Our Garden Dirt: 2010

Strolling........

Monday, June 7, 2010

I was strolling the gardens one morning last week and just happened to have the camera......

These "smoke rings" up in the tree caught my eye. I realized they were some kind of spider web, perfectly round. Not the big elaborate webs that I am use to seeing everywhere from the Banana spiders. I thought they were pretty cool.

Below: Southern Charm Verbascum

Beautiful Oakleaf Hydrangeas in full bloomA Work in Progress

Our newest Hosta

Minature Solomon's Seal, which I just love!

The Parterre Garden

Mary Jane Nectarine

Gazebo, not quite finished with this yet either!This is the pathway going into the shade garden/Camellia garden.

What Else Has Winter Stolen From the Garden?

Wow, I am surely not very consistent with this garden blog! Oh well, I'll keep plugging away when I can.

I find that I am realizing more and more plants that didn't make it through all of our winter freezes from the past year. Yesterday I realized that all the Fleabane was gone from the Olivia & Drayton's Memorial Garden. In the memorial garden alone we are missing, Gaura, Cleome, Diamond Frost Euphorbia, most of the First Love Dianthus, even a couple roses. I'm really disappointed about that. But alas, a gardener's heart gets use to this and learns pick up the pieces and move on. I already have some new ideas! So, it's just new opportunity to plant some more and re-decide my layout. No problem with that!

This memorial garden has given me hours of torment over the years, just trying to figure out what I want it to look like and feel like. I haven't accomplished it yet, but I AM getting closer. I may have to rip out some of the "bones" that my husband planted in their in the beginning. Some, such as the Loropetalum seem to be taking over way too much space; much more than I was willing to give up. I still have to give this garden much more thought. It's just so important to me. I may never get it the way I want it, but I sure enjoy working on it. We have bought and replaced at least 5 different types of daylilies in this baby garden. I want a true pink and keep getting peach, yellow, purple or salmon, everything but pink. I'll keep trying! Also, all the Pink Four O'Clocks that we planted here last year came back this year as Fuschia. I knew that might happen. Anyway, here are some recent pictures from the baby garden.

This is little statue that Bruce got me for the baby garden for Olivia's heavenly anniversary this year. It's very heavy concrete and therefore hasn't made it out back to the baby garden yet, because I am not sure of the exact spot. I was advised (by my darling hubby) that he would not be moving it back there until I was 100% sure. I wonder how long she will sit here on the garage pad........hmmmmmmmm.

Aging With the Dogwood

Monday, March 22, 2010

Every year, usually in March, I take a photograph of Bruce beside the Dogwood tree that we planted in our front yard in 2006. When we first bought this place it was a sand pit. There was no landscape anywhere and only freshly laid grass in the front yard. We put grass in the back yard. There were old trees around our lot but nothing ornamental. Although the change is stunningly amazing as each year passes, I use the Dogwood tree in the front yard as a point of reference. I like watching everything grow and change through time, but I have made it my "thing" to document this Dogwood from year to year. We have a couple Dogwood's that we planted in the backyard too but it's shadier back there and they aren't growing quite as rigorously. Below are a few photographs of this transition. (I swear to my husband that he still looks as young and handsome from year to year next to that Dogwood, and no babe, you aren't looking balder or grayer..........heheh...) Notice this year how brown the lawn still is and how warmly dressed Bruce is. It has been a L...O...N...G winter!

April 9, 2006 (ab0ve)

March 26, 2008 (above)

March 29, 2009 (above)

March 21, 2010 (above) Say warm and happy gardening!!!!

Spring Is Sprung for 2010 !

Saturday, March 20, 2010

Today is the first day of Spring 2010! Has it really been a whole year since I have updated our garden blog? That is pitiful! Yes, I have been very busy since I started college almost 2 years ago. As you can see I haven't been gardening nor blogging near enough. All school work and no play is making me a dull girl! I promise to make a better effort this gardening year. I told my husband Bruce that he should learn how to update our garden blog too. He is much more knowledgable about plants and all than I am because he is a horticulturist. Hopefully he will get into it and this blog will be fun to read again. We have had a particularly cold winter and it is still cold, still having freezes here in Florida well into March. Our gardening season hasn't really hit us yet. Bruce has been out there doing maintenance and cleaning up from the winter freezes. Many plants are starting to bloom now, a little later in the season than usual. Some are still blooming such as Camellias that are usually finishing up by now. It's been an interesting winter. We've still taken lots of pictures so I will post some on here. We delayed our annual February/March trek to Tallahassee Nurseries because of the weather. We want to wait until they will have a full selection of plants and flowers for spring and summer. Maybe we'll go over Easter weekend. I need to get outside and prune all of the roses. I should have done that already. Our wholesale supplier of annuals went out of business this past year so we aren't going to have as many great and affordable choices as we usually had. Here are just a few photos of what's blooming right now (I'll post more later!):