A Corner Garden

Almost a Week Late for Wildflower Wednesday

2012-01-30T20:44:00.002-06:00

I didn't get a post done last month for Gail's Wildlflower Wednesday, but planned to for January, so I am going to go ahead and do it, even though I'm late. I seem to be late for lots of things.

Even though the winter has been very mild this year, that doesn't mean there are any blooms yet. There are a few hellebore buds, but they are not wildflowers. It was almost 70 today, so I enjoyed taking foliage and seed photos after work.

I can't think of the scientific name for this native heuchera, but it was quite small when I planted it, and I am pleased with its growth. I'm thinking the leaves were green in the summer.

I've shown the wild quinine in almost every WW post. I had never heard of it before last spring, and I am excited to see how it and the other one I planted grow.

This is helenium hoopseii, which is a native variety of sneezeweed, but in looking to see its range, found out it's not native to Nebraska. Still, I got it from our arboretum. It prefers to be moist. That must be why I planted it near the Culver's root and another plant that likes moisture, too. It looks happy so far.

The seedheads of the Joe Pye weed look pretty against the blue sky.

The rattlesnake master seedheads also look nice with the blue sky in the background.

The pasque flowers are one of the first spring flowers to come up and bloom. I forgot to check to see if the ones I planted in the front yard are starting to come up yet. I am excited to see how well they do.

It sounds like this winter has been mild in a lot of places. I wonder what affect that will have on the plants and critters in the spring and summer. I just hope that whatever comes up now, will not be harmed by colder weather that could yet come. We need more moisture, too. I suppose I should get some water on the new plants out there. Some of the spots are bare dirt. I hope the little roots are OK under there.

Behind the Blog Title, in a Hodge Podge Way

2012-01-21T22:00:00.006-06:00

Yesterday, I found time to visit blogs in my sidebar. While catching up on a few blogs, I came across a post written by Shady Gardener telling the story about the title of her blog. She was joining in on a meme started by Monica, from Garden Faerie's Musings and Bren, from BGgarden from December 5th. If there was a prize for the most scatterbrained blogger, I'm pretty sure I would win it. I clicked on my link, "blogging" to see what I'd written already about my blog title, and found out I had written two posts in October for my blog turning three years old. One of my most recent posts was done because I had come across Catherine's from A Gardener in Progress post about her third blog anniversary, and I thought I had forgotten to write about mine in October. Oh, my! Well, I have also written about my title, but I am going to again, because I had fun going through old photos and wanted to post them. I decided to show some changes in the front yard over the years of blogging, mostly from the views of or from the corner, since that is how the blog got its name.

Hey, I just went to my very first post, and here it is:

It's time for bed!

I have been thinking about starting a blog to help me keep records of my gardening exploits and to help me make plans. I finally got it set up after an hour and a half. I am slow and sometimes have trouble making up my mind. I just want to get this done to make sure it works. If you buy a new car, you don't just leave it parked, you need to drive it!

Part of what took me so long, was the names I was choosing for my blog were not available. My choices were:

1. My Corner

2. My Corner Lot

3. Corner Gardener

4. Corner Garden

Each of these had variations with my name, but I couldn't use an underline symbol or apostrophe in the address for the blog. Here I was, so tickled that I'd thought of the name for my blog very quickly after realizing I'd have to have a name, and I had to think of something else.

Then, when I was writing about me, I didn't realize it was going to be on my blog page, I thought there would be a link to it. I may go in and change that tomorrow. Well, here I am, blog! We'll see if I keep you up.

Looking back, I wish I would have put more thought into a title, but, since we live on a corner lot, I got stuck on that. I had even thought of playing with, "My Corner of the World" but didn't think of a variation. A number of people have come to my blog doing a search for corner gardens. The garden is on the corner of the street, not in a corner between structures. Sorry searchers!

This photo is from May or June of 2008. I have already done a post about the painting of the fire hydrant.

This is from the other direction, in June.

I've shown this, taken the first week of June before, too. This is the only time we've rented a sod cutter. It was harder than Larry thought it would be. I was tickled to get this new area to plant. It started out to be for large annuals, but there aren't many places left for them. I do have some great self sowers in there, though.

The photos are in order by date, but I forgot to write the dates down as I was exporting. I'm thinking this was early July, 2008. The little area to the left of the sidewalk had been put in after the neighbors across the street had to have their water main replaced a few years before this, which involved digging in our yard. There were some tense moments deciding how large the area was going to be. It was smaller than I wanted, and larger than Larry wanted. Still, the next year, he offered up the area on the other side of the sidewalk, so it would be symmetrical.

I was pleased to find a red crocosmia, that I planted on the back left corner in this bed, but it did not survive winter. It is hardy one zone warmer than ours. It sure was pretty that year, though.

This must be from August or September of 2008.

The next ones are from April of 2009. I had used mini blinds to mark where I planted things in the new bed so I wouldn't plant over them.

From the other direction, you can see the old shape of the curb planting area.

This is July of 2009. The different varieties of perennial geraniums did very well against the curb.

We had gotten plenty of notice that we would need to remove plants within 18 inches of the curb, and that we would be given 2 weeks notice before the work was to begin. I probably did more than one post about all of this. It was a very good experience, considering all the worrying I had done. I had taken the plants out ahead of time, so they wouldn't have to be moved in the heat of summer, and replaced them with rose moss plants. The work took place in August.

I moved the rose moss to other places, which I was glad to be able to do. Most plants wouldn't survive such a move in the heat.

The guys were awesome! They let me dig my own dirt and put it in containers to put back in place so I wouldn't have to have anyone else's dirt. One young man even helped me finish digging, and a couple helped me put it back.

Knowing this work was going to be done, and because the grass next to the curb wasn't doing so well, Larry had asked if I wanted to extend the planting area. I was giddy, because we had argued over the size of the original bed. When the time came he said he wasn't sure, but he ended up saying if I was going to do it, to find someone else to till it. I called a number from the paper, and someone came out the same day! I had to check with the curb crew to make sure that was OK with them. Larry decided it was OK with him, as well. The milkweed had just come up that year as a volunteer. It sure has spread since then.

The next two must be the end of August or September.

As I was working on this post, I realized I didn't have any from 2010. This was in June, and the next one, July.

It is now, April of 2011. Seeing the photos of the silver maple tree coming down brought back the sadness we felt about losing it. It is good that it was taken down when it was, though, because we had some storms where a number of trees fell into homes. There is a good chance this would have.

These guys were great to work with, too. They were very careful around the flower beds.

I think the next two were taken in June.

The next ones are from August.

I have enjoyed taking lots of photos of the house for my header photos. I try to include Heidi and Larry with the grandsons when possible. Oh, and the fire hydrant makes a regular appearance. This is from September.

I think this is October. The joe pye weed had gone to seed, but the kiss me over the garden gate was in full bloom.

Here's the first snow we had, I think, the first week of December. It didn't last long. A number of us have been wanting more snow and seasonal temps, hoping for a warm spring.

The next two were taken today in the cold. We did get about an inch of snow a couple nights ago.

I would rather live in a more private place, with a big back yard, instead of all the chopped up places we have, in full view of the street. When I was in my twenties, my dream was to live on an acreage, but Larry convinced me neither of us is handy enough. I will be content, though, because I talked Larry into moving here 13 years ago. This is the house he grew up in, and he has no plans to move. The nicest thing for me will be that when the loan for the kitchen remodel is paid, the house will be paid for. I am hoping to retire in the next 7 years, get the place organized inside, and be in the garden as much as I want to. I never would have imagined that Larry would give up this much grass when we first moved here. I can be content with what we have. Plus, the kitchen works much better than it did when we first moved here.

Thanks for visiting my corner garden. I know I wrote a lot. Sometimes I read all what people say, and other times I skim or skip a little. I'm assuming others do it that way, too. If you didn't know how my blog got its name, now you may. :o)

Lots of Foliage

2012-01-16T20:41:00.000-06:00

I am still fighting a cold, so it was too cold for me to go out this morning when the light was right, but I was able to go out and get some photos of foliage for Pam's Foliage Follow-up after in warmed up a bit. I ended up taking a huge number of photos, and, as usual, included way more than most others put in their posts. Most of the foliage is new, that normally wouldn't be growing at this time of year, because it has been warmer than it should be. I am kind of wondering, though, if the new growth really has been there in the past, but I didn't see it because of the leaves over them. Since we had to have our tree cut down last spring, there aren't as many leaves on the ground.

This plant is a dianthus named, 'Wink'. Larry was good friends with the Wink it was named after. She passed away about a year ago. Her husband was an agronomist at the University of Nebraska, and named this after her. I'm thinking he hybridized it. It's a cute little plant that has small pink flowers.

The daylilies have new growth on them. I wonder how they will do when we get winter weather.

I think this is knautia.

The arum is looking like it thinks it's early autumn.

It seems to be normal for the grape hyacinths to green up as early as fall. I'm thinking these did.

The perennial geraniums are looking pretty good. I'm pretty sure they normally die back in the winter.

These are the reblooming irises in the east front yard bed.

I've shown other hellebores, but not this one yet. I am excited to see how well they bloom this spring.

Candytuft:

Yarrow:

I think this is a dwarf sage.

Well, this dandelion thinks it's time to grow.

I am pleased to see new growth on one of the Zizea aureas
.

I have been enjoying the little bluestem and switchgrasses I planted last summer.

Larkspur:

Columbine:

The crocus and daffodils on the south side of the house have grown since I posted about them coming up.

Honeysuckle:

I transplanted several 'Prairie Smoke' geums in the new planting area. At least some of them look like they will make it.

Purple Poppy Mallow:

This may be a penstemon.

Helenium hoopesii:

Snapdragon:

Drumstick Alliums:

There is also some foliage inside to show. The mother of thousands is a very hardy plant.

I have been showing Larry's rabbit foot fern on foliage posts for all three years I've been blogging. He has to take it downstairs to a shower to water it. He does a good job keeping up with it.

The airplane plant has lots of little plants hanging from it. These succulents were sunk in a washtub last summer. I hope they make it to spring so they can go back out for the summer. We take almost all of the plants outside when it's warm enough.

I've had this bay plant at least 3 years. We had to cut it back one spring when it looked like it was going to die, and it took off again.

Scented geraniums don't do the best in the house, but this one is doing pretty well.

Two of the three rosemarys are doing pretty well.

I love angel wing begonias.

In my GBBD post, I showed a photo of a Martex kitchen towel ad that I had on a wall in the kitchen, with the matching towels on a rack on the wall. This picture is in the bedroom we turned into a dining room. Can you see the foliage on it?

I am really not good at decorating, but I like some of the things I do. The salt and pepper shakers were my mother-in-law's. There are some differences, but most of the items on the buffet have something to do with what's in the picture.

I am looking forward to seeing what the foliage looks like on the plants next month. Have a great week!

I Enjoy Year 'Round Blooms

2012-01-15T13:32:00.001-06:00

Carol, of May Dreams Gardens, hosts Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day the 15th of each month. She has quoted Elizabeth Lawrence, who said, "We can have flowers nearly every month of the year." Well, I may not have any outdoor blooms right now, but I do have some flowers from summer that I can enjoy, because I dried them. I also have a few indoor blooms, and lots of flowers on items around the house.

I didn't keep up with harvesting the lavender this year, but did get some hung.

Here's a wider view of where the lavender is hung, along with some yarrow. I love the ad from I think, the 1940s. I have had fun finding the towels from the ad to display. The words on top say, "Even a man can do a good job with Martex Dry me Dry." The ad also states the towels are from 25 to 50 cents each. I paid more than that for them. Here's a link to other posts I've done on some of my collections.

Here is another way I enjoy flowers year around. I like to change these out from time to time.

In the past, I've posted a number of the blooms I have on the walls. Some, just lean.

I almost took a different photo of this, but decided to be willing to show I sometimes have some clutter. I think these hydrangeas are from 2010, because I don't think I got any dried this year.

Here are some blooms from this year.

I didn't dry as many straw flowers this year, because I liked how they looked outside. Still, I am glad I got some.

Another source of winter blooms are the lovely books on gardening, of which a tiny part of my collection is shown here.

This begonia did not bloom this summer. I'm glad it is now. It's a nice touch of color in what is now the grandsons' toy room.

I have 3 holiday cactus plants that are about finished blooming. Still, they are nice and colorful.

The other two are in the garden window in our dining room that we put in what used to be a bedroom. It looks like I need to do some cleaning in here.

I have had 'Naomi' the longest, and can remember the name, maybe because it is the name of a person.

It's January, and I'm always happy when the days are getting longer. I hope the rest of winter goes by quickly. In a couple months there may even be some outdoor blooms. In the meantime, the seedheads are fun to look at, and seeds are available for the birds to eat. Already, some of you in warmer zones are getting some hellebore blooms, so the countdown to spring is under way!

'Black Jack' sedum:

Ironweed:

I love the look of the empty pods of the hibiscus with the blue sky in the background.

Joe Pye Weed:

Wild Quinine:

The strawflowers I didn't get dried, in the shadow of my legs:

I hope this finds you well. There are lots of colds and such going on around here.

Is it Winter? What's with this Squirrel? Blogging

2012-01-04T20:01:00.002-06:00

Our weather has been more like spring than winter lately. I felt guilty about having the photo of our house in the snow as my header, so I took some photos today to show what it really looks like. I also took some photos of plants that look like they think it's spring.

Since I used a new knife instead of my herb scissors cutting rosemary a week ago, and cut a little of the skin on a finger and part of the nail, I haven't been able to do anything involving lifting or pulling. It is supposed to be in the 60s tomorrow. I may try to pull out the tomato plants that are still out there, but will need to be careful not to bump my cut. The few times I have bumped it were very painful. I am tempted to plant some lettuce. I normally try to get some in in February. I figure it will come up when the soil is warm enough. The soil is probably warm enough now, though. Still, it doesn't cost that much for seeds, and takes no effort to plant a few short rows.

Here are the daffodils on the south side of the house. I don't remember when they usually appear, but I'm thinking not this early.

These crocuses are also on the south side of the house.

I'm thinking it is normal for the larkspur seedlings to come up in the fall, and stay small over the winter. These are from the plants I transplanted from the vegetable garden last summer. There are lots of smaller ones in the upper part of the photo.

The phlox 'Pilosa' is nice and green, and safe from the rabbits that are still around and grazing. I just planted some this year, and hope they do well next summer.

The snapdragons have such resistance to the cold!

I can't remember what this is, maybe an iris of some kind. It looks like the rabbits have been chewing on the shoots.

The hellebores have new growth.

This is a different plant. It sure looks happy. I had planned on moving it so I can put plants in the planter in front of the house that can handle dry sun.

I will need to protect this woodland phlox from the rabbits soon.

Larry and I noticed this squirrel with missing hair earlier today. I was glad it was still around so I could get some photos. I did a search and found there can be different causes for this.

It moved after a couple photos. It looks healthy, other than the hair loss.

I took these photos earlier in the day. In looking closer, I saw that this is the same squirrel. So far, the only birds we are seeing are sparrows. I hope other kinds we normally have come around soon.

This obviously, is a different one. I would like them to be more afraid of us.

Oh, I just remembered that Catherine, of A Gardener in Progress recently posted on her 3rd blogging anniversary, which reminded me that mine was in October. My memory isn't good, so I checked to see if I mentioned it in October, and I didn't. Like Catherine, I am thankful for all of the people I have met, and things I have learned from them. I've probably mentioned this before, but I sometimes feel overwhelmed because I cannot physically keep up with all of the blogs I like to read, and I am not able to reply to each comment you leave. I do try to return the visit, though. I am thankful for all the nice people I met on Blotanical, but I haven't been taking the time to go there, either. I miss it. Maybe there will be a time I can go back to picking posts. I don't seem to be posting as often either. Still, I do not have plans to quit.

I hope you all had a good Christmas and will have a blessed 2012.

Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Last Harvest of Season

2011-12-27T19:24:00.002-06:00

I haven't posted for awhile, and wanted to wish you God's blessings as we celebrate Christmas and the New Year. When I was looking for something on my desktop, I noticed I had exported photos of the last vegetable harvest October 20th, that I never got posted. I'll share some of those photos here.

The peppers were late producing, but gave me enough to chop several bags worth for the freezer. I have been enjoying them in soups and chili. Some of these, I ended up freezing whole. I forgot about that until I came across them today. I almost tossed them, but decided I would try to get them used. I'll have to partially thaw them before trying to cut them.

My onion harvest was not as good as usual this year. A number of them bolted before getting a decent size. These were purchased from a farmer's market.

Oh, these were from the farmer's market, too. I didn't even grow any potatoes this year because I wanted to give the soil a break.

The sweet potatoes were from my garden! We still have a few of them. I cut the small ones into strips, put them in a bowl with a little olive oil and I think, Mrs. Dash Extra Spicy seasoning, and roasted them in the oven. They were pretty good. Guess where I got the squash? I can't grow squash, because of vine borers.

Some of the tomatoes spoiled before we got them eaten. I ate the last one just a couple weeks ago, though.

When we had our kitchen remodeled to make it more functional a year and a half ago, we had this cupboard put in. I sure am enjoying it!

This is the open shelving that I requested above the cupboard. I must have brought the houseplants in the same day I got the last harvest.

I enjoyed eating pole beans this year. I don't recall growing them successfully before. I got enough for a few meals from just 2 or 3 plants.

For some reason, I didn't get the photos of the carrots exported. Grandson and I picked some from across the street around this time. Oh, and I got a very nice harvest of garlic that we have been using in our cooking. There should be a good harvest next year, too, as I got some cloves replanted at the right time.

I hope to get some blogs visited over the next couple of weeks. I also need to get some organizing done around here. I think I'm almost over the bug that caused me to not have much energy over the last week. I hope all is well with all you bloggers out there.

Foliage Follow-up and a bit of a Rant on Rabbits

2011-12-17T08:59:00.005-06:00

There is still some foliage to show for Pam's Foliage Follow-up. I see she posted some pretty leaves, since theirs in Texas are now at their peak.

This is the honeysuckle a neighbor lady gave me when we first moved here.

The painters palette still has leaves, even though they are shriveled.

I'm liking the little bluestem, and the gray headed coneflower foliage.

I am looking forward to all of the prairie smoke geums that I transplanted here and there growing next year.

I'm not remembering now what the name of this annual is, but I'm wondering if it's a perennial in warmer zones, since it is still green so far.

This persicaria is still looking pretty in and under the leaves.

Here's the snapdragon foliage I said I was going to include here.

Here is one of the foods the rabbits seem to be enjoying this time of year, a daylily plant.

The amsonia hubrichtii and liatris plants still look OK, but are losing more and more foliage.

This isn't the best focus on one of the hellebores, but I included it because I am pleased that they are doing OK in my garden, even though they don't get as much water as they would prefer.

I try to garden in a nature friendly way, but am thinking about taking out the deck in our back yard, because we have seen rabbits, mice, and opossums go under there. We won't be able to any time soon, though, because the yard is not level, and we can't afford to do much right now. In the past, I did not mind sharing with the rabbits. I even plant extra romaine lettuce for them, because they seem to really like it. We lived peacefully together, except they tended to eat pea plants clear to the ground. Then, they started eating bean plants down the same way. They also started eating the flowers clear down to the stubs. I don't mind some chewed leaves, but please, rabbits, let my plants grow! I don't know why they are causing more damage than they used to.

This area seems to be one of their favorite spots to be. How do I know? Look at the photo that's after this one.

Should I be thankful for the fertilizer?

I do seem to be growing some of their favorite plants now, so I hope to get more of the young plants caged this spring, and hope that as they get bigger, they will be able to withstand the feeding of the rabbits. If you want to share your experiences or advice on dealing with these critters please let me know. I do realize taking the deck out will not eliminate the problem, but it takes up too much space anyway, and is getting up there in years. Larry said his dad built it in 3 stages.

As for the mice, our next door neighbor lady thinks feeding the birds attracts mice, and then they go into houses. Do you have experience with this?

I had most of this post ready last night, the official foliage follow-up day, but got sidetracked and forgot to finish it. I hope you all have a great weekend, and if I don't post again this week, a Merry Christmas.

Added 10/17: I have not gotten any photos of frost yet. There was still some left around 10 this morning. I was able to go out and take a few photos. I found some without frost that I decided to include.

I am holding grandson #2, so will label these later.

December Bloom Day

2011-12-15T06:52:00.002-06:00

Well, we've had freezes and snow, but the last few days have gotten above 32, so the snow is almost all melted. It was warm enough after work on the 13th, that I was able to take a few photos of bits of color and seed heads for Carol's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day.

I can't remember what this is, but I just went out in the dark and looked at the plant, and it was about 3 feet tall. I looked at photos of the area from October, but I still couldn't figure out what it is.

This is an annual salvia.

This is the mountain mint in the front garden that is either a volunteer, or one I forgot I planted. It is smaller than the one in the side yard, and hasn't had any stems rooting on the ground in its two years here.

This is the 'Black Jack' Sedum Judy, from Through my Garden Window gave me a stem of this spring. It sure grew well, and the seed head is pretty, too.

There is still lots of verbena bonariensis around, which means there will be plenty, and probably too many coming up in the spring.

Coneflower:

I have a photo of the green leaves of a snapdragon plant for my foliage follow-up post. They sure don't want to give up the fight to keep growing and blooming.

This is a dianthus of some kind.

Aster seed heads:

Even though the hibiscus flowers are huge, the seed heads are not, but they are still pretty cool looking.

These aren't as dry yet.

Here are the 3 indoor plants I have blooming. Each of them is a different kind of holiday cactus. There are two photos of each. The first one is Naomi, but I can't remember the names of the other two, which I haven't had as long.

The first two are in the garden window in the bedroom which we use as a dining room. The last one is in the toy room, also in an east facing window.

I wonder what others will show for their December blooms. I am ready to see some from warmer places without having a pity party. Oh, and I've already had several dreams about gardening. Usually, they don't start this early in the winter. In one of the dreams, I had a nice sized area where I had planted flowering plants in a straight line, with quite a lot of space between them. I remember thinking, "They look nice, but wait a minute, that's not how I plant things! Should I leave them alone, or replant them?" LOL

The Day After

2011-12-04T20:27:00.000-06:00

There were different amounts of snow reported from yesterday's event. The news station a couple blocks away measured 4 inches, so that's what I'll report for our corner. On my way to and from church this morning, I kept looking at the snow on all of the trees and such. Hey, I just remembered I took some photos with my phone camera. I'll put them in here.

This is one of the two flower beds I try to keep up with at church. Normally, the snow gets piled clear over it. I thought it was cute the way it was lined up around the edge this time. I'm sure it appreciates the moisture, since it gets very little watering in the summer.

As I was driving out of the parking lot, I was in awe of the trees on the acreage across the street. My camera phone takes fairly good pictures.

I drove a ways, then stopped to take a photo, then drove forward a little more to take another.

You can't tell, but on the left, just beyond the last tree, is a busy 4 lane street.

When I got home from church, it was so sunny, that I didn't go out to take photos until mid afternoon. It was still sunny, but I saw that the snow was melting, and I wanted to pictures of what it looked like before it melted even more.

The critters have made tracks all over the yard. I was surprised to see how much snow had melted. I hope we don't get water in this part of the basement.

I will need to move the two hellebores that I didn't get moved this spring. I was waiting to see if the others survived. Now, I'll have to wait until spring.

Look how beautiful and blue the sky was today! Can you see the drop from the icicle?

I felt sorry for the honeysuckle vine. I forgot to look up to see whether one should knock icicles off of plants.

Here's a closer view.

All of these tracks were made by critters, including cats, rabbits, and squirrels.

It's still pretty out, but it doesn't look like it will last a long time.

The strawflowers look sadly pretty in the snow.

Next year, I'll be careful not to accidentally cut down all but one of the wild quinine stems.

Snapdragons have a strong will to live and bloom.

I love the look of echinaceas with hats of snow.

I just noticed while taking photos that the yellow repeat blooming iris had planned on a longer fall.

Larry put out more corn for the squirrels today. I wonder how many of them live in this nest.

This weekend sure flew by! I hope it was a good one for you.

Our First Snow of the Season

2011-12-03T21:43:00.001-06:00

All week, the weather forecasters kept telling us to expect snow today, and they were right! I took our grandsons over to see my parents as the rain was changing to snow, and it was fun to see the excitement of the almost 4 year old. As we were driving up our street, the beauty of the snow on the plants caught my eye, and I exclaimed how pretty the house looked. Grandson #1 said, "All the houses look pretty!" I looked to make sure no cars were coming, stopped, and took some photos from the car then drove a little more to stop and take more. I wish I'd have noticed the water on my lens and dried it off.

After I got the guys inside and the car in the garage, I walked around and took some more photos.

When I walked into the front door, I was informed that waiting for me to come in so the guys could go outside to play in the snow was boring. We had a fun time getting extra socks and other layers on KJ, and out they went!

Little Brother and I tried to see the guys from inside, but I had to change the batteries in my camera, and the photos of them playing in the snow didn't turn out the best. I did manage to get a photo of a sparrow making a run at the safflower seeds in the feeder.

The holiday cacti plants are looking pretty good. This is 'Naomi'.

I don't remember the name of this one.

After the guys left, around 3:00, I took a few more photos.

I am staying up to watch the 10:00 p.m. news to see how much snow we got. I was going to wait and do this post after trying to take some better photos tomorrow, but decided to go ahead and post it since I ended up putting so many photos in already. Happy December! In a few weeks, the days will start getting longer again. Yippee!

I am way behind in my blog reading, as usual. I hope all are well and ready for winter.

Wildflower Wednesday on Thursday

2011-11-24T21:42:00.001-06:00

I didn't know if I was going to get a post in today (yesterday), but it was pretty nice out after work, and my camera batteries allowed me to take a few photos for Gail's Wildflower Wednesday before quitting on me. I have been having problems, either with the battery charger or the camera, and don't get as many photos at a time as I used to. (Added 11/24: I got the photos in, but did not get a chance to finish the post until this evening.)

These are the plants that caught my camera's attention. Some I've shown recently, and others have been in recent Wildflower Wednesday posts.

I am looking forward to seeing the several Zizia aurea, Golden Alexander plants in bloom, hopefully next year.

I think I showed this wild quinine plant more often than the others this summer, partly because it bloomed all summer. I planted another, but am not sure if it survived.

I'm looking for the Ratibida pinnata, grey-headed coneflowers to do well next year. The clumps are nice sized. I hope the blooms are more upright than some in other parts of the yard that don't get as much sun.

I sure am enjoying the little bluestem plants.

The Culver's Root plants look pretty with the leaves turned brown.

I planted several varieties of switchgrass. This is the only one that is the straight Panicum virgatum. It didn't get as tall or wide as the others. I need to move the daylily that is behind it.

A car drove by as I was taking this photo of the ironweed. This was still the best photo of the seedheads.

The Rudbeckia Herbstonne looks OK in brown.

The amsonia tabernaemontana could be cut back, but I'll probably wait until early spring.

I hope the Solidago flexicaulis, zig zag goldenrod spreads some next spring.

Gail, I noticed you were posting on wildflowers more than one day, so maybe you are still today.

We had a very nice Thanksgiving. I cooked for us, our kids, and grandsons. I started early, putting things in slow cookers to keep warm as I went. We were ready to eat at noon, so we could leave a little after 1:00 to go to my parents' for dessert. Larry did most of the clean up, so we could go. Linda made some pumpkin bars and a birthday cake for Larry to take to my parents, so I didn't have to make any dessert. We'll have the grandsons early in the morning so their mom can do some shopping.

I hope you had a nice Thanksgiving, too.

November Foliage

2011-11-16T19:30:00.002-06:00

It's time for Pam's Foliage Follow-up. The foliage is pretty this fall. The temps have been on the mild side, but still chilly enough that I haven't made it out as much as I'd like. It doesn't help that it gets dark early. I do enjoy the light in the morning when I go to work, though.

The perennial geraniums of different kinds are turning pretty colors.

The grape hyacinths have been sending leaves up in the fall, but still making it through the winter.

Arum is a weird plant. I'm glad it's not invasive in my garden like it can be some places.

Larry's pink blooming spireas are a pretty color for fall.

I hope the euphorbias make it through the winter.

I like the colors of the grasses, such as this heavy metal switchgrass.

This may be the only sweet woodruff that lived after I transplanted some from other parts of the yard. It looks ready to do some spreading. The annual it's mingling with whose name I can't remember is still nice and green. It's supposed to get down to 14 tonight, so I'm thinking these may not be green tomorrow.

I didn't know this persicaria would have such lovely fall foliage. I hope I still have the tag out there to remember the name of it. It did not have many blooms this year, but I have great hopes for next year.

Here's a foxglove that isn't ready for winter.

This euphorbia was green in the summer.

'September Charm' anemone is still nice and green.

The new statice I got from a farmer's market vendor looked good until recently. Still, the colors are kind of pretty.

This is the verbena a friend gave me from her acreage. I didn't expect the foliage to look this pretty.

I'm excited for the pasque flowers I planted in front to grow and look as pretty as these that have been in this spot for several years.

This yarrow gets more moisture than it likes, but it hangs in there, and is almost looking like it thinks it's spring.

The amsonia hubrichtii is past its prime, but still showing nice fall color. I kind of like the brown of the liatris, too.

Amsonia tabernaimontana and baptisia are a good combination in all seasons.

I am looking forward to seeing the blooms of the hellebores and the spring that will bring them.

I'm still enjoying the little bluestem grasses, which won't be as little next year.

I am pleased that I found a little start to this gooseneck loosestrife, which has grown nicely in this tub. I hope it overwinters in it. When the late afternoon sun shines on it, it lights up beautifully.

I wonder how many wild columbines will come up from this plant. The purple coneflower leaves look like fall, too.

The strawberry plants under the bench are looking healthy.

Oh, dear, I didn't get this put in the egress window. I better get it brought inside tonight.

I hope you are well and warm. It's the middle of November, and in a little over a month, the days will start getting longer again. That makes me smile.

Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day

2011-11-14T21:30:00.001-06:00

Despite a number of nights in the twenties, a few blooms are hanging on for Carol's Garden Bloggers' Bloom Day. I have included some seedheads as well.

I love snapdragons!

The bergenia bloom faded, but still has color.

This lavender is looking pretty good.

Knautia has a number of blooms most of the season.

I don't remember if this sedum bloomed this summer.

The mums are almost finished, but still have some color.

I tend to neglect to show the sweet alyssums, but they sure are loaded with blooms most of the summer.

Strawflowers:

Beautyberries:

Some petunias have decided to have a few more blooms.

I don't remember the honeysuckle blooming this time of year before. There are just a few left.

I love the shape and scent of stock blooms.

I like the color of these volunteer salvias.

'Immortality' iris is trying to live up to its name.

Like me, this snapdragon is not ready for winter!

'Fireworks' goldenrod:

This helenium is 'Mardi Gras'. It has sent out a few new blooms, even though the rest of the seedheads have been on the plant quite awhile.

Thess look a lot like the mums I showed a few photos previously, but the ones above were white when they first opened, and these have always been pink.

This verbena from a friend's farm looks to be pretty spready. I love it, so will work to keep in within the boundaries I have for it.

The blackberry lily seed pods are poisonous, plus they reseed more freely than I have room for, so I should take them off soon.

Salvia Plumosa:

The catmints are throwing out a few last blooms.

A couple pincushion blooms are providing some nice blue color.

I like how 'Autumn Joy' sedum puts out new flowers that mingle with the old ones.

Eupatorium, 'Prairie Jewel':

The nameless plants I got this summer turned out to be coreopsises of some kind.

The pineapple sage is continuing to put on new blooms, now that it's finally ready to flower.

Inside, some of the holiday cacti have lots of buds, with a few flowers open so far.

I hope to make it to some blogs in the next few days to see what's blooming for you.

What the Short Toothed Mountain Mint is Doing

2011-11-07T20:52:00.000-06:00

Short Toothed Mountain Mint, Pycnanthemum muticum, looks good all season. The butterflies, and a number of other insects frequent the blooms in the summer. I've managed to keep the clump a decent size over the 4 or 5 years I've grown it.

Last week, when I was finding a path for Larry to put the pots into the egress window, I made a discovery.

Can you see what's on the ground?

I've shown the runners I've discovered in the spring before, that I pulled to keep the plant from spreading. I thought the stems had lain down and roots grew from them. Now, I'm wondering if the new runners were already there in other autumns, and I just didn't find them until spring. Well, silly me! I just looked at other posts I've done on this, and confirmed my self diagnosis of being scatterbrained. I have discovered runners in the fall before, and posted on it. Oh, well, this post is about finished, so it's going up anyway.

The new growth looks more like mint than the older growth.

Here's what I pulled up. I will still check the ground in the spring to make sure it hasn't sent more runners out. I really don't want it to get out of hand, because I love the plant, and don't want to have to give up on growing it.

It's 44 degrees, and raining. It's supposed to get down to 36 tonight. The western part of Nebraska is expecting snow. We watered plants with what was left in the back yard rain barrel, and Larry took it down, but the front one will probably be full again after the rain stops. I am only managing to get a little outdoor work done at a time. I still haven't pulled up the spent tomato and pepper plants. I hope the weather holds out so I can get that done, and get more compost spread so we can put the neighbors' leaves in them.

I hope your week is going well.

Bloomin' Tuesday

2011-11-01T21:30:00.001-05:00

This is Jean's last Bloomin' Tuesday of the season. It has been mild for the last week, but they say cold weather is on its way. There are still quite a few blooms, but I've been showing them a lot, so I tried to find the ones that I may not have shown as often.

I took the first group of photos Saturday, and the rest, today.

The several nights in the 20s we've had have finished the season for a number of annuals. I got some of them pulled and put on the compost pile. The front yard looks different without the gomphrenas. The perennials seem happy to have all the space. Next year, I won't give them the competition of the annuals, not as many, anyway.

I took Larry's weird vine off of the trellis, and collected as many of the just as weird seed pod dealies as I could, but know I missed some. They look like 1/4 to 1/2 inch potatoes. I used to think the vine was a perennial, but figured out it reseeds. Now that the grass is gone, I ended up weeding it out of areas beyond where it normally grows.

The dianthus in the washtub in the center of the new front yard area has new blooms. Some of the plants would just keep blooming away if the weather allowed. Like me, they aren't ready for winter.

The black and blue salvias have frost damage, but are still blooming.

The petunias have a new flush of blooms.

I did show these clematis in front of the porch recently, but they are still looking pretty, so I included them in this post.

This clematis is on the trellis against the front of the house.

This rose plant got put into the egress window this evening. The plant got eaten by something, and does not look very healthy, but it has survived in a pot for a number of years. Hopefully, it will come through this winter.

These are the mums that I showed the buds on recently, and have finally opened in the last week.

The delphinium is still blooming.

The 'Wichita Mountains' goldenrod is about finished blooming.

I think this is a campanula of some kind. Its main bloom time is in the spring, but it has a few new ones.

'Immortality' iris held up well this fall.

It seems like pineapple sage starts blooming here just in time for the freezing temperatures to take it down.

I've shown these irises recently, too, but I had to show them again because they are lasting so long.

I went for quite a long time without growing mums. I was not a fan of them because they either wanted to spread too far, or else they would die after a year or two. Larry talked me into getting more, and the ones I'm showing in this post were just planted last year. The 'Debonair' ones I've had several years, and they seem to do well, but not try to take over. I don't remember the names of the new ones. These are starting to turn pink as they fade. I like that.

Here's the picture I was able to take before the camera's batteries died. We got pots of lavender and a few others tucked in for the winter, and watered after work today.

I hope those of you who got so much snow have been able to dig out and get your power restored. I hope Texas gets more rain. I saw the news coverage of the horrible dust and dirt storms in Texas.

As we get ready for daylight savings time to end, I am looking forward to it being lighter when I go to work in the mornings, but not to it getting dark so early in the evenings.

Wildflower Wednesday and the Next to the Last Bloomin' Tuesday for the Season

2011-10-25T21:39:00.001-05:00

I have mostly foliage to show for this month's Wildflower Wednesday, hosted by Gail, of Clay and Limestone.

The first ones I'm showing are in the new front yard area where the tree used to be. I am excited to see how these plants grow and do next year.

When I cut back the gomphrena plants, I accidentally cut most of the wild quinine seed heads. I brought them in and put them in a vase. I'm glad some of the dried blooms are still there.

The Culver's Root has some new blooms that I hadn't noticed until I went to take the photo.

I was not able to catch the ray of light that made this clump of little bluestem shine the other evening. It was beautiful! Next year, it should be taller, and the three in this area should put on quite a show. One of them may be something else, though. I got it from a different place, and it is looking different.

Rudbeckia Maxima:

The prairie smoke geums I divided and placed around all are doing well. There are some other small natives around and about that I am hoping do well in the spring. I think I'm ready for spring right now.

Some of the liatris plants are trying to put on a few new blooms.

This is a new discovery that I am excited about. It's called pussytoes. It's an Antennaria of some kind.

The next couple of plants are in the curb bed. I've had this black eyed Susan for awhile. I don't remember if it's a native one, or 'Goldstrum'.

The ironweed looks good to me dried and dead looking. I wonder if birds will eat the seeds.

This is the threadleaf ironweed, growing in the bed on the east side of the back yard. I wish I could remember where I got it so I could see if I could get some more. I am reading a book on native plants, and found out this will probably get taller next year. I'm thinking it has a tap root, so it wouldn't be a good idea to try to move it. I want some in the front!

The lead plant looks OK so far. I planted one on the far west side of the front yard, and I will have to be patient until it gets to a larger size.

Eupatorium 'Prairie Jewel':

Some kind of mountain mint:

When I went to get Gail's link I saw she had a post on switchgrass, so I went and found a photo of 2 of mine that I put in this spring as tiny little starts. I wonder what they will look like next year. These are 'Prairie Wind'. I have a total of 5 switchgrass plants, 4 different kinds. I got them after Gail suggested they would be good plants for my new planting area. Thanks, Gail! I love them, and you did a better job photographing yours than I've been able to so far.

Maybe there are enough blooms to also participate in Jean's Bloomin' Tuesday. I hope you all are having a great week. The cold temps are on their way back to our area.

It's Not Winter Yet

2011-10-21T16:55:00.004-05:00

I need to do some research on what a killing freeze actually means. It got down to the lower 20s F. the last couple of nights, but not all of the annuals have succumbed. Most of the perennials can take freezing temps, but at some point, they can't take it, either. I went around assessing the damage with my camera today, and ended up exporting lots of photos again.

The red salvias around the yard did not survive.

I don't remember the beauty berry bushes being sensitive to the cold, but the leaves still look pretty wilted.

The zinnias are finished. I need to collect some seeds.

I am sad to see the lantanas did not make it.

More zinnias:

Dead pentas:

I picked as many green tomatoes as I thought we'd use. I'm sad to see these looking so pathetic.

The gomphrena blooms look OK even though the stems don't. Maybe that's because they can be dried. I did get some dried, but there were way more than I could use.

The straw flowers have survived so far.

The salvia 'Black and Blue' have damage, but are still alive.

The cosmos have both dead and living stems and blooms.

I need to see about digging up the dahlias.

Lisianthus is a perennial in zones 8 to 10. They still look pretty good, as do the nasturtiums.

I planted 2 more wild quinines this summer, but I think the squirrels may have dug one of them out.

The snapdragons are not ready for winter.

I think this painted lady was trying to keep warm.

It was nice to see a skipper, too.

While I was out today, I went across the street to where I have more garden space, and took photos for a different post. I always take photos of our yard on my way back, and decided to include these. My home vegetable garden is on the north side of the garage, behind the fence.

South of the driveway, is our shed and back of the house. The flowers are on the east side of the property.

Some closer views:

I'm going to show the rest of my walk around the yard without much commentary.

You can see the bench in the newest planting area across the sidewalk, behind Heidi.

This mum planted last fall has not bloomed yet.

The sweet potato vines are finished for the season.

I could probably cut the milkweed back now.

The next 5 photos were actually taken later in the afternoon, when I had decided to include all the front beds in this post. There was some shade by then.

We are expected to have highs in the 60s and 70s for a few days, with lows in the 40s. I am not ready to pull out the dead annuals. I could take the herbs and some of the houseplants back outside, but I'm enjoying them inside, and I don't want to end up bringing them back in while it's cold out again. Wherever you are, I hope you are enjoying fall.

The reason I was home today, was because I started treatment for pink eye yesterday. It was still bothering me today, so the only thing I did outside was take these photos. I hope to go out a little bit yet after supper, but am afraid of it getting more irritated. Have you had this? Do you know if I should wait until the eye heals before spending any time in the garden? I should have called the doctor's office today to ask. Why didn't I think of that until now? I did do a search on it, but did not find the answer.

The Last Hurrah

2011-10-18T21:21:00.008-05:00

We are expecting a low of 32 F tonight, and 27 F tomorrow night. I went around after work and took some photos, mostly close ups, before picking green tomatoes and the last of the peppers. I figured out I have to put captions in order for the photos to line up side by side. I wrote a few, but am going to just put an "A" for annual and "P" for perennial because I need to put my link on Jean's Bloomin' Tuesday post and get off the computer soon.

Oh, I forgot to collect seeds, too. Hopefully, I still can.

Dianthus

Lantana

Salvia

Nasturtium

Salvia, 'Black and Blue'

Lisianthus

Mexican Sunflower

Agasatche of Some Kind

Chrysanthemum, 'Debonair'

Aster, I think, 'October Skies'

A Few Clematis Blooms are Hoping for a Longer Fall

I've neglected the faithful alyssums.

Dianthus, 'Spooky;

A Tall Variety of Snapdragon

Zinna of Some Kind

Black Eyed Susan

Bergenia, Normally a Spring Bloomer

Reblooming Iris

I've overlooked the portulacas, too.

One of the Newer Salvias

I forgot to post this arum for Foliage Follow-up.

Goldenrod, 'Fireworks'

Chrysanthemum of Some Kind

New Limonium Attempting to Bloom Again

Verbena bonariensis

Anemone, 'September Charm'

The birds are enjoying the coneflower seeds.

Cosmos

Iris, 'Immortality'

Lisianthus

I hope to collect some zinnia seeds.

They still have some nice color.

Strawflower

Coreopsis?

Clematis on Front Porch

Stock

Echinacea in front of Rain Barrel

Delphinium

Annual Helenium

Goldenrod, 'Witchita Mountians'

Short Toothed Mountain Mint

Coreopsis

Sedum, 'Autumn Joy'

Dianthus

Gas Plant Seed Head

Vinca

Yellow Toadflax, AKA Butter and Eggs

Potted Miniature Rose

Morning Glories that Stay Pretty All Day

I wish I would have thought to pick a bouquet this evening. Well, at least I have these photos. I am sorry for the slapdash way I did this post. I need to not post so many photos if I don't have time to label them consistently. Stay warm, wherever you are. Some of you probably would like to see some cooler temps.

Added 10/19: The way I had the photos labeled bugged me, so I went ahead and labeled the blooms. I have noticed I am inconsistent in my use of scientific and common names. That will probably continue, because I am too scatterbrained to be consistent in that area. Besides, in my mind, some plants are called by the common name, and others at least part of the scientific name. Thanks for your patience.

It didn't get as cold as it was supposed to last night, but they are saying the low for tonight is supposed to be 30 F. Brr!

Foliage

2011-10-17T08:34:00.001-05:00

As is typical, I am arriving late to foliage followup, hosted by Pam, of Digging. When I just went to her blog for the link, I see she forgot to do hers this month. LOL Her post on local nurseries looks fun, so I will go check it out after I get this posted. I labeled the photos this time instead of writing above them like I normally do. Now, I can't write anything past the last photo. I couldn't cut and paste the vertical one, either.

I hope you and your gardens are doing well. Our first killing freeze is expected this week, so I hope to get out and do some cleaning up today. I have the day off for semester break. There is a 60% chance of rain, so I should probably go out in the 43 degrees and get started.

Switchgrass, 'Prairie Wind'

Persicaria Polymorpha

Zizia aurea

Stiff Goldenrod

Native Heuchera

Ratibida pinnata, I think

Wild Senna started as teeny baby from Benjamin's garden

Geum triflourm, Prairie Smoke

Echinacea purpurea

Rudbeckia maxima

Wild Columbine, Aquilegia canadensis and Echinacea purpurea

Euphorbia of Some Kind

Kniphofia and Euphorbia of Some Kind

Poor Bedraggled Common Milkweed

Perennial Geraniums and Sweet Potato Vine

Comfrey, Rue

Lamb's Ears are Looking Good

Amsonia hubrichtii

Salvia of Some Kind, Acanthus mollis, Day Lily

Lovely Silver Plant, Whose Name I Don't Remember

Lysimachia of Some Kind

Echinops, Globe Thistle

Painted Lady on Chewed up Kale

Asparagus

Bay Laurel

Sage, and Parsley, Swallowtail Cat Food

Black Eyed Susans Left off of GBBD Post

October's Bloom Day

2011-10-14T22:17:00.001-05:00

Since we have not yet had our first frost or freeze, we still have lots of blooms that most likely will be finished in November. A lot of my blooms have been posted lately, but I tried to show them at a little different angle or from a different distance.

These irises are blooming on both sides of the sidewalk.

My little faithful bargain unnamed rose from a sale table a few years ago continues to bloom all season. I need to see if I can propagate it from a cutting or something.

I hope to get more lavender dried next year. I have enjoyed it in the flower beds, though.

I love these heirloom marigolds!

I love how the 'Debonair' mums I moved to the west side of the sidewalk look with the aster I just planed this spring, and hope to find the tag for. Some of the asters were eaten by rabbits, and didn't get big enough to bloom.

The agastache canas had a slow start this summer, but they sure have looked great for awhile.

The fence isn't tall enough for the black eyed Susan vine. It has adapted by tangling itself on the top and marching into the areas where other plants are. I have trimmed it back a number of times.

I always enjoy lantana. They have a nice long bloom time. I plant them for the butterflies, but I think the butterflies around here like some other blooms just as well if not better.

The butterflies have really enjoyed the dahlias this year.

This is one of the mums I planted last fall, and wasn't sure if it was going to survive the winter. These seem to have a later bloom time. Some of the several I got have not opened their buds yet.

The original 'Debonair' mums and 'September Charm' anemone continue to look great.

That's phlox pilosa in the cage. I have several that I hope do well next year. In the meantime, the cosmos are offering their last burst of color.

Some of the volunteer celosias are blooming and offering some seeds already.

The helenium 'Marti Gras' has a few new blooms, even though most of the plant is finished blooming.

I didn't get many strawflowers dried this year, but, like the lavender, I enjoyed seeing their blooms on the plants.

The tropical milkweed, Asclepias curassavica is a later bloomer here than other milkweeds. I hope the monarch caterpillar I saw on it a couple weeks ago is safe.

I hope the love lies bleeding seeds itself, but will collect some seeds just in case.

I don't think I've shown the painters' palette yet this year. It sure is putting out lots of blooms.

This is the aster that has seeded itself around the side yard.

The 'Witchita Mountains' goldenrod is in its full glory. The aster that looked so nice next to it is now finished blooming.

Here is one I haven't shown. It's a threadleaf ironweed that I planted last year, and is now blooming for the first time.

The pincushion flower didn't do so well this year.

Most of the cleomes are about finished, but this young one is now blooming.

I remember the autumn joy sedums having new blooms along with the older ones last year, too.

These marigolds are in the vegetable garden. I don't know if I've seen a monarch on one before. It was pretty chilly when I took this. I wonder if that's why the butterfly wasn't moving.

I don't have to plant borage or cilantro anymore, because they self sow in the vegetable garden.

The rudbeckia laciniata 'Hortensia' aka Golden Glow aka Outhouse Plant are still blooming, while the 'Goldquelle' are finished.

I hope you still have some blooms to enjoy this October Garden Blogger's Bloom Day, hosted by Carol, of May Dreams Gardens.

Blog Birthday Part 2

2011-10-10T21:45:00.002-05:00

In my last post, I showed the side yard and curb beds from the Octobers of 2008 and 2011 to celebrate the blog's birthday/anniversary. In this one, I am showing the east front bed, which was started the spring of 2008, and the new area in the front yard that was started this spring.

I had told Larry that I would make a deal with him. If I would get our upstairs cluttered room he calls my parlor cleaned the winter of 2007-2008, would he please help me take out some grass to add space to the circle shaped flower bed on the east side of the sidewalk. I ended up not getting the room totally uncluttered, but still managed to talk him into turning the space into a flower bed. He rented a sod cutter for this one, and a friend was going to have him cut some sod from her yard, too, but when she saw how hard it was to do this, she changed her mind. Plus, she was indecisive about what she wanted to do in her yard.

I was tickled about the amount of sod he took out. I thought we were going to have to negotiate the space.

I had told Larry I wanted a nice sized area for annuals. I ended up planting more and more perennials, but there are still spaces where the self sowers can grow. Here are the 'September Charm' anemone and 'Debonair' mum. I have a current photo to show how much they have grown in the 3 years they've been here.

A friend gave me this Sweet Annie. I pulled it out after the first season because I decided it was too big for the area, and I was afraid about how much it may spread.

The purple blooming datura sure did well here.

The cosmos took a long time to bloom that year. Here is another photo Larry took for a possible blog photo. I'm thinking I used this one for Blotanical for awhile.

The 'Vanilla' marigolds did well, and the insects enjoyed them. This was the first year I learned the name of some of the butterflies in the yard. This is a painted lady. This is also when I noticed how well the bees and butterflies share the flowers.

I also ended up pulling out the Queen Anne's Lace that was growing here on the right side of the photo. Even though I love the blooms, I read that it is not native, and is invasive in some areas, taking over spaces from some native plants. I decided I didn't want it taking over my flower bed. I am still pulling out seedlings.

The front part of the original circle shaped bed shows in this photo. I wasn't thrilled with the way this side turned out. I would have liked it more curved, but I can't complain, because Larry did it the best he could.

October 2011:

Joy Pye Weed, kiss me over the garden gate, and love lies bleeding have added some wonderful height to the area.

There is much less dirt showing these days.

I planted another purple datura this year.

The 'Immortality' iris is still blooming.

The painted lady butterflies enjoy the blooms, this time, a verbena bonariensis that I got started from transplanting some from the vegetable garden.

The cosmos plants that I bought as small plants have done well this year.

Here's the photo that shows how much the anemone and mums have grown. I have dug out some of the anemone to give to friends, and planted some of the mums in the bed across the sidewalk.

I have the steps stacked on each other, because I was trying to figure out if I had one of them on a sprinkler head. I just planted the orangeish mum last fall, and wasn't even sure if the roots would grow enough to survive the winter.

I like how this photo of the skipper on these cosmos turned out. I was disappointed that I didn't remember to come out when I saw 2 checkerspot butterflies on these blooms after work today, though.

We had a hot summer, and the sweet peas I started from seed didn't do much, but there are some blooming.

I just noticed today, that the delphinium is blooming again. These plants think our nice weather is going to last for a long time. I think they are wrong about that, but I'll enjoy them while I can.

The hibiscus plants are blooming again. They had slowed down when I started neglecting to deadhead them.

Here is the view of the front yard October of 2008.

October 2011:

I was just going to show the front of the area, but decided to go ahead and post the area in front of the house, too. I have posted lots of photos already, but I am so thrilled with the transformation, I want to have a record here what things look like now. These will actually turn into "before" photos of sorts, because there will not be nearly the number of annuals in the area next year.

I have lots of plants butterflies and bees like, and enough to attract a few hummingbirds.

The switch grasses and little bluestems I planted will be glad when the annuals near them are finished for the season.

I planted lots of natives, and I hope they grow well, filling up this space next year.

The agastache, I think, 'Cana' stayed small and spindly for awhile. They sure are gorgeous now!

The heirloom marigolds from Baker Creek seeds sure are loaded with blooms! I wish I remembered which kind these are. They could be 'Red Cherry', which is one of the two kinds I had seeds for. I hope to collect some seeds from these. Maybe they will even self sow. There are 2 skippers on these.

Here are the 'Debonair' mums I moved from the other side. I love how they look with the asters I planted this spring. Only one other kind of aster is blooming. The rabbits ate the others down, but they are still alive, so maybe next year, they will bloom.

I keep cutting back the flowers so they don't overgrow the sidewalk.

I'm thinking this area will look much different next year, with fewer annuals, and the native plants growing larger.

I want to thank those who have followed my blog over the years. It's fun how we spend different amounts of time visiting each others' blogs, sometimes taking a break, and then usually coming back. Like I've said before, when you blog, you can talk when you want to talk by writing a post. You can listen when you want to listen by reading others' posts. When you want to do something else, you do, and you don't have to wait for someone to leave. I do need to be doing a better job spending time with my in person friends, though.

I have continued to be an ad and tag free blog over the years. I blog for fun. Like some others, I have more than one blog. Shortly after starting this one, I got the idea to start a blog called, "Keeping my Branch Connected to the Vine" because I wanted to post about my faith walk. I've ended up neglecting it for the most part, but want to try to keep up with it better.

I have also neglected our grandson's blog, because I couldn't decide whether to start another blog for our second grandson. I decided to change the blog to, "Time with Grandsons". I did get a post up to try to catch some of the time I missed posting on it. Since I am not good with crafts, this is my "scrapbooking" to share with the guys. I try to show KJ what I've posted when he's interested.

I used to work in a school's childcare center for the student parents. One of the gals I worked with lives in another state, and a year or so ago, she talked me into starting a Facebook account. I have met up with some of my blogging friends and acquaintances there. I almost put my blog there, but didn't like something I read there, maybe some advertising or something, and changed my mind. I recently put for my status that I don't play games or join networks there. I spend plenty of time on the computer already.

I am going to link up to Jean's Bloomin' Tuesday. Jean, I hope you don't mind my huge post linking to your party. I am tickled to have so many blooms this time of year.

Blog is Three Years Old

2011-10-08T23:10:00.003-05:00

I had been meaning to look to see what day in October of 2008 I started my blog. After I did check, I figured out it was 10/1/08, so I missed its birthday/anniversary. It's kind of funny that the first post's title said it was time for bed. Time is still an issue with me, and I am frequently scrambling to finish a post so I can get to bed. There are times I think I should take a break from blogging so that I can catch up on other things I should be doing, but I enjoy it so much, and some evenings, I am too tired to do other things.

I had never heard of a blog until I was in a garden forum with folks who blogged, and I liked how one could put as many photos as they wanted to, and any size they wanted to in their own blog. I've mentioned the names of the bloggers who told me how to blog before, but don't want to risk leaving anyone out right now. I still consider them friends, even though I don't keep up with all the blogs I like to read these days. I wish I would have come up with a different title for the blog, because living on a corner lot is not the same thing as a corner garden, which is gardening in a corner between 2 walls or fences. It does bring people to my blog in searches for corner gardening, but then, they have to wonder why their search ended here, since I don't have corner gardens.

When I started blogging, I had no idea of how much grass I was actually going to be able to replace with garden beds. Part of me thinks having the blog may have been a small a factor in getting some of these areas. This is going to have to be a multiple part post, because I am going to attempt to show the planting areas as they were in October of 2008, and how they look now. Not all of the angles are going to be similar, and some of the areas don't look a whole lot different, so I may give up on it. We'll see. For this one, I'll post about the side yard and curb areas.

This photo is one of those Larry took when I was trying to figure out what to use for my profile photo.

I've mentioned that each time a planting area was created, there was usually some discussion between Larry and me about what size it was going to be, and sometimes, what was going to be planted. The first planting bed we created was a small area in front of the egress window. We had it put in before we moved in 13 years ago, because our son was going to have his bedroom in the basement. I saw that mound of dirt around the window, and envisioned a flower bed. Larry said he was going to plant grass back in the area. Then, we saw some false sunflowers, and he agreed I could plant the area if I planted those. We got 3, and I just kept adding things to the area. By this time, I had moved the false sunflowers to other areas. I didn't like how they wilted so badly when it was hot. I'm not sure why they don't so much in the other areas they are in. Actually, I think I just have one plant left, which is the offspring of the originals, and some variegated ones in the back yard.

The first planting area ended about 2 feet to north of the egress window. This must be the year I planted the short toothed mountain mint. It has grown quite a bit. We put pots of lavender and other herbs and such in the egress window over the winter.

I don't remember which Mother's Day I asked Larry if we could extend the flower bed to the end of the house. It must have been a year or two after the first area was planted. I was surprised when he agreed so quickly. I'm not sure if it was the next year, or a couple years later, that he agreed to take it across the backyard fence. I would have liked them to come out about 6 more inches.

This area looks pretty similar to how it looks now. The 'Witchita Mountains' goldenrod has continued to do well.

I regret planting the Russian sage in front of the bed frame. It's now too tall, and blocks what is behind it.

I now have bear's breeches in the hole that's in this photo.

The amsonia tabernaemontana and baptisia plants were already nice and tall here. I don't remember what year this bed was started. It must have been around 2002 or 2003.

October of 2011:

The asters have seeded themselves around. I've only pulled a few out that were in other plants' spaces.

Curb Beds October 2008:

I'm thinking around 2003, our neighbors across the street had to have their water main replaced, which involved digging a hole in our yard. This is the area where Larry and I had the most conflict over whether and how much more grass would be removed besides what the plumber did so that I could have a new flower bed. He showed me a photo of some plants he liked that were mostly silver, and requested it look kind of like that. (He doesn't remember doing that.) I planted some, and some stayed, and others didn't after a few years. I never liked the shape of this bed, but Larry won this battle, even though I ended up winning the "war" when the street was resurfaced. ;o)

The next year, Larry offered the other side of the sidewalk so that the area would be symmetrical. I planted some of the same plants, and some different.

I have grape hyacinths and several kinds of perennial geraniums across the front.

After a couple years of the symmetry, Larry had some weeds that did better than the grass, and asked me if I had anything that would grow here.

October 2011:

This extension was created after I started blogging. I posted all about the street repairs and new curbs going in. I had to dig out 18 inches worth of plants all along the front of the house. The guys let me dig my dirt out and even helped me put it back in, so that I wouldn't have to use other people's dirt that may have weed seeds or chemicals in it. The areas are still not filled in. Plus, I have some other holes I am in the process of filling. Don't pay attention to those awesome marigolds. They are across the area where a sidewalk would be. The milkweed plants are very ratty looking, and I'm assuming there won't be more monarch caterpillars, but I have kept them up just in case.

Yes, the iris is blooming again, with asters to the left, and winter savory on the right.

It's hard to see the stone path, but it's just to the left of the almost finished blooming goldenrod. It's between the area dug after the curb work and the bed that used to be the shape I didn't like. We may not have any trees in our yard, but it looks like we'll have some leaves for winter mulch.

I have thinned some of the iris, but need to do some more.

Here's the view from the south and west edge of the yard.

I've been trimming back flowers from the sidewalk for the newspaper and mail deliverers. I found a couple plant supports for the asters after taking the photos.

I think these are New England asters, or at least that's what they used to be called. Some folks have mentioned the names have been changed. I am keeping them, even though they get what I think is powdery mildew every year. I counted 8 monarchs in the yard today, and they seem to feed off of these asters more than the others I have. Plus there are a number of other butterflies on them, including checkerspots, sulphers, and skippers, and different kinds of bees. Our grandson told Grandpa that the butterflies and bees share the nectar in the flowers. Isn't he smart? Of course, I did point that out to him once.

Some of these holes are because of spring blooms being dormant.

The salvias reseed themselves each year.

I sometimes write too much when I do posts. I've been trying to limit it, because I myself tend to prefer lots of photos in posts, and sometimes skim the writing. I guess I'm not succeeding in limiting the writing in this post. Really, as I've mentioned before, I do not consider myself a writer, but I like to talk.

I am amazed at the number of gardening friends and acquaintances I have "met" through blogging. Blotanical is one of the places I met some very nice people whose gardening adventures I enjoy reading about, and seeing what they have blooming or growing to eat. Since I have so much trouble keeping up, I tend to go to the blogs of those who leave comments on mine, and then read from my blogroll. I do try to go to blotanical once in awhile, though.

Well, it is past the time I had planned to go to bed. If you don't mind, I may do some more reflecting and sharing about the garden beds in other posts.

Some of the Blooms in the Curb Beds

2011-10-03T22:00:00.000-05:00

The photos for this week's Bloomin' Tuesday, hosted by Ms. Greenthumb Jean, were taken Sunday and Monday. I decided to just include the ones from the curb area to limit the size of the post and because I've been showing the others in posts already.

Oops! First, I had to put some photos of the Mexican sunflower plant from the new front planting area. I continue to be excited about seeing butterflies. They love it here! This is a painted lady The Mexican sunflower plant is taking a beating from the squirrels, but continues to bloom.

The bees like the blooms, too.

I hadn't seen any monarchs for a few days, so I assumed they were on their way to Mexico. I am seeing 2 to 3 each day again. Either these flew in from somewhere to the north, or else they are the offspring of the ones that were here. I did see one caterpillar a couple weeks ago.

Snapdragons:

A relative of 'Autumn Joy' sedum:

The persicaria I got from a friend is doing pretty well. It should be taller next year.

The mystery rose blooms all summer!

I planted several asters last year and some this spring, but don't remember most of the names. I like this pink one.

I haven't decided if I like this color.

The lavender bloomed again after being cut back earlier in the season.

Back to the porch, Heidi donned blue from lying down on our grandson's chalk drawing.

These are Monday's photos.

I think these are New England asters. I cut them way back early on, and dug some out, in hopes they wouldn't get diseased. It worked to a point. They didn't get the disease as early as usual. I was going to take them out, but the bees love them so, and they are a bit different from other asters.

I meant to get a photo taken of this iris before it started wilting and in this case, before the beetles got to it.

I like how the 'Fireworks' goldenrod and spent liatris blooms mingle. That's agastache in the east flower bed, and 'September Charm' anemone on the left.

I hope you are having a great week, and still have some flowers blooming.