Wordless Wednesday - A Summer Wheelbarrow

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

A few new things for Fall

I know-it's not exactly the right time of the year to buy new plants, but when you go to a garden center to buy mulch, you just can't resist picking up a few things!
I don't have any asters, and knew this cute little "Pixie Dark" aster would just fit in a spot by the pond. And it's a perennial, so maybe next year I will see Pixie's cute little flowers again!
I have been trying to think of a way to camouflage these stakes around the pond. Until I do, I thought I might try a dwarf grass. So, I picked up a "Little Bunny" fountain grass. I read about these before I went to the garden center, so this is one plant I was watching for. It will only get about 18 inches tall and wide-perfect for this space!
The wheel-
barrow full of coleus and sweet potato vine is so pretty right now, but I needed something tall for the back. I thought this ornamental pepper plant would work great. It is a very, very dark purple and called "Black Pearl." Should look great against the reds and greens in the wheelbarrow.
I wasn't planning on buying any sweet alysum, but they had some pretty little bedding plants, and I thought I would get a few for the flagstone walkway and enjoy their sweet fragrance this fall.
And of course, who could leave without buying a few pumpkins...

Even though it's in the 90's here today...

It's Fall Y'all!!!

The "New" Old Wheelbarrow

You may remember a post last summer on my wheel-
barrow. I stole it from hubby! Yeah, I really did. He kind of liked that wheelbarrow, but one day while he was golfing I planted flowers in it! Hubby bought something else to use and life went on. Every year I planted flowers in that wheelbarrow, but last fall when I planted the pansies I discovered the bottom of the wheelbarrow had completely rusted out. It literally fell apart when I tried to move it. So, I was on the hunt for another one. I didn't have to go far. I was over at Mother's one afternoon and hanging on the house at the very back was just what I needed. I asked her if she used the old wheelbarrow, and she said "no, and if you want it, please take it!"
So, that's how I got a "new" old wheelbarrow!"
I have planted several types of annuals over the years, but my favorite thing to plant for the last few years has been coleus and sweet potato vine. I tried mixing in a few other things last year, but they get lost when the coleus and vine start to grow, so this year I stuck with just those 2 things.

I try and find several different varieties of coleus to plant. I never pay attention to their names, I just decide what is pleasing to my eye and what would look good with the chartreuse green of the sweet potato vine.

I love the reds-and apparently so does this cute dragonfly!

The wheel-

barrow full of coleus seems pretty happy here in my little backyard. I hope it lasts for many more years. I found out something quite special about it when I called Mother to tell her what I planted. (You all know how sentimental I am!) Mother told me this had been Daddy's wheelbarrow. My father passed away over 35 years ago. Daddy loved working in the yard. He loved nature and flowers, and Mother said he would be so happy to know that I found the perfect spot for his old wheelbarrow!