Gardening Nightmares!

Usually at this time of year I am watching this bed around the Chinese Pistache tree..
watching the bluebonnets grow. Not this year. Instead, I am watching the weeds grow--namely the wild carolina geraniums. Oh I am so mad about all these weeds. I wish you could see how thick they are.
You can see this bluebonnet in the middle of the mess, but this plant is a nice one--most of the bonnets are tiny. There are red poppies planted here as well. I can hardly find them! Grrrr..have I mentioned how angry I am right now!
So this afternoon, I started the tedious job of trying to dig up all the weeds, while trying to pull out the bonnets and poppies and re-plant. This is a job! The roots of the weeds have literally wrapped around the real wildflowers smothering them. It is garden MURDER!! Someone call the garden police! As I sit here trying to calm myself (think a glass of wine would help!) I am thinking I will start tomorrow just digging everything up. If I can save a few bonnets and poppies, great-but if not, so be it. Then as soon as I can, I will get mulch on this area. But..I want to plant zinnia seeds in late spring, and seeds need to touch the dirt...oh my goodness, have I told you how mad and upset I am right now?


So here is my warning--if you see anything in your garden that looks like this--pull it out NOW! It is not wine cup as I thought 2 years ago--it is a wild geranium that will literally take over your garden. When I looked this up on google, the site had a "weed warning" label across the top, so apparently I am not the only gardener with a problem. I am not sure how the weed came to my garden; perhaps rode in with the Pistache tree. But it is time to hit the road you bad, bad geranium! And don't come back!!

Where HAVE I been??

It's been a while...like a month...so where in the world have I been? Just busy..life gets so busy these days. Why didn't someone tell me retirement is BUSY! Actually, you know the Master Gardener program I am in requires 72 hours of volunteer work after the class is complete. I have been working pretty non stop on getting those hours-and....drum roll please...I am done! Of course I will continue to work, but probably not quite as much as these last few months. So let me show you some things that started to bloom in my garden..like these beautiful clasping coneflowers. They are just swaying in the breeze these days.
And the wheel-
barrow is full of color...
This is my new love... Texas Primrose
"Sun Drops." Love it, love it!
Rock Rose is looking rather..well, "rosy" these days!
Remember the new window box? Here it is today. Ummmm..
The Larkspurs started to bloom and have been really pretty. They are such sweet flowers.
The wildflower bed has been...yep..wild ! Love the cottage look in this bed. The bluebonnets have been gone for some time, but the coreopsis are making up for the loss. Indian Paintbrush are still blooming and blackfoot daisies are trying hard to handle all our recent rain.
With the coming of spring..and thinking about summer I have come to an important decision. You know I love the 2 little beds along the flagstone walkway. I plant bulbs, pansies, then any other annual that gives me a pop of color--and I do this every year. After much thought I have decided I will not plant annuals in these beds any longer.
These beds get great sun and I think I can find enough perennials that love our summer heat to keep the beds full. The only annual in the beds right now is Angelonia. Just had to get them-they are one of the best annuals you can have. Other than that, I have coreopsis, several different salvias, blanket flower, lavender, rudbeckia, wine cup and coneflowers. I plan on tossing poppy seeds in fall--and maybe a few other wildflower seeds. The geranium is one I keep over every winter and since it is not too big I will continue to try and hold on to it.
I think I will probably fill a couple of containers with violas and add a hanging basket (I had such good luck with this one), but it's time to stop the madness and concentrate on things that will return.
Yes, flowers are blooming, birds are singing and butterflies are happy flying about. My garden is my "happy place." It is not large, but at times it is almost magical. I find peace and serenity in this space. I solve problems in the garden, and sometimes create problems in the garden! :) I start my days here, and I end my days here. I hope you find this contentment in your garden as well.
"The kiss of the sun for pardon, the song of the birds for mirth.
One is nearer God's heart in a garden, than anywhere else on earth!"
Dorothy Gurney

Blooming Surprise!

One of the biggest blooming surprises of "almost spring" is my purple Homestead Verbena. I planted a few plants last year, and really paid no attention to them this winter. About a month ago I noticed the plants looked pretty green considering our cold winter, and about 2 weeks ago I noticed buds. Now as I go out to check this bed, I see purple blooms all over!
Homestead Verbena is a perennial and should overwinter, but I read that some gardeners did lose their plants because of the colder than normal weather. This pretty purple flowering plant is a rampant grower. It likes full sun and endured our hot dry summer with no problems at all. Once it starts to flower in spring, it should flower right up to the first frost. It does have a rather woody look, but will fill in an area quite nicely. I love the way it spills over the stones around the flower bed.
Actually, I did not realize this verbena had spread as much as it has--I see shades of purple growing right in between the almost blooming bluebonnets. In summer, I have rudbeckia blooming in this area-the deep purple with that golden yellow is really pretty.
So..2 thumbs up for the purple Homestead Verbena! Don't you think it would look pretty in your garden?

Late Summer and the Pond

I sat on the patio early this Labor Day morning enjoying a cup of coffee and slightly cooler temps, listening to the peaceful sound of the pond. We built our pond about 11 or 12 years ago. It added the perfect touch to our little backyard. We used a red pump as our source for recirculating the water back into the pond. We like the nice sound it created, plus although a lot smaller, the pump reminded us of camping in Colorado and pumping water at the campsite. However, the past 2 years, the pump has been slowing down and collecting so much algae we are cleaning it out way too often, so, we have been thinking it may be time to retire the old pump and create a small waterfall.

Just a thought that I ponder as I sit this morning. I am also thinking what a good idea it was to plant yellow cosmos around the back of the pond. Those flowers love sun, and are really drought tolerant. They should re-seed too! There is another reason I am enjoying the pond this early morning..do you notice anything missing? The net! Because of heron problems, we had to net our pond last year. But last month we noticed we never see heron anymore. Back in the spring we could just stand outside and watch them fly by-- so many! Now I don't think the problem is over--oh no! We have discovered the heron fly over in late winter/early spring during their nesting season. Then when the temperatures start to heat up, I'd say late June, they seem to go somewhere else.

I don't miss them either! I want to protect my fish, but I also watched the dragon flies trying to get to the water these hot summer days, and was very torn on what to do. We keep the net close by just in case, but for now the pond is open for the birds, bees and butterflies (plus dragonflies) to enjoy.

If we decide to build a small waterfall, the pump will not be thrown away--it will just be disconnected and sit beside the pond. I don't want to lose the character of that old pump. It will always be a reminder of the first years of the pond and all the hard work hubby did in designing and building it. I so love my little pond!

My Flower of Summer

Lots of garden bloggers post on their
"flower of the week" or
"flower of the month." I don't have enough variety in my garden to choose a flower that often, but I do have a "flower of the season"-my flower of summer is Rudbeckia (goldstrum). I started out many years ago with about 3 plants that I planted along the street side of my house. Every spring I divide..and divide..and divide.

I have these beautiful black-eyed Susans everywhere These are on the west side of the backyard..
..and these run along the east side. My Susans are happy anywhere I put them. I now have a few pockets of flowers in front. It didn't take the transplants very long to grow and bloom.
And Rudbeckia make great cutting flowers. I have little bouquets all over..some are mixed in with other flowers..









As long as I can I have a bouquet of flowers on my kitchen table. They last a long time inside if you change the water everyday. What a joy it is to walk in every morning and see these happy flowers waiting for you!
The original flowers are still on the side of the house. I couldn't recommend these flowers more. They are heat and drought tolerant-which is very important in these hot and humid summer months. I only water them occasionally, and the flowers in back get the hot, hot west sun all afternoon and never complain--ever!! And, they are so pretty and bright! It makes my summer complete when they start to bloom!

I have often wondered: if I could only keep one plant..no more..what would it be? I love my spring bluebonnets, but I think my choice would have to be these Rudbeckias--my favorite flower of summer!

So..do you have a favorite summer flower?

It's a jungle out there!

The other morning I went out to water. I turned on the faucet and filled the watering can, and turned around and just had to giggle. This is what I saw--what a jungle! That cleome takes center stage and amazes me every day with it's blooms.
And as I looked further at my little backyard garden, it really looks like a jungle! But, you know..that is the look I love. I am definitely a lover of the cottage garden. Lots of anything that will grow-everywhere!
Out of the 7 zinnia seed packets I planted, 2 groups of flowers have germinated and grown and look great. They are tall, but have small blooms and make great cutting flowers. As a matter of fact, that is the name of the group they are from, "the cutting collection." You know I was not thrilled with the seeds I bought, but at least I got these flowers. They add to that wild jungle look.
The stroll down the path is pretty clam, but you can see all the things I have growing. There are lots of things that are not handling the west sun very well, but for the most part things are doing ok.
In the mist of the early morning hours, it may look like a jungle-but I do love my garden, even in the hot summer time. It is full of so many different things-lots planted by me, and a few planted by my bird friends. I will try and remember how it looks on this hot summer morning some cold and dreary day in January. Remembering will help get me through the winter!

"In the depth of winter..I learned that within me lay an invincible summer."
Albert Camus

Saturday Morning

I took my coffee out to the patio this drizzly Saturday morning. As I sat and watched the humming-
birds and cardinals come for breakfast, and listened to the sounds of the water hitting the rocks in the pond, I felt such peace. The sky was cloudy, and I suppose there are some that would call this a dreary day, but for me-it was a perfect morning.
For some reason, I love to see a garden on a foggy, drizzly day. After such a hot June, I know my plants are really happy with an overcast sky and rain!
I sometimes wonder why I bother with gardening-do you ever think about that? My answer comes pretty quickly though--I find serenity in my garden. I solve problems in the garden-and I sometimes create problems in the garden! :)
And on this drizzly Saturday morning, I find content-
ment in the garden.
The heat will return, the rain will stop, plants will come and go, and summer will turn into fall. But for this moment in time, I feel such peace.
I hope you all have a peaceful, beautiful weekend. I am taking a brief break from the blogging world. I will be back soon!

"Working in the garden gives me a profound feeling of inner peace. Nothing here is in a hurry. There is no rush toward accomplishments, no blowing of trumpets. Here is the great mystery of life and growth. Everything is changing, growing, aiming at something, but silently, unboastfully, taking it's time."
Ruth Stout

Tiny Herb Garden

We usually have a small veggie garden, but this year our garden area is "under con-
struction." I miss the tomatoes, peppers, and onions. But I decided to make up for that loss I would create a tiny herb garden in the back. This is it, and although small--it is flourishing!
I have spearmint, pineapple mint, lemon mint and lemon balm. It has all kind of grown together-which I love. WARNING: grow mints in containers unless you want them to take over!!
This is chives (bring on those baked potatoes!) and thyme. (one of many-I love thyme!)

The parsley started out slow, but is finally looking good-as is the basil. This is boxwood basil. It is a mounding plant with tiny leaves that can be used in pesto.
There is a small rosemary plant in the left corner of this picture, and, I couldn't stand to not have sweet banana peppers this summer, so I bought one little plant. Looks like I can pick for the next salad!
Hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.

French Drains, Termites, a Wheelbarrow and a Washtub

Work on the french drain has started. After clearing the area, we took string and tried to lay out the route the drain would take. It will wind through this back bed, connecting with an existing drain, then come up toward the other side of the yard. It will be a long drain, but hopefully will solve our drainage problems. The next step was to start digging. Wouldn't you know, poor hubby immediately ran into problems.
Remember, we had 2 big trees in back. The trees are gone, but they left huge roots. Hubby and youngest son spent all afternoon last Sunday trying to axe out some of the roots. It was a tough job! Hubby worked every evening last week and was able to finally get the big root out.
Hubby then dug a trench to tie in to the existing drain. This was not an easy task. It took him just about all afternoon on Saturday.
Today we laid the first drain pipe. We put rocks on top of the drain, then will cover it with no float mulch. After this was done, hubby started digging more of the trench. And of course, he ran into more roots! This has been a back breaking job and is going to take quite a while to finish. I know we will be delighted to have our drainage problems solved, but it has been a pretty rough weekend for us (especially for my wonderful husband!)
As luck would have it, we encount-
ered another problem last week--we found out we have termites! Yuk, eeeew, eek! We are getting our house treated on Thursday. They will need to dig about a 3 inch trench around the entire house..so, I spend part of this afternoon transplanting the flowers from this side flower bed. They were up against the house and would be removed when the trench was dug. This bed is full of rudbeckia and daisies, plus phlox and a hollyhock full of buds. Gosh I hope they are careful with my plants.

Rough weekend, but I found a couple of nice things to see in the garden. I think the spring wheel-

barrow is looking really pretty right now. The bunny that lives among all those flowers tells me he is pretty happy surrounded by all the beauty in the old wheelbarrow.

And I am so happy with the coleus in the old washtub! And the cosmos seeds are really growing too. I bet they will be blooming before too long.

Whew, it has sure been a tiring weekend. My hands hurt, my back hurts, and I have a very tired husband! It seems like there is always something to be done in the yard. Even in a small backyard like we have, there is one project after another. But, you know what? I love it. I love the feel of dirt on my hands and the excitement of things to come. I love that a gardener's job is never done!

"A gard'ner's work is never at an end; it begins with the year, and continues to the next."

John Evelyn

My Favorite New Plant

Remember when I bought the hanging basket at Lowe's for the old chair I got in Fredericksburg over spring break? I thought it was perfect for this old chair and it had that wild look that I love. Shortly after I bought this plant, I started to notice a really sweet smell in the backyard. I thought it was hyacinths or the violas, but after they stopped blooming I was still smelling that sweet scent. After careful inspection by my nose, I realized it was the little yellow flowers in this basket that I was smelling. I didn't know what the flowers were (no tag in the basket), but I knew I wanted to find out, and I wanted another basket of these!
This is Yellow Bidens (ferulifolia). Yellow Bidens is a beautiful, daisy-like, yellow flower that grows to about an inch across. The plant has lacy leaves and spreads to about 18" across and 9" tall. It is drought and heat tolerant. Bidens are members of the Asteraceae family and a cousin to cosmos. They are suppose to bloom until frost, but need to be deadheaded often to encourage new blooms. They are very pretty, and that sweet honey-like smell is devine! When the sun shines on mine, the whole yard smells good.
So back to Lowe's I go and buy another basket to hang on the arbor. This basket is mostly Yellow Bidens, plus some bacopa and small purple flowers. Don't you just love it? I can see this from my breakfast room window. It brightens all my days and that sweet fragrance makes the backyard smell so good. I am in love with this new plant!
It is a sunny Saturday, but it rained hard over night, so no digging french drains for us today. Hubby and I both are wanting to get this over with, but it will have to be put on hold-- again. So, I need to find something else to do this beautiful day and it's off to the garden centers I go. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and find a new plant that you love.