Plan B…

Remember, when I posted an update on the bed in front of the house? I showed my new pot, crammed full of ‘deer resistant’ plants.

Lots of variegated plants, with strong fragrance, or poisonous qualities. Oregano, plectanthus, helichrysum, and that lovely ‘diamond frost euphorbia.

Well….this is what it looked like, after a nighttime raid by a deer. The oregano is GONE…..the plectanthus is chomped off….the euphorbia, with that sticky ‘dangerous’ latex sap, is chomped right down to the nub. The helichrysum was not chomped…just pulled up, and left to die a slow death.

So much for ‘Deer Resistant’.

So, here is Plan B. From experience, I know the deer pretty much leave these alone……Dusty Miller and Periwinkle. I’m not sure why. The Periwinkle does have a strong odor, but so does oregano. The Dusty Miller has fuzzy leaves, but that doesn’t always stop them.

I don’t like it as much, but maybe, just maybe they’ll leave it alone. I put wire down, so maybe that will make them harder to pull up.

This gardening with deer, is the Never Ending Story.

On a happier note…..Our neighbor, Elli, is having some work done in her yard. They cleaned up the bed by her mail box. She called and asked if I’d like some agaves. Free Plants!? Of course!!! I rushed right over.

So, now I have ‘some’ agaves. These are a. lophantha. What you see here, is not all that was removed. The landscaper took some, and another neighbor took some. And, they returned three or four to the bed. And, it does look a lot better.

I’m told, all that came from one small plant…like the one, above, in the remodeled front bed.

Now this one will have company. Some will go in the Rock Bed. Some will go in a side bed. Some will go to our daughter-in-law. And, since these agaves are so prolific….I’ll be cleaning out in a few years.

Don’t you just love it, when a gardening friend cleans out a bed, and wants to share the bounty?

Happy Gardening…

~~Linda…

The Good, The Bad…and The What’s That?

Another ‘Camp’ has come and gone. Another unqualified success. We had a great time.

Heading for the airport

We visited, we played….we recharged.

Back home, some surprises awaited me. New chairs for the back yard.

And, a new bench for the front porch. Thanks, Mr. P.

The orchid had opened new blooms.

The squash is blooming. This is Gray Zucchini or calabaza.

The daylilies are finally blooming. Lovely ‘Happy Returns’.

And, look! The Sago Palm, in the front bed, is ALIVE!!

But, the Bad happened, too. Lightning struck a tree close to the back of the house.

It peeled a line of bark off. Our tree guy says to just wait and see what happens. He thinks it’ll just heal itself. Scary close to the house, though.

And, we’ve had a LOT of these guys around. This is an ‘Indigo Spires’ salvia that he is eating. There were more on the Pineapple Sage and the lima beans. I don’t know what they are, but they’re NOT welcome.

Now, the ‘What’s That?’ part….

After a pretty heavy rain, we can always count on some kind of fungus. Mostly, it’s in the form of mushrooms. But, this is way different. I looks like wax ‘ears’. Another unknown….and a bit creepy.

But, the garden is coming along nicely. Things are growing fast and lots of blooms. There’s always more to do, though.

Happy Gardening…

~~Linda…

Camp Buttercup....

2009

It's that time of year, again.  Time for six lovely ladies, to head out for our annual gathering.  We come from all over....Georgia, Florida, Colorado, and, of course, Texas.  We've been 'gathering', for many years. 

For the past few years, our gracious hostess shares her home in Florida with us, for the week after Mother's Day.  This could be the last year there.  She's selling and moving back to Texas....where she belongs.

If it is the last year there, we'll miss it.  But, we've gathered other places before, and will again.  We can have fun, ANYwhere.

Mr. P. will be in charge of keeping the Patchwork Garden going, while I'm gone.  I trust him.

So, for the next week, there'll be no digging, no mulching, no gardening.  Instead, there'll be water volleyball, card games, food, fun and LOTS of talking and laughing. 

We're a good group.

Making Some Progress...Update #3

I'm continuing my journaling of the progress in the garden.  Lots of time and work, have gone into these beds.

July, 2008

A lot has changed, since that day we made the offer on this house.  This is the view from the front, beside the mailbox, to the veggie area.  The veggie garden, is a large cage, with dirt inside for planting.  The black thing, sitting in the middle there, is the cover on the septic.  The septic isn't really used as a septic anymore...we have city sewage...but, the hole is there, and there has to be access.  Certainly not your most appealing view...a big black thing, just sitting there, looking ugly.

April, 2009

  We took away the big black cover thing, and covered the hole and put a big rock on top.  That left a big rock, sitting in the middle of the yard.  Not what I wanted.

So, I got out there and started digging.  My original plan, was to make a huge bed, all along the veggie garden.  The more I dug, the smaller the new garden plan became.

April, 2009

I call this the Rock Bed.  Not because it has a lot of rocks IN it, but because I took so many rocks OUT of it.  Mr. P. calls it the 'No See 'Em' bed, because you can't see it from his precious covered porch.

May, 2009

It's sunny and hot in this bed, from mid morning, until about 5:00 in the afternoon.  I wish the veggie garden was on the other side of this bed.  It would get more sun.  But, there won't be any moving that.

Late May, 2009

I know how all these plants felt, sitting out there in the sun.  Except, I was out there much earlier in the year.

Most of these plants had to be moved.  Some were chomped right down to the dirt, or burned to a crisp, during our very long, hot summer.  Sometime, you learn the hard way.  Actually, since that's the way I do it so often, that must be my favorite way to learn.

April, 2010

Anyway, when they took the dirt out for the Rio, I had them dump it over beside the Veggie Garden.  It's surprisingly good dirt.  Other people's top soil, that has washed down over the years, and decomposed leaves and grass, for years.  I added some more compost, though. 

April, 2010

There's still a way to go.  More weeds have shown up.  We need to get mulch down.  But, I think once things grow, it'll be good.  Something nice, for the golfers to see, as they make the turn.  

April, 2010

  The grass is very sad over here.....no grass watering was done last summer.  The weeds love it here, though.  Not sure what we'll do for the 'lawn' here.  I have some plans, but they're going to have to wait.

So, what do you think?  Was it worth all that work?  I guess, we'll have to wait and see what it looks like later in the year.  At least, it's not just a big cage and a big black thing, anymore.

But, you know....a garden is never really 'DONE', is it....

Happy Gardening..

~~Linda...