our frequent summer droughts.


The cotoneaster and barberries here were also planted during that first year. They have easily quadrupled in size. The goldens were added later. I had tried an azalea there, but it was not at all happy in that spot.

Summer Sun

Mostly everything is growing like crazy, with the early hot weather and lots of rain. The rhubarb totally failed this year. The early heat made it bolt, and with the ongoing heat and sun, it never recovered. I guess I picked too open a spot for it. Maybe I'll move it next spring. Maybe.

Meanwhile, the hydrangeas, knock outs, tiger lilies, boltonia, etc. are blooming and blooming. Peas and watermelons are too. If only the weeds weren't doing just as well!




I've been enjoying the CSA produce - radishes, summer squash, lettuce, poc choi, lamb's quarters, garlic, and rainbow chard this week - while waiting for my own to come in. Also visited Jungle Jim's last Saturday, so the frig is full. I need to get cooking!

Everything off to a good start...

The veggie garden is doing so well, I am going to be forced to thin. I know it makes for a healthier, more successful garden, but it just feels wrong to pull out perfectly healthy plants. Some can be eaten, though. Munched on some pea shoots tonight. They taste just like peas :)


In this year's little garden we have tomatoes across the back, mini-watermelons, peppers, chard, peas, and dwarf zucchini through the middle row, and lettuce interspersed with marigolds in the front.

Deer are supposed to be repulsed by marigolds. Ha ha ha ha ha ha. This is actually a test of my wacky deer, who seem to seek out all the "deer resistant" plants first. Having learned not to rely on purely natural deterrents, note the garden is encircled by cages, trellises, and a removable screen across the front (removed for the picture). The only thing they can easily munch will be the marigolds, and they'll scratch their little noses on the way out. Who me, spiteful?


With any luck, I'll have a good crop of berries, too. Plenty of wild strawberries among them, if the bunnies leave me any.