A Pass-along plant and seeds!

This must be my lucky week. My sweet neighbor came over yesterday and brought me one of her Christmas Cactus. She has several of these plants and they are beautiful. One of the plants is hugh! If you look closely at the picture, top left side, you can see that it already has buds. I was told to keep it in a room that is not too light right now, so the blooms will slow down a bit. Isn't it pretty? I can't wait to see all the flowers. Thank you so much Jane!

Then I go get the mail today--and I have seeds from Tina at In The Garden. There are actually 3 contributors to this blog-Tina, Skeeter and Dawn. The pictures are fantastic, and the plant information is so good that I print copies for my garden journal. Tina asked if anyone would like some nicotiana (flowering tobacco) seeds in a post she did, and I wrote her "yes please!" I not only got the nicotiana, but 5 other seed packets. I am in plant heaven! Thank you so much Tina!!

Neighbors and blogging buddies are the best!

"Friends are the flowers in the garden of life"

author unknown

Sunday in the yard

There was much to do this pretty Sunday afternoon. As soon as we got home from church I changed clothes and headed to the yard to clean out some beds and plant some seeds.
This cosmos was leggy and I was tired of looking at it. Plus I was ready to plant California Poppy seeds This was easy..just pull them up, prepare the bed with my trowel, and scatter the seeds.



How easy was that. I scattered a few more poppy seeds around in other areas, pulled up the blackfoot daisies and I was ready to move on.

This is the bed I am re-doing. It's along side of the garage and driveway. No problems... I'll just pull up the zinnias and cut back the lantana, then dig up the rest. Uh-huh..sure, easy..NOT!!
I did fine until I got to the "dig up the rest" part.




I knew the lantana had been here since the beginning of time, but no worries..ha!
I just know the neighbors were beginning to watch as I started with a short shovel, then went and got the tall sharp shooter shovel. I am right under 5'2, and it's not easy using this shovel and I'm sure pretty funny to watch.
These roots were big too! I dug and dug praying the entire time "Lord, please don't let me hit the sprinkler system!"
I finally heard a crack, so I put down the shovel and started to push back and forth on the now exposed roots.

Another crack, and I pulled with all my might...and the roots let loose... and I flew backwards!! I know the neighbors were really laughing by this time, but I got up and did what any garden blogger would do.
I went and got my camera so I could take a picture!



I think re-doing this bed is going to take a little longer that I thought!







"There is not a spot of ground, however arid, bare or ugly, that cannot be tamed!"
Gertrude Jekyll

Wednesday Gardening Notes

When my sister was in town last weekend she brought me a garden sign with my favorite quote on it. Yes, she painted it herself! She is quite an artist! She gave me 2 different size stakes to use since I don't know for sure where I will put it-I can stand it tall, or low. Isn't it pretty!




On the blooming front, my lavender is blooming again. This is Lavandula pinnata. The leaves have a fern like look. It's cloudy today-I can't get the flowers to show very well.



This is better I think..I took a picture from the other side.

The plant grows up to 2 feet and the flower stems can grow 2-3 feet. Flower spikes are in 3 parts and resemble a pitchfork. According to plant information, the flowers should bloom continually through October, but mine were sparse in July and August. They say the flowers will bloom even when the temps dip just below freezing. I can't imagine , but wouldn't that work out well with our warm Texas winters!

This type of lavender does not have the strong fragrance like some of the others, but it does smell good when you brush the leaves. Did you know you can float lavender in your birdbath and keep algae from forming? It works! I always pick off a small stem and toss it in mine. The birds really enjoy their aromatherapy bath!

Saturday at the Arboretum

My sister was in town this weekend so Mother and I decided to take her to the Dallas Arboretum.
I even saw a special friend there..
jenningsjunk was there with her mom and 2 cute nephews! (we always knew one day we would run into each other!)

We saw lots of things to remind us of fall..







Like a pumpkin house...


and a horse made of straw...












there were even pumpkins floating in a pond!












there was purple...




























there were pinks and reds...



























there was white...











and there was yellow
there were butterflies...












there were ponds,
with fish...

And there was a wonderful cottage garden

outside a cute pioneer cabin.

It was a perfect day to spend in the garden!

Contentment

I rushed out to feed the fish at dusk. That time of day that is not light and not dark, but shadowy. It was so still..the only sound was that of the water from the old red pump very gently tumbling into the pond. As I looked up and caught this glimpse of the backyard, I felt so calm and relaxed. In this crazy world we live in, it is here in this small space that I find peace. I feel hope and joy; I feel content.

I hope you have a place in your garden that gives you peace and tranquility.



"She who loves a garden has a very special treasure..for she has found her private paradise. She loves the joys of simple living and the peace on which no man can put a price."
from Mary Englebreit's She Who Loves A Garden

A Bloomin' Saturday!

It's amazing how behind you get just being gone over a long weekend! I caught up with all the in house things the past few evenings. So I was ready to see what was going on in the garden this Saturday morning. Armed with coffee in one hand and camera in the other, off I go to see what's blooming.

The profusion zinnias remain the best bloomers. They are all across the front of the house.

Imagine my surprise seeing the star jasmine in bloom! What a treat!

Shhh, don't tell them it's fall!

Coneflower White Swan-what a beautiful flower!

Yellow and orange cosmos still going strong.

This is an ivy I bought to hide the biological filter for the pond. I bought it because of the fullness last spring, but look--it's in bloom! Anyone know what type this is?

It's one of those things I just stuck in the window box, and if you look closely you can see it in bloom here as well.

Inpatients love the cooler weather.

Zinnias are leggy and need to be removed, but still have a few flowers.

This lantana has not done well at all this year. It's in the bed I am going to re-do.

Another surprise-the gaillardia (blanket flower) has 1 bloom!

I cut the pass-along phlox back, but it decided to bloom one more time.

Little purple heart is peeking through the sweet potato vine.

A pretty little morning glory hanging on to the lattice.

I paid $2.00 for this autumn sage in June. I didn't know if it would even survive, but it has done well and is now in bloom.

And of course..the yellow mums just say fall!



What's blooming for you this nice Saturday?

Come with me to the East Coast!

We left Friday morning for a visit to the northeast to visit our daughter who lives in Washington DC. Knowing how much I love quaint, historical old towns, she recommended that we stay in Alexandria, Virginia.
It was the perfect weekend. Let me take you on a quick visit.



We saw lots of old houses



This is Robert E Lee's boyhood home.

The Carlye House

The William Paca House in Annapolis, Md. William Paca was the governor of Maryland 1792-85.

His house had a vegetable garden...

...and a flower garden

Lots of asters here in the northeast.

We saw cute townhouses..

There is not very much room for gardening in the townhouses but they make up for it with their container gardening.

We saw cobblestone streets...

The colors have not changed yet in this area, but this pretty dogwood tells us it will not be long..

We visited where Washington lived...


(This was a wine tasting on the grounds in the evening)

We saw where Washington went to church...

The cemetery by the church had graves dating back to the late 1700's.

And we saw where Washington ate..

This is the dining room at Gadsby's Tavern.

We saw Great Falls on the Potomac River












We rode a hay wagon and picked pumpkins and apples!

I have never seen pumpkins growing before, so I was amazed! I wanted to find a big one and bring it back, but didn't think that would make the airlines very happy. : )

I did manage to bring back a small white pumpkin and 2 gourds.

The pumpkins were beautiful!

The entire weekend was amazing...

all the history, the beautiful river, the delicious food, the green countryside, picking pumpkins and apples..

Everything was perfect..but the most wonderful part was getting to spend time with our precious daughter!