Amos in Autumn

The fall colors have been beautiful, if a little late, this year.  Amos the Amur Maple is always pretty.  The walnut tree still has a few yellow leaves hanging on even though the neighbors walnut lost all its leaves more than a week ago.

Favorite

The geraniums in the washtub have been my absolute favorite thing this summer.  I can't believe how much they have grown.

A Rainy July

The people, animals, and some of the plants got tired of all the rain,

 but the ferns and hostas have never been happier.

 In the fall, I want to move the sad little hosta in the middle, and divide one of the huge dark green hostas from another bed in its place.

 This tomato picture is a week or so old, and they've grown even more.  So far, no tomatoes that we could eat, but the cherry and pear tomatoes are looking promising.

 The cucumber plants have yielded one perfect cuke with the promise of more to come.

 The pepper on the little plant is slowly turning red.

 Since I planted so late, I just put all the elephant ear bulbs Todd gave us in one big tub.  I'm thinking now that I shouldn't have put all my eggs in one basket - or ears in one tub.  It looks kind of cool though, and some of those leaves are giants!

 Don't be jealous of my gardening help.  He enjoys being outside participating...until it's time to take a nap in the AC!

 For a change of scenery last weekend, I moved my hammock to a couple of other trees.

 I was pleasantly surprised how much different the yard looks when viewed from a spot I don't often sit.

Growing Like Weeds

The geraniums seem to love their washtub!  Added a couple of flags for Flag Day and the 4th of July

 It's only been two weeks since I planted most of the flowers and vegetables, but everything is growing fast!  I've already used some dill and cilantro.

 The tomatoes are growing tall and have some blooms.  Fingers crossed!

 The cucumbers seem to be suffering from some powdery mildew on the lower leaves.  I've treated them with a fungicide, and that seems to be helping.  They have lots of healthy looking blooms.

 There's already one perfect little green pepper growing!

Baby Plants

I like to get a little earlier start with summer plants, but with our vacation plans, it didn't make sense to plant sooner.  

 I kept feeling like the white rabbit (I'm late!  I'm late!  For a very important date!), but would have to remind myself that it's still May!  Lots of time left to grow and enjoy.

 I didn't get too creative this year.  I find it better to stick with the tried and true.  Lantana for the big table, a geranium for the little table.  Added yellow "million bells" to the cream cans.

 Since we planted the trees, the dog house has been relocated.  Impatiens in a cream and red dishpan on one side of the opening, and elephant ear bulbs planted in a galvanized tub on the right - thank you to Todd for the bulbs and Myra for the tub.

 Last summer we bought two stock tanks at an auction, so it was time to fill them up.  I have limited success with tomatoes, but hope springs eternal.  Five different varieties this year.  From left to right - Better Boy, cherry, pear, grape, and roma.  Thank you Courtney and Patty for the tomato plants!

 One of my colleagues made the best dill and cucumber salad last year, so I planted the dill specifically for that salad.  Fingers crossed!  I always plant basil, just because I love the smell - same with the oregano.  I love cilantro.  Who knows - maybe I can make salsa with our tomatoes and cilantro.  A girl can dream!

 A yellow pepper and a green pepper are living in the other new tank, and cucumbers in their usual home.

 Thank you to David for getting all the dirt for me!

 I always make at least one questionable flower decision when shopping, and this year is no exception.  These petunias were called "chi-ching cherry", and they're a little more pink than I usually go for.  Time will tell!

 It has been a soggy wet couple of weeks...so wet that a mushroom has sprouted up from the rotting bench!

 The geraniums are looking great, and the hydrangea is growing.

 My favorite combination for this basket that Mom gave me - "Aaron" caladium and red impatiens.  Thank you Mom for flower sitting while we were gone!

 Alvin, Simon, and Theodore are doing great!  They all have lots of new growth, and seem to be adapting well to their new home.

Hostas in Early May

 I'm so glad that we put in this hosta bed several years ago.  For the most part, it just gets better.

 One fern didn't make a repeat performance, but I have a plan to divide a big hosta and won't need that fern anyway.

 The two ferns on the left above are several years old and just get bigger every year.  So far so good!

 A few ferns in this bed didn't come back, but the three big hostas take up so much space that I'm not planning to replace those either.

Before we left on vacation, I went to the greenhouse just to get the flowers for the front porch, since I could get those to my mom to flower sit while we were gone (thank you, Mom!).  However, stepping into the greenhouse that was FULL of geraniums was a mistake!  The whole place glowed with the pinks, reds, and orange colors of the flowers, and I couldn't resist.  I had intended to wait until we got back to plant anything, so no one would have to water.  So thank you, Christina, for watering our new trees and my impulse-buy geraniums!

Spring Projects

For several years, I've talked about replacing the brick pavers that lined this bed with rock to make it blend better with the rest of the yard.  I hadn't done anything about it, but when we were picking up one more scoop of mulch to finish our mulching, and David was willing to haul rocks home, I couldn't resist.  I love the way it turned out.

 We had plenty of rocks, so I finally built a little wall around this hosta bed which I'd wanted to do as well.

 We spent two long days raking up old mulch, leaves, and pine needles and replacing it with new mulch.  I forget from year to year how much work it is, but it sure looks nice when it's finished.  This year, it took us 7 cubic yards to do the job.

 If we could convince a certain four-legged family member not to kick after he does his business, it would help the mulch stay in place. ;)

 We haven't had tulips in a while, but this year we had a dozen blooms.  So pretty!

 The pansies that I planted last fall have come back extraordinarily well thanks to a mild winter and wet spring.

We are so glad to have the tree planting and mulching project behind us!  Now we just get to enjoy our hard work!