At Half Time....

So, here we are....half time in the year....half way through.

Remember back in January?   I posted about my choice of  

One Word

to replace those old resolutions we all make.

My word was

FOCUS.

Well....now it's time to see how that's been going.

We did some focusing on fixing this view.  Old railroad ties and dead grass.

Not so pretty.

So...focus, focus and we turned it into this.

And, though two of the yuccas didn't make it, 

I have to say it all looks much better.

We've added a couple of things to the Island Bed, and it's all hanging in there.

We turned this next-to-nothing back bed...

...into something that makes it all look more complete.

All four sides of the house are 'dressed' now.

And, we remodeled this not too functional walkway.

And, turned it into this.

So, we have focused.  We've gotten a lot done.

Of course, it's never all 'done'.

But, it's getting there.

So, maybe THE WORD worked.

Now, we just have to keep things alive until the heat eases off in the fall.

In the mean time...

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Yucca Demise.....Yuck!..

Once upon a time, there were two very nice Yuccas, in the new Driveway Bed.

I especially liked this No Name one.  Very pretty, and the centerpiece of the bed.

Then....tragedy struck.  The No Name began to die off.  The top looked good...no drooping.  

Just from the bottom up, it was looking very sad.

I trimmed off the dead leaves.  Checked all around it.  A pup on the side looked pretty good.

Then more leaves began to turn dark, from the outside in.

The Softleaf Yucca, in the pot, had a lot of dead leaves at the bottom, too.

I decided to take the advise of some of you, and put the No Name in a pot to try to nurse it back to health, and replace it with something else....maybe an agave.

Too hot to plant much of anything else right now.

Then yesterday, I tried to straighten the Softleaf......and, it broke right off.

The stem was mush!  I dug down and found several Grub kind of worms.

No photo of them.  I was too busy squishing them.

I went over and pulled on the No Name....it broke right off, too.

The stem is mush.

There were no grubs in that spot.  The leaves never drooped, as I thought would be a symptom

of Yucca Weevils, or Snoutnose Agave Beetle. 

After some research, the grubs in the pot look like the larvae of those two villains. 

The soil in the No Name was a bit more moist than it maybe should have been.

I little too much help with watering maybe.

So, we're taking out the dirt, and discarding it....just in case.

I don't know what to put in their place.  

Between the heat, the deer, and worry about putting another yucca or agave there to be attacked, 

I just don't know.

The agave already in that bed looks ok, for now, though.  

Anyway, I just wanted to whine to my gardening friends about my trials and tribulations.

Hope you're having a better time in your garden.

Happy Gardening....

Stay Cool...Pray for Rain...

~~Linda~~

Canna Get a Witness?....

Thought I'd check in and show you the 

Canna bloom.

Here's one.

Here's the other.

On the same plant.

Now, that's cool.

The bloom stalk was a bit weak, so it looks a little ragged.  Hope the next one does better.

Rain missed us....again.  Let's hope we get some soon.

Happy Gardening...

~~Linda~~

Slitherin'......

We recently had an unwanted guest, here at Patchwork Garden.

I went out one morning, to get the newspaper, from the driveway.

The Big Dogs, from next door, were looking at something on the other side of the drive.

I went over to investigate....and this was the guy I saw.

Yes...that is a Coral Snake.

'Red on yellow, kill a fellow'

Well...even a poisonous snake might have been OK, if he hadn't headed for the Fenced Yard.

Miss Maggie was watching every move, through the front gate.

I knew, if he made it to that yard, she'd...as my mother would've said...

'be on him, like a duck on a junebug'.

That would NOT be a good thing.

So, I hurried into the garage and grabbed the above mentioned mother's old hoe.

It's a great hoe, by the way.

And, I chopped him in two.

Then, I went inside and had Mr P come out and check it out.

The snake was still moving it's head....so, again with the hoe, he chopped the head off.

Then, the ants took over.  A few hours later, this is what was left.

Here's what I found from researching it.

These snakes' venom is neurotoxic.  That means it attacks the nervous system.

The good news is, their head and fangs are pretty small.  They have to 'chew' in order to inject the venom.  

Can't picture many people letting that happen.  

Most bites to gardeners are while weeding, etc.  

Wearing shoes and gloves is the best defense....also, being aware of what's around.

They eat lizards and other small snakes.  

So, places that attract those, are places theses Coral Snakes would hang out.

Although the bite may not be very painful, it is an emergency.  

Get medical help.

I don't know why he was in our driveway, or if he'd been there before.  

I'm just glad he didn't come in contact with Maggie.  

That could have been deadly.

So...

Happy Gardening...

Be Careful...

~~Linda~~