Reseeding

I'm afraid we haven't done much pictorially exciting in the last few days. We've transplanted some seedlings that were ready to move into their permanent homes. Here you can see Jeff's tomatoes.

He keeps them in old styrofoam coolers on a table on the patio. This is required because my sweet Scout likes to graze on the plants before they get a chance to flower, much less produce fruit.

Jeff also gave some Weed n Feed to the front lawn this week. No noticable change yet, but we'll put down more grass seed in a month or so, and, maube that will help.


In addition, both of started more seeds. 

 I put in some flowers and lettuce. 

Jeff started his herb garden.

In an earlier post I asked if anyone recognized one of the trees on the side lawn.  My lovely daughter informs me it is an Asian Plum.  It does not bear fruit, but it is very pretty.

And speaking of trees, I took a shot of the dogwood in full flower.  And, if you look very carefull near the top, you can see the Persimmon tree to the left of it starting to bud out.

We're preparing to do some more clearing and maybe some mulching.  I'll try to remember to take before and after shots while we work.

And, flip to the banana tree page.  We have leaves unfurling!

Working Wednesday

   Jeff and I spent quite a bit of time in the yard today.  We did quite a bit of cleaning up and a bit of planting.

   The trees and bushes have also done quite a bit of blooming and leafing out. I took a bunch of photos to share.

   The red bud tree in the front yard (and a view of a couple of the cool old houses across the street).

   I'm not sure what kind of tree this is, but it sure is pretty in the spring. (If you know what it is, let me know, please.)

   The cherry blossom tree and the dogwood next to it coming into flower.

This is the view over the back fence. Another shot of the cherry blossom and dogwood with the neighbor's red bud in the background.

The single daffodil that got removed from Mom and Dad's yard with the hen-n-chicks bloomed yesterday!

The day lillies along the driveway are coming along nicely.

So are the irises.

    One of the banana trees that got "thinned" out from by the front porch.                                

The bushes that line the alley are leafing out and getting more blossoms.

The berry bushes are putting out new leaves and shoots.

I moved some day lillies around to the front of the house to help hide the stumps from the bushes Jeff removed last fall.

Jeff planted some onions ...

...and we stopped at the store for for some other future salad fixings!  All Jeff needs now are some pepper plants and some cherry tomatoes.

Turn the Page

I just wanted to share this photo of my cherry tree. We've got more thunder storms predicted and I wanted to get a shot of it today incase the wind blows off all the blossoms.

I also wanted to point out that I've added a second page to this blog.  I'm going to track the growth of my banana tree there.  Stop in and check it out.

Bursting Buds

Happy St. Patrick's Day! While green is the official color of the day, Spring is busy showing her full range of color.

This is the view down the street from the side of the house. Plenty of color to contrast with the green!


I've got trees and bushes budding all over the yard.

The red bud trees are coming out in front of the house.







I haven't figured out what this tree is yet (cherry, maybe, but does not produce any type of fruit).  It puts out the most lovely display of white flowers every spring, though.

The dogwood and persimmon trees next to it haven't started to stir much yet, but the three together make a lovely display.

We've had some pretty punishing rains the last couple of nights, but a few of the daffodils survived the onslaught.

Looks like we'll be getting berries again this year!  Last year's crop was small, but yummy!

The irises and day lillies along the driveway are coming along nicely. 

And the bushes along the alley are flowering out as well.

The peonies are starting to poke their heads up along the side fence.





Also, as promised, a quick shot of the sprouts from the seeds I've started indoors.  There is something called "Old Glory Mix" on the left.  They should be red, white and blue flowers, but I'm not sure what kinds.  It was a free pack of seeds. 

The bigger ones in the center are pink zinnias I got from the Komen walk a couple of years ago. More free seeds!

And, on the right are some purple rose of sharon sprouts from seeds I snagged from my next door neighbor's bush.  Gee!  I guess those were free too!

The banana trees have made an appearance, too, although no photo today.  I'm fascinated every year by how fast they grow.  I'll try to keep you updated on their growth over the summer.  They go from ground level to above the roof over the course of the summer!



A Lovely Day in the Neighborhood

     It has been lovely here the last couple of days, warm and sunny.  We did quite of work in the yard.  Jeff got busy bright and early and started moving rose bushes to the front of the house.
BEFORE: Along the inside of the fence where the dogs run.

AFTER: In a sunny spot in the front yard.

There are still a few plants left to move, but they are very small and have been well trampled.  But we'll move them out of harms way and see what happens.

I also moved my lawn ornaments outside the fence.  The three guys in the rose patch I've had for more than a decade and are my favorites. 

They add some music to the sight and scent of the flowers: drum, violin and horn.  










We also planted the hen-n-chicks from Daddy out in front of the screened porch.

     The large bare spot in the middle is a thin layer of dirt covering a gnarly root system from a long gone bush.  I hope as these plants grow and spread, it will fill in.  It may also become a resting place for a large ornament or planter. 



 
     After planting,  I added a couple of garden fairies we got as a gift.

Jeff also brought the bistro table out of the cellar and we set it up on the patio. 

I put out a couple of ornaments here, too.  .

These guys can keep me company as I read or write here!

Most of the seeds I've started inside have sprouted, so I should have plenty of flowers to add to  the yard .  I'd like to buy some flats of assorted flowers for the widow box and planters this year.  As I become more proficient at growing from seed, I'll do all my own from scratch in future years.  I'll try to remember to take pics of the sprouts for the next post.

And, these guys were left by the previous owners of the house - lovely double daffodils!



Planning the Planting

   Mother Nature was not terribly cooperative this past week.  It was cool and extremely windy, so not much got done outside.  The last couple of days have been quite warm, but the wind has been too strong to allow the wearing of hats (important for fair-skinned types like me). 

   I did get some seeds started inside as did Jeff.  I have flowers in front of the dining room windows, and he has herbs in front of the living room windows.  We're using seeds left from last year for this first round.  That way if any don't take, we have plenty of time to start some fresh ones.  No photos yet, but hopefully by my next post there will be some sprouts to show off.

   The early spring perennials that came with the house were a bit disappointing this year.  Lots of greens, but almost no buds.  These are the only ones so far.  And they are running behind all my neighbor's daffodils. 

   My parents moved into a new house a little over a year ago, and the previous owner was obviously into a variety of hen-and-chick plant.  My dad is not a big fan of them, so he invited Jeff and I over to dig out several of them.

   I plan to divide them and put them in front of the porch where we removed some old evergreens last fall.  We still need to clean out the leftover stumps and ground cover, which we hope to accomplish in the next few days. 

    If it looks like we'll get a few nice days in a row, I'd also like to paint the fencing under the porch.  It'll all get done eventually.  As always, it comes down to time and money.

   I also need to get busy and move my rose garden.  Here is where I plan to put it.

This is at the right front corner of the house and gets morning and early afternoon sun. I hope they do well there.

Jeff had the brilliant idea about where to put our lettuce this year.  We will get window box planters and hang them fron the fence. 

This fence was built with 3/4x8's back in the day when boards actually measured 3/4"x8"!   They should hold out lettuces up nicely.

I also want to put together a container garden aroung this small patio.  We have a bistro table and chairs for it, but I'd like to put plants aroung the area to make it more inviting.

I'll be able to see the rose garden from here and the wireless signal from the house will allow me to sit and write.