My garden babies…
Archive for the ‘Gardening’ Category
Almost-Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Gardening, Photography on May 5, 2010|
Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Gardening, Home, Photography on October 7, 2009|
C & I moved into our newly-built home three and a half years ago and we have been slowly finishing things since then. The front yard has been a work in progress since that time, and this summer has seen the culmination of many ideas. We are not completely finished yet, but we are VERY close!
Back in the early spring, additional shrubs and roses were bought and planted. Throughout the summer, we added edging, lights and landscape rock. Ta Da! It has been a lot of work, but we think it has turned out great!
Here are a couple of before shots:
During…
More during…
A few late nights…
And finally, success!
Now we can sit back and enjoy the fruits of our labor! (Or sit back and figure out what our next project will be.)
Oh, wait…it is a BIRD! About an hour ago, I heard loud squawks outside. I was still about half asleep and thought I must be dreaming. C came in and said you have to see this. Sure enough, there had been squawking and C had found the source.
A gaggle of Canadian geese had flown low over the house and landed in a freshly seeded field across the road. Sorry, C’s Dad! It had just been seeded yesterday! How’s that for timing?
Yesterday afternoon was very productive around here. C & I put lights and edging in the landscaping in front of the garage. Only about 13 more lights to go around the porch and down the retaining wall! C’s dad also leveled out the 3 piles of dirt that we acquired back in the spring. Thanks again! It all looks so much better!
After all this and cooking supper and washing dishes, we called it a night.
I just picked 17 more ripe strawberries off of the 25 Tribute plants that I have and there are many more to come! I highly recommend these!!!
Order yours next spring from Miller’s Nurseries at www.millernurseries.com.
Let’s Hear It For…
Posted in Gardening on August 8, 2009|
I have tried several new products this year and have had some good luck and bad luck. Today is all about the good luck! I love strawberries, but have trouble eating the ones in the grocery store because of some preservative that is used on them. I swell up like crazy when I try to eat them, but I can eat all of the home-grown ones I can find.
I usually buy 1 or 2 gallons to freeze, and still did that this year as well, but I also wanted fresh ones to eat throughout the summer. I decided to grow a few of my own. My mom recommended Miller Nurseries, a mail order company specializing in fruit plants and trees. What a success!
I ordered 25 Tribute strawberry plants and planted them on May 13th. Tributes are ever bearing strawberries with perfectly shaped, strongly-flavored bright red berries. Just in the last 2 days, I have harvested 24 berries, with many more green ones on the plants. I have also potted several of the runners to make new plants. I highly recommend these berries!
May:
June:
August:
Also, this spring, C & I decided to install 4 rain barrels in the back yard. First, we ordered a set of 2 English-style rain barrels from Gardener’s Supply Company. There was a special deal for 2 barrels and a free linking kit to hook them together. We liked the first two so well, we ordered two more. We have had more rain than usual this summer, so the barrels stay full and we have not had to use one drop of “city” water on our plants. I think it shows, too.
If you are in the market for strawberry plants or rain barrels, in my opinion you can’t go wrong with these! Happy gardening!
C & I aren’t big travelers, but every once in a while, we will take off for a day trip. My birthday is around this time, and C asked what I wanted for my birthday. There really wasn’t anyTHING in particular that I wanted, but there was someplace that I wanted to go.
I had learned about Cheekwood Botanical Gardens and Museum in Nashville, Tennessee, a couple of years ago and had wanted to go. Well, we finally went yesterday. It is in a beautiful area of south Nashville called Belle Meade. Belle Meade is named after a big plantation of the same name that is located there. The plantation is also open to the public, but we did not make it there on this trip.
I was not as impressed with the woodland areas of Cheekwood as I was the more manicured gardens near the house itself. The Japanese gardens and water gardens are worth the $10.00 price of admission. I think the woodland gardens would have been more colorful in the springtime as opposed to July. The house on the grounds contains a museum with rotating art exhibits. Currently, there is an exhibit of Faberge items there. I know very little about art, so I enjoyed the gardens more. There are also several art pieces exhibited in the gardens themselves. They were very interesting! Here are a few photos to whet your appetite…if you are looking for a day trip and you live close to Nashville, I would recommend checking out Cheekwood, especially if you love gardens.
Today is C & my 8th wedding anniversary. It seems like only yesterday that we looked like this:
This was taken in my grandmother’s back yard after our wedding. We had a small, private wedding, but it was beautiful. My mom made my wedding gown and arranged the flowers in the church. I wanted us to make my bouquet, too, but we were too nervous that there wouldn’t be enough flowers in bloom at the time.
I can’t believe that 8 years have passed this fast. We have been through a lot of wonderful, fun times and also had to deal with some bad as well. Through it all, C has been the best. He brings out the best in me, and when my best is not showing, he has amazing patience as well. Thanks for the past years, and I hope we have many, many, many more to come! Love you!
To show how special he is, I will tell you what he did Friday. I was having a bad day on Friday. I just didn’t feel good and it seemed like everything I tried to accomplish just turned out wrong! I got home and was venting to C about the experiences I had just trying to get from our little town to home. He told me I needed to just lay down and take a break. When I walked into the bedroom, there was 6 roses in a vase on my bedside table. I almost cried, I was so happy and surprised. He told me to go change clothes and I went in the closet and there were 6 more roses in a plastic cup. He couldn’t find my big vase, so he made do with what he could find! It was the sweetest thing ever! Here are my beautiful roses all together in a big vase.
We also did a little weeding in the garden on Friday evening. Our cucumbers are growing like crazy. We found these while we were working.
Yum! It won’t be long until we have enough for that cucumber salad that I have been promising! Check back soon!
Almost-Wordless Wednesday
Posted in Gardening on June 10, 2009|
Picture Perfect Cooking 