Great shots, Woody! It looks lovely and the fringe tree is a nice addition to that bed(yep,it's a slow grower I think).

Deanne -- I love your latest photos - it amazes me how you intertwine things along the front edges, and these photos show off that talent - to say nothing of the incredible container gardens, each a work of art!

Hot as heck here today (again) -- I was hauling hoses around - it does make the evening go quickly! Im tring to lug the succulents outdoors too, but it's hard to find places where they wont immediately fry; I seem to have had an infestation of scale on some of them too; aargh....

GB - have fun at your reunion!!
Saucy - I sure hope your back gets to feelin better quickley - who would have thought soapstone sink would have been so heavy, darn it? I love them - it would have been such a fun addition, but not at the cost of hiring heavy equipment (or Brenda's tractor) to get it to your place.

-Cindy

Oh Saucy, sorry the soapstone sink didn't pan out. I'd love one of those. For some reason hoeing in the veggie garden didn't agree with my back tonight.

'bug, I added 3 'Polish Spirit's' last summer to the patio trellises.

Woody, you are lucky to have such nice borrowed views.

Deanne, I think the containers look fabulous already. Gosh the fuchsia in the 2nd picture is gorgeous! Do you buy your castor beans as plants? Mine are just getting started. I've never see plants for sell around here.

Much cooler here and it is very welcome. I had errands after work so that along with watering makes for a short evening. Although, I can stay out until 9:30 before it's too dark. I had to chase away another deer tonight. She didn't seem overly afraid of me.

Later
Michelle

After 10 days of highs in the 80s and 90s today topped out at 78 but still humid. Thunderstorm last night produced a scant half inch of rain. Nothing seems to be suffering so the last month of hose dragging has been worth the effort. Grass seed is coming along where the pin oak was removed. About the time I get down to one or two pots of perennials I buy a couple more, therefore I continue to plant.

Michelle, Im still hand picking the helicopters and wondered if I was the only one still battling nuisance seedlings. Is there a better way to eradicate them? You mentioned hoeing the veggie garden, do you hoe the ash seedlings, too? Im not sure why but Im very inept with a hoeI feel clumsy and uncoordinated. Next spring Ill have to rake more thoroughly instead of trying not to disturb the mulch. And I thought many of the helicopters were too dried out from lack of rain to sprout, ha!

Vcant believe your chickens are that big already. Curious as to how you herd them up and back to the coop after they have free range time.

Denise, dont give up on that orange colorso many shades and one of them will be right. I can almost see it in my minds eye, just not sure how to suggest tweaking it.

Hope you have a good time at your reunion, bug!

Deanne, Ive never seen a climbing hydrangea that enormous. Ill have to backtrack and see if you said how long youve had it. Funny, I was thinking how interesting it was to see your containers at their "conception" only to read Kathys comment about their "infancy", LOL. Beautiful creations! Wish some wrens would come here to give the Sparrow Gang a hard time. They reign supreme in our yard, taking all the birdhouses and chasing off other birds. No idea how to discourage them and lately theyve taken to zooming in on the finch feeder. Aggressive little bullies!

Woody, really love yours shedreminds me of a small cottage in the woods! Looks like something Randy designed and built? Intrigued by the fringe tree and hope to see more photos!

Sorry there is concern with Zeus, Saucy. Hope your back is improved, too give it a few days before you resume too much gardening.

Candy

Candy - I designed the shed and we hired out the building of it. In general, Randy is not 'Mr Handyman' when it comes to construction :-)

Deanne - can you post a picture of your shed please? One of the pictures above had a glimpse of it. Since we're still working at getting the right greens, I'm interested in seeing how someone else has dealt with it. (Nice containers - as usuual :-), but I'm very shed-focused at the moment.... single-minded, that's me... We got a much-needed 1.4" of rain yesterday and hopefully more later today - great for the garden, but not good for painting.

Saucy - I hope your back is better and I hope Zeus hangs in there for a while longer - losing much-loved pets is certainly not easy, and is a hard life-lesson for kids. I still remember the first 'pet' loss in my young life - I was about 6. The 'pet' in question was Barney, my grandfather's last Percheron. He went to the 'graveyard' - rockpile at the bottom of a hill in a far pasture. The dog dragged a hoof home several years later. For a high school science project I took his lower jawbone to school on the bus! It was heavy!! For all I know, it's still in the biology lab there. A rural childhood has such interesting aspects :-)

Tomorrow the big Copper beast comes for a two week visit - possibly longer... Her 'parents' are heading out for a two week vacation in Greece. Given the current events in Greece, the risk of another puff from the Iceland volcano and pending stike on British Airways, there is a great deal of uncertainty around this trip! They've already had to scramble to re-book their flight out since BA strike had been planned for the day they were due to fly out. They are still booked BA to return so are hoping for the best - but bringing lots of food for Copper in case they don't make it home on time!

Woody - I love the colors of your shed - I think Deanne's is more bluish in tone but they both look the right colors to me in their settings -- I imagine tones of greens, etc., will look different among different types of foliage. Im not an artist nor am I particularly good w/ colors, but I think your shed might disappear more if you had the door look the same color - it would all disappear into the surrounding area -- but maybe you dont want it to totally blend in? After all, if you recall Sue's shed - hers is a tropical cabana paradise and looks just nifty too -- it's really great to see what fun different people do with their buildings. -- For instance, Ei's "embracing the barnyness" LOL -- I think it is wildly creative and turned wht she felt was an eyesore into a neat art piece - I cant wait to see what color trim she goes for.

Saucy - I meant to comment on Zeus too -- my short term memory has a very limited capacity these days -- you know, hugs, hugs on ailing beasts -- Im still missing mine ferociously...

Candy - Im pulling errant pin oak seedlings and mulberry as well all over the place -- I dont seem to get them til they're at least 4 inches tall -- big enough for me to see them, LOL.

I too am jealous of the lupines - they just wilted away in my garden the one year I tried them --

Kathy - that designer daylily is amazing - you and Norma are terrible enablers -- I almost ordered more daylilies this year, but I really, really dont have any room!! In fact, I should have divided some I think last year and it will be interesting to see what kind of show they put on - assuming they dont do it while Im in CA.

Re clotheselines - my parents have had the identical type, Woody, for decades at their house -- Dad still uses it regularly - the grass under it has been worn away after so many years of use -- it's a great idea to make a different color string - but then again, I imagine the white might help folks see it -- you would not want people having accidents and walking into them; but one does wonder what a creative genius would come up with as an attractive re-engineering in color for the backyard, LOL.

Okay - more swelter today and maybe some t-storms -- I really need to lug all the agaves, etc., out into the yard - I hope I get a chance tonite!

TaTa!!

-cindy

Cindy - the shed door will definitely not stay blue. The painting is a three part process - the primer coat that's on there now; a paint coat (or two) in a the darker green shown on the two sticks; the door painted in a third, even darker, green. So stay tuned...:-)

Evening all,

Ive been pretty busy with getting some orders out and keeping the gardens up while getting the last few containers put together. I get to this point in time and I just want to throw all the leftover plants in A. a single huge hodgepodge pot, or B. the compost bin, LOL. Thanks everyone for the kind words re the containers, much appreciated!

We had some T storms blow though here but only a tiny bit of rain. We really need some moisture here. Im hoping the predicted showers give us some rain on Saturday. The mosquitoes arent suffering from the lack of rain though and are pretty ferocious right now and Im sporting an annoying collection of bites at the moment.

Woody, I originally took a leaf from my Frances Williams Hosta to the store and matched the blue green from that for my shed color. Doug thought I was a bit daft to paint a shed to match a plant. The trim is a warm gray color that is a nice contrast to the blue-green but is still a nice neutral.
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Hope you have a great time with Copper. Glad you got some rain.

Candy, that hydrangea was planted in 1995 and took years to get going but is really an amazing specimen now. ~~ The Sparrows usually occupy that white bird house you see in the sundial garden but I normally remove the eggs before they hatch. Eurasian House Sparrows are pretty destructive to our native cavity nesters. I cant keep them out of the feeders but dont let them reproduce on my property. I know it doesnt make a dent in their populations but makes me feel better. Some people kill them but I dont have it in me to kill anything, let alone a bird that is only behaving according to its gene code.

Michelle, sorry about your back, hope its better today. ~~ I bought that castor bean as a six inch plant but its growing at light speed with the warm temps. I have to admit that the fuchsia you admired in the photo is a new purchase. Most of my overwintered specimens are still sticks with a few leaves growing off them. They, unlike the castor bean, dont like the hot weather.

Cindy, so sorry for the continued hot weather you are dealing with. Sounds dreadful. Weve been having pretty steady temps in the mid to high 80s but havent had any severe heat since that day it got up to 100. ~~ Hope you are able to get your succulents out.

Kathy, will do on the updates with the castor bean pot. Im probably going to have to do weekly pics with the rate that thing has been growing lately. ~~ I love lupines too but have limited luck with them here.
OK Doug just got home from work so time to rustle up some dinner and have our evening chat over beverages.

Later
Deanne

Thanks, friends! Just a quick drop in again to tell all of you how much I appreciate and treasure your hugs and kind words. Truth be told, I actually feel better now than I have in years-doing something definitely suits me better than just watching someone disappear into that haze. Keeping my fingers crossed that it works. Time will tell. On the 18th, I go to the "Family Wellness" weekend-lectures, etc. I am lucky that I am not an addictive sort, but sometimes it makes it hard to understand that it is a disease-I often fall into that "Make a different choice" attitude which is probably not helpful.

Woody, I think you discovered the way to make your fortune! A laundry line with dark strings! It could grow into a "designer" line with fushia poles and purple strings...turquoise with green...and so on! I would definitely buy one!

Time to get ready for bed. I want to respond to everyone's stories and pictures, but that will be later.

Hugs back to all of you.

Cyn - I would not only make the strings dark, but the pole too. That silvery metal is equally as bad at drawing your attention to it! If it was black or dark brown, it would disappear. Green would not be a good choice as green often draws attention by being the 'wrong' green by being too out of sync with the natural greens around it. Last weekend we got a rain barrel that the regional municipal government was selling. If the color hadn't been right, I wouldn't have bought it... It's a nice dark brown. Randy set it up today and it almost entirely disappears into the shadows with the plants it's with. We did find dark blue strings for a clothesline which might have worked well but the line was too thick for that umbrella style dryer.

Deanne - matching the leaf was a clever idea! I played around with Photoshop, 'painting' the shed with various greens in the background of a picture of the shed to try to get a feel for what would work. On the principle that light colors draw your eyes, I'm aiming for a dark enough green that the plants near the shed will be lighter in color than the shed, so your eyes will stop at the plants rather than the shed. Your green is nice and dark. The primer color on mine at this point is too light. I'm hoping the paint color will be dark enough. The color we've got for the door should be dark enough so I think we'll paint the door next. Then, if the paint for the walls turns out to be too light, we'll already know if the door color is an alternative for painting the shed all one color.

Randy is not keen on dark colors and liked the blue shed so he's a bit iffy about this whole project! But I think he's begining to see what I mean about using the color to put the shed into the background rather than the foreground, because he can see how the dark rain barrel 'disappeared'.

Our week of promised highs in the lower 70s isnt panning out. It has been hitting 80 every day. Better than it was though. Right now the wind is blowing and its very dark in the west. We need rain badly. I spent the night watering.

Tonight Rick helped me with some thoughts on the design of my new desk at work. Im having a custom desk built. I call it my dream desk. Ive sat at the same desk for 27 years, so it will require some adjustment on my part.

As for the lupines, they come and go. I let them reseed or theyd have been long gone. You have to be happy with them wherever they come up.

Deanne, I think Ive mentioned my hodgepodge pot before. In my early years of containers I threw a bunch of leftovers in a pot and it seriously made me think that a clown threw up.

Candy, I only hoe in the veggie garden and there are no baby trees there. I mulch everything else and that doesnt work well with a hoe.

Michelle

Michelle, I had an ergonomic study done on my work desk once and it was the best thing that ever happened to me! I'll bet you could google it and find some tips to add into your design. Important things were the height of the monitor and desk relative to the chair, I believe.

I need a garden shed and I hope to find a siding that I can let go natural, even if it needs a coat of sealer. I wanted that soapstone sink for the shed :) I don't think I'll be able to get it because I have no heavy equipment.

I hate to let that go.

This morning I'm going to get manure for my beds. I hope my back treats me well. I will bend at the knees :) Michelle, I hope your back is better.

Zeus got a diagnosis of being really old :) He got some meds to stop his immediate issue and he'll get arthritis meds next week (after the bloodwork is back).

The windows are open and there a birds in the hedge making a ruckus. We're enjoying a wren here, too, Deanne, and my Baltimore Oriole has returned so I've been capping the feeders with halved oranges. My friend from TN mailed me a finch feeder that I admired while I was there last summer and that made my day!

I guess I'd better be off. Have a great day, Idylls. I certainly am ready for a respite in CA :)

Saucy

Good morning all,

We are having a cloudy AM here with temps in the 60s and Im loving it after all the wind and heat weve been dealing with. The gardens are in their mid-June lull early this year. The iris, allium and Hydrangea Petiolaris came and went so fast youd have missed them if you blinked. I checked my photo records and normally I still have bearded iris this time of year along with the great show from the hydrangea which is now also finished for the year. Speaking of early, my Manhattan lilies are opening their first buds this morning!!!!! That is ten days earlier than last year! I was hoping to have them for the garden tour and they will probably be done by then. Jeesh!

Cyn, more hugs going your way. Hope you get some good information and support from the lectures.

Woody, terrific application of good art principals. Also, the more greyed or less intense the color is the more it fades into the background. One reason why so many green things for the garden are an eyesore, they are just too intense or saturated. I wanted the contrast for the trim on mine so painted it the color of the stones and granite.

Michelle, I almost spit out a mouthful of coffee from laughing so hard when I ready about, "made me think that a clown threw up"!!!!!! Way too funny, also too true with the hodgepodge pot. One never knows how its going to turn out. ~~ Wow about getting a new dream desk after 27 years. Youll have to take pictures of the before and after. ~~ Hope you get some relief from the heat and wind soon. We could use some rain here as well.

Saucy, bummer about not being able to get the sink. Id hate to let that go too. ~~ How lovely about the Orioles and finch feeder. ~~ Weve had a flock of Cedar Waxwings in the area for a few weeks now but Ive never been able to get the camera out fast enough to get any photos.

OK time to get my day started here. Have a good one everybody

Deanne

The Copper beast is back, bigger and shaggier than ever!
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She'll be here until the 19th - or longer if current events (Greek political/economic situation, Iceland volcano and British Airways strike) interfere with her 'parents' return from Greece...

On the medical front here, a change today. My blood test for May continued to show deterioration re bone loss indicators. My family doctor consulted with the surgeon and the decision today was to try a cold-turkey stop of the medication. If seizures return, I'll need to start it again. The drug was also accumulating in the blood so that should offer a bit of protection. So now we wait and see what happens, both re the seizures and whether the bone loss indicator starts moving in the right direction!

Happy Friday evening to my imaginary friends ..74% humidity here tonight not the normal deal ! Overcast, no rain, no breeze. A typical June-gloom day is on the agenda for tomorrow-ok by me, Im going to do the Marin County Open Days gardens and a little overcast is better for the pics , right ? None of the gardens open till 11am though .

Lol Cindy, trying to pawn off the blame for the daylily purchases on me and Norma..I advise you to stay far away from the GW daylily forum, because I hereby pass the blame along to them ! Ill tell you those people mean business over there ..

Saucy, I wonder if you can hire someone to bring you that sink ? Know anyone with a forklift ? I just hate uncooperative logistics.

Woody, hope the latest med-experiment is fruitful. Copper is looking a mite shaggy ! How nice for his humans that they have a nice home for him to visit while they travel.

All for me tonight..

Kathy in Napa

Good Morning Idylls!

Well, the internet and cable issues are not quite resolved, although they did add all new cable outside. Will be coming back next week and hopefully everything will finally be fixed. I'm talking in brief for now...worried about internet shutting down midstream.

Anyway thank you all for the lamb's ear suggestion. I have too many spots to replace with Helen, but I'll cut all mine back real short and see if that helps.

Deanne, your photos are such inspiration. Cool idea using the hosta for a color match! :-) Loved your story of the nesting birds....lol. I totally understand your amusement! Want to share my funny bird story, but will keep it short. Anyway, the other day I came home from work and pull the car in the garage. As I walk out of the garage I see two ducks waddling down the driveway towards my house; a male and a female. They have their heads turned to each other and are talking away...."Honest honey, you're going to love the new lake I found, it's rather small, but so homey, I just know you're going to love it!" They were totally ignoring me and kept on walking & talking all the way up the drive, down the dry river bed and into the pond...lol! I just sat there and watched them dive and come up and then just soak (not much room for swimming in my pond)...but they seemed happy. What a riot. I got the biggest kick watching them walking to the pond...I swear all they needed was a couple towels thrown over their shoulder. :-) Paul said I should have taken a pic and then photoshopped towels on their shoulder. I didn't have the camera though and was too busy getting my giggles out of watching the two of them.

Woody...I *love* the colors of your shed; soft & elegant and in tune with your natural surroundings. Very nice. I was going to mention my fringe tree experience, which isn't all that much experience as I've only had mine for about 2 years. It's still small (about 4-5 feet) and seems to be growing slowly, but blooms like crazy. I had read GB loving that tree and so that's why I bought mine. Seems like I'm always using GB's plants. Well you've never steered me wrong Bug! :-) Love your single peonies Woody and glad you are finally getting you rain! :-)

Cindy I love that astilbe's color...it's now on my list.

Michelle your gardens are gorgeous. I took it as quite a compliment that you called me a farm girl. :-)

V your chicks are *gorgeous*!

Still working on the shed and will share more pics when I finally finish painting it (yes, I *did* want to paint the trim...lol) but this week-end is dedicated to weeding.

Chelone...I hear you on the PW prices. They do have some fabulous eye candy plants and I admire their efforts in improving & extending the annual options. But, a single pot of one of their annuals is the price of a small perennial. I only buy their plants when it's something I've really lusted over and then I always try to find the varieties from them that I can propagate for my own garden or can carry over to the next year. I love the old fashioned varieties too and sure hope they won't be edited out of our choices.

Well, that's it for me I've tested my internet long enough.

Just wanted to say that there may be not as many people posting here as there use to be, but there are sure a lot of people *reading* here...you won't believe the number of hits I got on the pics of my shed.

Have a great week-end if I don't get to talk to you again before then....
Ei

Good morning and happy Saturday. I'm watching the rain starting to roll in from the South and trying to not get depressed about the fact that the only good gardening weather comes during the work week. Aarrgh!

It's been an interesting week here. Remember those two graduation parties that DH and I went to last weekend? Well, a stomach bug has been making the rounds of almost everyone who attended those parties. And it's not food poisoning because a couple of the kids got sick before the parties started. DH and I dodged the bullet, but almost all the rest of our family members got hit. It's the new question in town - Did you get it?

On Tuesday, DH was headed to O'Hare and got in an accident. Little Zippy car (some of you met Zippy at the first IU) became the roast beef in a four car sandwich. DH is fine, Zippy is not. DH had been eyeing a couple of cars that will not be available for another year or two, and had been hoping to make Zippy last until then, so he has no idea what he wants to do for a replacement car now. So we are limping by with one car for now.

That said, I've just been told the car is leaving! Gotta run!

V.

I tried posting this morning. I guess GW wasn't awake yet so here it is now. Gotta run. N

Yes Cindy, The Daylily forum is dangerous LOL. My daylilies are just getting started good with the early bloomers, and the other day I found a cute little orange and gold bitone seedling of Stella d oro. I need to get that moved to a better spot and see how it develops.

Woody, I hope getting off the meds is successful. Copper does indeed look like a shaggy beast. Is his coat soft or wiry?

The baby bird Wyatt found did not survive. I suspect he overfed it or it was just to young.
We have a pair of Summer Tanagers here. The male is a bright red like a cardinal and the female is a yellowish brown. I read that they like wasp and bees. especially wasp larva which is a good thing around here because we have an abundance of wasp.

Yesterday I was able to get most of the vegetable garden weeded. I have a few more hours work out there early this morning before the sun hits it.
Yesterday morning I was walating and of course I bent to pick some weeds among the pavers by the swing, which resulted in my sitting down to pull more and thus weeding was my day. While I was sitting on the pavers pulling weeds Rebel was lying there by me and Niki walked over for a pet. Rebel was jealous and crowded into my lap which tickled me. I don't laugh out loud very often (just my nature) but the more I laughed the more he wanted to play and he wooled me all over the place. I love that the animals like to be with me when I work around the yard.
On the other hand sometimes Niki is a whiner. She does not meow but has a little whimper sound she makes. Since she has been staying out at night and it is hot during the day she likes to nap in the house. While I was weeding she kept whining until I got tired of it and grabbed her up and put her inside. After her nap she was fine.
I am up early because my hip was hurting lying in bed. My body was complaining loudly last night.

Saucy, I would have been so disappointed not to be able to get the sink. I was thinking about you the other day as I was drilling some drain holes in some tuffa pots I had made a couple of years ago. I would like to find the time to do a trough. I hope Zeus does ok for awhile longer. The last years is so hard on them.
Candy, my tree seedling nightmare is ash too and there is an abundance of them this year. On the other hand there have not been many acorns for a couple of years. That is like walking on marbles in the yard.

Ei don't forget to come back and tell us about your job.

I better get moving so I can beat the sun in the veggie garden this morning.

Norma

Copper is greatly offended ladies :-) Copper is a girl! She has a definite Catherine Deneuve look about her face (Briards are a French breed...) and has a nice soft coat. Admittedly one description of the breed is 'German Shepherd in a clown suit'.

An interesting Open Days crawl today, into the high rent district of Marin County. There were 4 gardens open and I made it to 3 of them, unfortunately I likely missed the best one. I was a bit bemused by the lack of invention in these gardens, they were pretty but not a thing in any of them I would want to copyother than the views! It was obvious that the owners of these were not in fact gardeners , and the folks they are paying to plant and maintain their property are not designers. There wasnt a one that could even remotely compare with Deannes, Moniques , or Sues. I did enjoy the day though, the weather was great and Marin County was at its tony best ! Photos below.

Norma, I really related to the weeding experience you described ! I love to go out to my front garden in the early morning and plop myself down on the ground , coffee at the sideno one else in the neighborhood is out and about and its very satisfying to see the weeds gone though they do come back Im afraid.

Hoping Eis computer stuff is resolved, and that bug is enjoying her HS reunion..

Pics from today, with a wave. Mary ?

I guess no one ever sits here..

{{gwi:156904}}From Open Days

This garden had the view du jour..that thingy you see poking up from the fog is a span of the Golden Gate Bridge. {{gwi:156905}}From Open Days

San Francisco skyline.. {{gwi:156906}}From Open Days

An example of the non-gardener garden ..these were obviously popped in from one gallon plants, probably a week ago. {{gwi:156908}}From Open Days

A garden in Ross, I liked the way this hedge looked with the architecture of the cottage. {{gwi:156909}}From Open Days

A yellow Dogwood --awesome ! {{gwi:156910}}From Open Days

Kathy in Napa

Well, the t.v. and the internet went out again with our thunderstorms yesterday, but Im back up again, but will have to make this brief as I need to get ready for church.

Kathy all the plant pics are beautiful the San Francisco skyline pic is just gorgeous. Im always amazed (though I guess I shouldnt be) at all the beauty in your area. My DH and his wife may end up moving to Calif. after he is finished with school...makes me a little sad to think of, but more Im so happy and proud for him that he and the DDIL are finding their paths to what I hope will always be joyful and fulfilling lives. Anyway, thanks for always taking the time to share your beautiful pics with us. As much as I enjoyed all the gardens I have to say that
"cottage" really got my heart going pitter patter. :-) Bummer Kathy...why did you have to disillusion me about the weed thing...lol...I thought I would pick em this week end and be done with it...you cracked me up.

I love the description of you working in the weeds Norma and imagining you and Rebel made me smile. Scout will do that to me sometimes too. :-) Simple joys...theyre the best! The job is wonderful...I think this may be the first time in my life where I felt like a job was just meant for me. My boss is a sweetheart; a soft gentle spoken, somewhat shy, but very competent and knowledgeable horticulturist. We get along great, though I do try to curb my tendency to babble around her, dont want to overwhelm her with my enthusiasm...lol. I work for a retirement village out here. The home base is a very old and beautifully maintained mansion on 35 acres of land. The mansion has an Alzheimers wing and a physically challenged wing. There are also apartments in the mansion for assisted living. On the 35 acres there are also townhomes and "cottages". It kind of reminds me of Biltmore Estates, though perhaps a little less glam. Anyway, I work in the hort dept. and my job is to maintain the containers & flower beds on the grounds, as well as work in the greenhouses (my boss is teaching me all kinds of things about propagation and maintaining a greenhouseI'm loving it!). But my *favorite* part of the job is doing Hort. Therapy with the residents. It's so rewarding and exciting and I love the residents - all for their own special ways. Some of them are real hoots...lol. Lots of fun stories I'll have to share with you about my exeriences with the residents when I have the time. Anyway, it was supposed to be only a seasonal thing, but last week my boss offered me winter hours as well! Not as many as Im working now, but Im just thrilled that she wants to keep me. :-) Anyway, the job has been a real Godsend and a wonderful opportunity and experience for me. Cant think of a single negative, though maybe the pay could be better...but hopefully that will come with time.

I missed Michelle's description of the clown...I'm going to have to go back and re-read. :-)

Okay, gotta go take my shower, to church, and then out to weed some more, although Kathy has deflated my confidence...

Ei

lol...certainly I meant DS & DDIL...my hubby will *not* bemoving to California with my DDIL!

I'm going to miss GB's photo moments thread this week :) Not that I am good at getting pictures uploaded in a timely manner.

Yesterday Nick dug out the remaining paths in the Goddess Garden! Yeah Nick! Now I have to find just the right edging. Woody, I wanted to use steel, but it's not an easy product to find here. I'm checking the wholesale catalog tomorrow to see if my neighbor can help me buy it.

Kathy, the views are amazing. I am little bummed when I get to a garden like that, especially having seen pictures of all of our gardens :) We're a bit spoiled for good gardens.

Mary must be fully submerged in school and garden life. Maybe I'll shoot her an email.

I put up a finch feeder and have been enjoying them this week. They fly in and want to land on the banana leaves, but they don't like the way it moves under them, so they're constanly flying about. I've put orange halves out for my oriole family, too. My neighbor has a wren family nesting in her window so she can just peek inside :)

I guess I'd better get moving. Today is a forced cleaning of the house as it's going to rain all day. My garden needs it, and my house needs the cleaning, so...

Saucy

Saucy - I used aluminum edging, not steel. The stuff I used is called Curv-rite and should be easily found at any place that supplies the landscape trade. It's not cheap though! It was pretty easy to install and works quite well. Nothing is perfect though so you do have to keep an eye out for grass seeding across the edging or creeping grass sending a root across the top. But it's a heck of a lot easier for me than doing trench edging. The biggest drawback is that if you want to change the shape of a bed later, it adds a bit of work. When I made the narrow bed connecting the two wisterias, I had to dig up some of the edging and connect it with some new stuff - not difficult but added an extra step in the process.

Kathy - the pictures of the city/fog were certainly the best ones :-) It's a one of those places I've always wanted to visit. The yellow dogwood is interesting - sort of... My neighbour's dogwood is blindingly white and gorgeous. Mine, at this stage at least, is definitely on the cream side of white and does not look good paired with the neighbour's across the fence! Since this is the first year mine has bloomed and the flowers don't look like they're fully developed yet, I'm not sure whether they will whiten as they mature or whether they will remain this sort of disappointing color :-(

We got another inch of rain last night! Actually that just brings the April-May-June total to just over the average for the eight years I've been keeping rain records for the garden. Assuming we get some more rain this month, it's shaping up to be a good year re moisture. Mind you, all the peonies definitely need deadheading out there this morning! And the mosquitoes are very happy...!

Pleasant Sunday evening Idylls, it looks like the rain is over here and the typical June weather pattern is settling in. Our hills are taking on their summer garb of golden brown, and the Dahlias are budded . We are turning the spring into summer corner . Ill miss spring, but I love the summer stuff too- the Salvias, Lilys, Daylilys, Dahlias, Zinnias, Penstemons etc.

My roses look horrid ! Blackspot everywhere, and Im basically giving them a modified winter pruning to get all the diseased foliage off.

I love my finch feeder Saucy..the goldfinches prefer to feed there when it is full, if I let the level go down too much they hang out with the other birds at the regular feeder.

Ei, your job sounds like such a perfect fit for a warm and outgoing person like you ..I can see you making a positive difference in peoples lives. And the hort angle makes it all the better- I did assume that you had a typo moment with DH vs. DS ,lol.

Signing off ..later friends ..

Kathy in Napa

Ei, Your job sounds wonderful. If you have to, or want to, work it sounds perfect for you. Please do share your experiences when you have time.

Kathy those vistas are gorgeous. The cottage and the yellow dogwood are interesting to.

Saucy how good of Nick to help you out with those paths.
Now the fun can start.

Bob helped me pull those monster waterlilies out of the pond so I could divide them. What a shame when the were blooming nicely to tear them up but it had to be done.

I have been working in the veggie/flower garden, tilling and rearranging the paths to make it more accessable. I would love a pottager like Michelle's or Drema's but mine is to long and narrow.
I have lots of yellow in the landscape right now. All my Stellas and Happy Returns are blooming at the same time this year. I don't remember them doing that before. Thank goodness I have the Jackmanias and a few other clems along with the white daisies to break up all that yellow and gold.

After turning the air on yesterday because of the humidity we opened back up today because it was really nice out. A lot less buggy too with a nice breeze.

Hope Bug is having fun. My 50th HS reunion is coming up in Sept.too.

Saucy I need a rainy day to clean too.

Norma

Back home after a very good weekend in Buffalo with OLD friends. It is odd and very VERY interesting to reconnect with people after 50 years! They have grown up well (thankfully) and had interesting lives and continue to do fascinating and wonderful things. Very few disappointments. One disappointment for me was that the chapel, which was a handsome wood paneled room in the school, (private girls school) had been whitewashed and the organ was missing. The present headmistress had no idea what happened to it either. But interesting architectural changes have been made where expansion would seem impossible.

I took part in a tour of one of the Frank Lloyd Wright homes which was guided by a former student of the school. I highly recommend the tour to anyone passing through Buffalo, but NEXT YEAR when more of the renovations are completed. (There are twilight tours, even "hard hat" tours where you can see the nitty gritty aspects of the heating etc.)There are gardening aspects to the building which are most interesting, such as self watering planters and window boxes which are built from the ground up, not hanging from the sills. There is a long narrow greenhouse of tropicals as well.

Certainly there are terribly sad stories of classmates' life experiences, but also fascinating tales of...well life and growth. And so what an experience it was, very worthwhile.

And now I am back, it is very wet out but the sun is shining, and I have yet to see my gardens. I do know that there is a great deal of clematis color out there which needs investigating at close up range! And then there is the regular stuff, DH's dentist appointment, tomorrow his throat specialist, and so on. It is a joy to see Phoebe delighted by my return. She's due for a haircut on Wednesday, but right now I love her woolly mammoth look!

I hope to catch up on reading throughout the day.
Sorry to add that I still will not be able to contribute photos because of computer issues as a result of the virus I had a few weeks back. Both computer scientists in my life have failed so far and I suspect it just isn't going to happen and don't know the outcome possibilities. :(

Happy Monday to you all!
'bug

Happy Monday, everybody!

Well, you guys have done it to me again....

See, I have this chain link fence that my neighbour hates, so she put up a wood fence a foot higher than mine and 8 inches away from it - we fondly call it the Spite Fence, and we fondly call her...well, never mind, not germaine to the conversation...

So I have planted Tangutica clems and Virginia Creeper every three feet along on my side, hoping to have some fall colour there. But the grass is about two feet high in between the fences and looks crummy. The solution, OF COURSE, is a sixty foot garden , and we have agreed on it being the Daylily garden. So...this summer will be removing sod, installing edging, amending the soil, and SHOPPING for new plants. You are right, the Daylily forum is very dangerous.

Glad to see that Bug got back all right and had a great time. Fifty years - a lot of water under that bridge for sure! I bet the farm is a riot of clems!

Kathy, the blackspot is such a bummer, but I bet your home looks lovely all the same, if previous photos do it justice! Are you getting excited? I wish I could come there, but a family wedding the same week knocks that out of the question.

Deanne I love the photos of you and Doug at Monique and Les's place for Sue's birthday. I laughed when I saw the photo of Sue with the thumbs going on the Blackberry - fond memories of IU 6. But to me the real keeper is the one of you and Doug together. That is a wonderful shot of you both, just super.

Woody you have done so much with your gardens! I may try to find some of the aluminum edging...I remember your description of the work you did with the bricks, really professional. Good for you guys to keep enjoying the dogs. I hope your medication issues work out soon.

Loving all the photos and descriptions of places I have never been....

Off to see the neurosurgeon this morning - maybe the neck brace will be gone? Sadly I doubt it...

Miss doing my JulieJobs and the EAT program...will have to get back to that stuff next winter. Right now, just enjoying my gardens. Hopefully I will post photos this week...I have been so slack in that department!

I'll be checking in later

Cheers to all

Julie

Julie - I hope you get the clearance to remove the collar! So far, so good on the cold-turkey on the meds for me. I did have several days of very bad headaches and needed to use ice-packs on my head constantly. But the weather has been doing flip-flops and that always sets my head off, so it's hard to say whether the meds had any impact on that or not.

The 60' garden... will you be taking down the chainlink to get rid of the grass? Are you planning 60' of daylilies?! It would be impressive in flower but, man! All that deadheading....! If I had 60' to start from scratch, and if there was also enough width, I'd try for a colorful shrub border - it would be a fun challenge to create a shrub bed with flower/foliage interest from spring to fall. There are so many really interesting shrubs these days, although perhaps less so in your zone. Shrubs would be so much easier to maintain too. My front bed is gradually moving in the direction of lots of flowering shrubs and vines.

The other border idea that appeals to me is a yellow border. There are lots of golden woody plants to combine with some herbaceous stuff. While I generally do not like yellow and have very little of it in the garden, I have seen some pictures of very luminous yellow gardens and have developed a hankering for one! But I have no space for one :-(

A new garden... I envy you (can you tell :-) ?! Have fun!

Grab your forks and knives girls...I'm here to share the bounty of the harvest....my first crop of beans!

{{gwi:156911}}

Lol...well, I'm hoping there will be more later, but they sure are pretty; aren't they? :-)

TTYL!

Ei

Ei - I haven't even planted beans yet - soil's too cold even in the pots I grow them in. I'm hoping to plant them (pole beans) later this week. However we should be eating peas in a day or two. Those beans look great and are wonderfully displayed on that plate!

I'm feeling chatty today I guess...! :-)

I'm also pouting - the shed paint colors are not coming out as planned. The colors aren't matching the paint chips very well - not dark enough and too much towards the blue end of the scale. Randy painted the door green today and it only came out a sort of medium green - not dark and not olive-y. Tomorrow hopefully he'll put on the cover coat over the primer on the walls and then we'll assess what to do next if we don't like it. These are Benjamin Moore colors so we may have to use something different since there aren't any better choices in BM colors.

The green door:
{{gwi:156912}}

Viewed from the office window - the shed should be darker than the greens in the foreground and I doubt that the finish coat for the primer will be sufficiently dark to make the shed a 'shadow' in the background:
{{gwi:156913}}

Hola, idylls -- back after a 24 hr trip to PA for Dad's birthday -- I got off cheaply -- a dinner out and moving a mulch pile on his driveway that had been there two years waiting to be moved,LOL....another sibling was supposed to do that but never got around to it - I couldnt stand it any longer and it had sprouted weeds. I think Dad was more delighted by that than the steak dinner. Tried to buy him a grill but he didnt see one he liked and supposedly got re-enthused to fix his old one... sometimes ya just have to let them go their way, right?

Kathy, Im secretly glad to hear you're having problems with your roses - I know you treat yours better than I, but mine are looking pretty horrid. The MAC has some odd growth on it w/ silly litlle blooms - I saw a local garden show that showed such a branch and said it was a virus -- Im not yet convinced as he said you could still try to cut it back; and I see some normal growth very close by. But what a mess most of the stuff is - from black spot to dead soggy blooms..... they were pretty while they lasted.

Re daylilies -- o, I've been enabled a time or two over on the daylily forum -- when I get the urge for a new color from one of you guys, I end up there checking our their color threads.... it does look to be a good crop with lots of scapes going on in my yard - I think I've got the first two starting up -- Moonlight Masquerade is one I think; the other might be Deanne's recommendation, Joylene N.... can't wait! It's so very pretty.

It was hot and humid and nasty so I at least did not miss any garden days this weekend, but I sure am feeling behind -- plants to pot up, things to deadhead, still no mulch brought home or laid, egads, I better stop the list now!

Julie - I do hope you are released from captivity! Crossin my fingers for you.

'bug -- I forgot it was Buffalo you're from - that's the city that has the Garden City weekend isnt it? where everyone opens their gardens in maybe late June or July and they are magnificient - I'd love to go see them all one year; read an article recently w/ some of the highlights - it looked like so much fun!

Kathy - those views remind me of that one New York garden we saw that was obviously professionally done and maintained w/ the glass wall, remember? I read recently that estate is now up for sale - it could be ours I think it was about $5 mil !!! or maybe it was 3....Not one I would ever want to really own, altho that lily pond was pretty incredible.

I bet Denise is having her own issues re house paints, Woody - she could commiserate with you. So hard to get colors as one imagines they should be.

Well, some things to attend to here - waving to all -- Im sorry about your car, V - glad no one was injured; Saucy good luck with the paths - are you going to mulch them or lay gravel?

--cindy

Drat - I forgot - Ei - that sounds like such a perfect job for you - I bet they love you there (obviously from the job offer) and you're learning fun hort stuff too -- what a dream job, for you!! Congrats. And love the green beans - Im envious!

Norma - sorry the little birdie didnt survive; piffle. Animals are a great recognizer of a loving person - Im sure that's why yours follow you around and want to be attached to you, LOL.

-cindy

I like the way the shed looks Woody, but I see the effect you are going for. Does the paint store you are using have sample cans for you to use ? Colors always seem to look so different when they are installed , And what a shock yellow in the Woody garden ??? A radical departure for you I think ! I like yellow a lot, my favorite tone is on the pale side such as C. Moonbeam . 14 of my roses are yellow. I sure hope the med thing works out for you ..good vibes and well wishes to you !

Nice beans there Ei ! I am feeling guilty as I have neglected my poor allotment and have no beans planted there yet, though I have the seeds . I think I need to get beyond all the IU prep before I can focus attention there. I love fresh green beans .

Julie, good vibes to you and your neck brace issue, at least you are maintaining your humor , and always glad to hear that someone else has gotten sucked in by those people on the Daylily forum. They even have their own lingo over there, have you noticed ? I love looking at the pics while Im having lunch at my awfice desk. And yes, you are definitely a photo-slacker I think we need some pics of the spite fence for reference..!

Hope an update from the Compound is pending..

Off and away

Kathy in Napa

Took this yesterday, Niobe holds her own against the Jasmine. {{gwi:156914}}From Garden 2010 Spring

Here is Fairy Fanfare hanging around with Rozanne {{gwi:156915}}From Garden 2010 Spring

FREE! FREE! I'M FREE! Well. sorta. I am to start weaning myself off the collar so that it will be gone in a week. So of course, weaning from the collar means tossing it the second one comes home from the doc's office, right? Well, right?????

I am wearing a soft collar now but have had the brace off for four whole hours. Just feel great. Except for the dizzy spells that I have been having for about a week. Apparently a common side effect from being bonked on the noggin. I say, it was a loooooong nine weeks.

Well now the daylily garden. No I cannot take down the fence to clean out the grass. That little 8 inch hell-strip is here to stay. It is my contention that daylillies look kind of grassy so the unruly junk behind the fence would either be hidden or fit right in. The vines will climb up to the top and crawl along and hang down and be beautiful. Right? Well, am I right???>? And the flowers that would be a by-product of this plan are a huge bonus hmmmmm.Deadheading I could do. The base for the wonderful green bin composter from the wonderful town of Perth sits right at one end of the fence = convenient for us and hopefully an annoyance to the neighbour (slap slap stop that Jules). I already have Stella D'oro (doesn't everyone?) Purple d'Oro (sorta drab IMO) and Many Happy Returns. I just dug through my store of plant tags and of course didn't keep any from my more showy ones in the back triangular garden.

O.k. If I can manage to cut the grass (doubtful) and get the plants whipped into shape, I WILL POST PHOTOS!!!!!

Well, I gotta take them first.

Wowzie, I wish I could make to IU VII!

Cheers, Guys, I think I will go and EAT something. Oh yeah, I aready did - THE ASPEN COLLAR!
Cheers,
A much more comfortable Julie

Yup sixty feet and not a lot of width.

I feel so bad Cyn...I didn't catch your post until this a.m. re-reading here at the Idylls. I guess I've been sort of speed reading here of late and obviously missing a lot. Blame it on my unreliable internet and the fear of getting cut off. Anyway, I'm so sorry to hear of the troubles your family has been going through. My thoughts are with you both and sending positive thoughts that DH will have a smooth and successful recovery with brighter days in the near future. ((Cyn))...I know this is a tough one, but you seem to be such a strong and positive person and it's a good sign that DH has signed himself in. I just know there are brighter days in the future for you both.

Julie I'm sorry to hear about your neck problems. Sending positive vibes your way too, that you will have a speedy recovery. I can only imagine what it would be like to have to wear a neck brace all the time; glad that you have graduated to a more comfortable one. I'm in awe that you are planning a 60 foot bed, while wearing a brace...more proof of how strong the Idyll women are.

Woody, I think the shed looks lovely now, but I know when you are finished and it is the way you've seen it in your mind's eye, it will be perfectly beautiful then too. Keep in mind I'm green (no pun intended) when it comes to veggie gardening. Until I made my veggie garden this year tomatoes, peppers and lettuce had been my only experience with vegetables. I was surprised when you told me you don't even plant your green beans yet. These were from seed I ordered from Baker Creek called 'The Contender' green beans and so far I'm pretty happy with them. Anyway, since you haven't put yours out yet, does that mean that I could start another crop of beans? I have a spot where the radishes are finished and was looking for something to put there. Speaking of radishes, do you have a recommendation for a good variety? I grew Saxa II (I think from Johnny's Select Seed). Anyway, they were pretty hot...well *really* hot...lol. My hubby liked them but I was more looking for one not quite so spicy. Also, any tips on growing carrots? I over sowed and have a huge patch that are all crowded together and don't think I'll get any decent carrots because of it. What should I have done? Can you tell I'm aching for veggie advice...lol...hope you don't mind.

Boy the daylilies you girls have been talking about and all the beautiful pics are filling me with lust. Unfortunately my garden has reached the point where there *really is* no more room for new plants of anything! :-( Oh well, at least I don't have to mulch anymore...lol! Well, I might still try to find a place for Joylene that Cindy reminded me about. I remember Deanne's pics of that beauty...guess I'll have to edit or find a place to squeeze her in.

Welcome home Bug, glad you had such a nice time!

Will you go to your 50th reunion Norma? I'm sorry to admit that I've never been to any of mine...maybe when my 50th comes...though I'll have to count on my fingers now about when that will be. :-)

Deanne...I missed that you are having a garden tour...how fun! I remember the one you had waaaay back when I first started Idylling and you shared pics...it was fantastic! Wasn't it written up in a magazine or am I getting it confused with another one of your accolades? Well, you deserve all the accolades you get and I mean that sincerely.

I think that's a good plan Kathy to wait until after the IU...I'm sure the IU will be fantastic and everyone will love and appreciate all you've planned and done to make it such fun for all of them. I too love that 'Moonbeam' yellow color too. Speaking of which, have you seen Broadway Lights? I've added a link. I bought this one last year or the year before (can't remember now) anyway I've been very happy with it and so far it seems to be very hardy and healthy.

I'm loving all the talk about birds...I'm envious of your Orioles Saucy. They say they come here by me, but I've never seen them. How do you place the orange halves out for them? I've got oranges on my grocery list for this week, but don't know what to do as to putting them out for the birds. I'd love to see Indigo Buntings too. Didn't Deanne show a pic once? I'll have to find out if they come here. I have a finch feeder too and love all those little guys. Somebody (don't know if it's a finch or a wren) makes the most beautiful song every morning...what a lovely way to wake up! :-) I still love my robins best though, we are soul mates...maybe I was a robin in another life...lol. Anyway, the other day when I was weeding the front yard I was listening to my robin friend and it sounded to me like she was saying "I'm such a pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty...*bird*!" I totally concur with her thoughts.

Cindy...sounds like a wonderful day with dad...I totally agree...ya gotta let them have their way. He sounds like a sweetheart...store these moments in your heart. Well, I know you do...

Okay enough chat from me I gotta get moving...

TTYL!

Ei

Well, Ei, if it's robins you love, plant a cherry tree - I've been fighting them for a week over my neighbor's cherries...one for me, one for you sort of thing except they clean the tree in a day or two!

The orange halves are speared onto the pointy top of a plant hanger (that I use to hang bird feeders). I have seen two males together this week, the females come separately to the oranges.

I like your paint colors woody, but I know it is not what you wanted. Is that still just the primer on the body of the shed? I think the door might be pretty dark, but that it is such a small area with that large sage-y green next to it. Is Randy tired of paiting yet? Last summer was my painting summer and I loathed it.

Congrats Julie! Don't overdo it :) What about ornamental grasses down the strip? You could burn them down each Spring...oops! There goes the fence! Ha ha...I am a bad influence. I think your daylilies would be fine if you really clear the grass first. Sounds like a hard job. I might be more inclined to use it as a compost bin (oops...now the fence is composted! ha ha!)....or just mulch it heavily to keep maintenance down...maybe your lawn clippings?

I always smother things I don't like if possible.

The GG paths are dug. Now the hard part, it seems. I am going with stone dust, Cindy. I hope I can find a good product in my area. How can I find out what Tower Hill uses, because that is what I want!

The weatherman has blessed me with another perfect day and I'm going to use it to the fullest. Yesterday I cast a wild rhubarb leaf (nice and veiny!) as well as worked on getting plants planted. I want to have my garden ready for Jake to care for when I'm in Cali.

I was thinking today how this would be a big trip for me...it will take me back and show me that I can fly to CA and everything will be fine. Maybe it'll spark other visits to Socal to see the old haunts and meet up with friends. I'm getting very excited about the whole idea and I usually don't get excited until I leave :)

Later friends!

Saucy

A quick fly-by "Good Morning" from Ontario...

Last night a friend brought us wood for our wood stove (for next Fall) and took me out to see 3 blue heron nests that he photographed. It is particularly exciting to view them since last year some idiot chopped down the heronry on our nearby road. So I think we may have found where some of them moved to. I'm not going to tell the location to a soul.

Bought some coleus and things yesterday for another container. We expect rain tomorrow, but today is glorious already, even though it was only 40F last night.

I'm annoyed about the necessity for house maintenance these days. The bathroom vent is shot, the hot water tank doesn't heat, our kitchen stove is only half operational...I guess this is so for everyone, but it really irritates me these days. I have things I'd MUCH rather spend my few pesos on...like repair of this silly computer which can no longer post photos, getting Chelone to cover a couch and 2 massive chairs, refinishing floors, a new roof....But no, those will have to wait.

Spoke to Skyler last night...and he is VERY excited about going for a week of sleep-over camp at the end of summer, before baby is born. I'm so glad this is working out! He's 11 and it's about time he got to do some independent stuff.

OK, I hope you all enjoy this lovely day and I'm off to make a dent in the household duties.
'bug

A quick good morning, Idylls!

Things are piling up around here, could it be that I spend too much time in the gardens? Digging, amending soil, picking helicopters, plantingswitching plants, yesIm doing that already! Now that the pin oak is gone, Ive got 4 hrs. of hot morning sun on the porch and then full shade. No more caladiums and begonias, they stressed out quickly. What a trial and error season this will be as the new perennials in the shrub border are young and experimental also. Just this morning I decided to move the phlox after noticing the buds were bending toward more light. OK, somaybe over where the sun isnt hot enough for the cosmos seeds to emerge? Shuffle, shuffle, will I ever get it right?!

Julie, you sound downright giddy with relief on getting rid of that collar! Happy for you and Im sure you feel about 5 lbs. lighter. Like Saucy saidtake it easy now.

And Saucy, can you post some progress of the GG paths? Always fun to watch a creation in the step by step process. Ive never seen a path being dug out but can certainly imagine the hard work involved. Some years ago, I went the inexperienced and fast way by using landscape fabric to smother the grass. While it did work, I now find occasional shrub roots surfacing under the mulch.

Ei, congratulations on that wonderful job! How about a shed update?did you decide on trim color? Love the artful plating of the green beans.

Woody, just wondering if youd consider painting the shed trim a darker green instead of white? It might give the illusion the shed is set back deeper and help the greens meld together. I know what youre going throughsame here only with plantings. We have our "vision" and are determined to see it evolve!

Going to rain big time if the forecast is accuratemust get out there and take some photos. Should we get the 1-2 predicted inches I might clean house. Might being the operative word. It would also be a good day to shop what with out vacation two weeks away. Waving to all

Candy

I am now waiting for a call from a repairman. UGH!
Just returned from errands, and one of them was stopping by an ordinary old nursery which has VASTLY improved! What a treat! Their clematis (groups A,B & C!) are neatly arranged, spaced and labeled as are their delphiniums and phlox. They carry 3-4 kinds of Baptisia now. The Agastache that I love was plentiful and seen nowhere else! I found the very last Caryopteris from last year...large and healthy. They had about 8 kinds of lavender as well. Anyway, how fun to see a place doing so well!

I need to get outside for mowing and weeding and planting before tomorrow's rain and resent having to sit by the phone. Grrrr. This is one of those amazing opportunities when I am unable to do laundry or dishes because there's no hot water! Ah well, I'll figure something out.

Ciao!
'bug

Julie - don't neglect any neck exercises you may have been given to do. Your neck muscles probably deteriorated over the time you were in the collar and you'll need to strengthen them again. In the first months after my first surgery my head felt like a bowling ball supported by a wet noodle! (Some neck muscles were cut as part of the surgery.) I still do exercises daily to be able to support my head properly. So don't get carried away - do your PT!

I keep forgetting to say ... Ei - when I get old/decrepit and need residential care, I want a place like where you work! It sounds like a great place both to work and to live. (Do they have a facility in Canada?!)

Candy - I have debated with myself about the color of the shed trim. At this point I'm planning on leaving it white since there's a fair bit of white around the shed (hydrangeas, Persicaria etc.) and the general color theme of the backyard is green and white. If the wall color ends up dark enough, the white trim then might look like a child's drawing of a house floating on the green background :-) If it doesn't work out that way, we can always paint it next year.

I'm a bit more optimistic that the shed color might not turn out too bad. Randy didn't get a chance today to put on the final coat but did paint a test strip so we could see how much it differs from the pale primer. It looks like this:
{{gwi:156916}}
So it might be dark enough/olive-y enough. But the door color may need changing since it's shifted more to the blue tones. It'll be a few days before the painting gets finished. Rain in the forecast tomorrow - plus it's colonoscopy day for Randy tomorrow!

Things are looking up for Vyvyan. But she's looking a bit pale still. We gave her some fertilizer a day or two ago but I think some Epsom salts might be in order too. Does that sound right to you GB?
{{gwi:156917}}

The nursery you were talking about GB - is that Lost Horizons or somewhere else? If somewhere else, where? It sounds like somewhere I might like to check out too....

Vivyan is looking fine to me! It is a funny year with things generally doing well, but so much rain for us! I occasionally fertilize things and have tried epsom salts too, but never noticed much difference. Just don't overdo things!

The nursery I went to, Woody, was St Jacobs Country Gardens on New Jerusalem Road near Elmira. It is quite new (3-4 years old?) and mostly annuals but now has perennials, some roses and a good grass selection. They have shrubs too. It is a Mennonite operation. They have some obelisks and pots. It isn't a bit like LH. Their clematis selection is small but they have surprises. For example they had tall thalictrum plants that were well staked. I'd give the place a B I guess, which means I'll keep checking back there as it is close by.

PS: We now have hot water! Progress!

Trying something new so I can post pictures again.

Peekaboo!
{{gwi:156918}}

When Kenzie is here I just dont get computer time. Saturday was slightly rainy. We delivered over 100 gallon sized nursery pots to this garden we were at a few weeks ago. I was glad to be rid of them and they were thrilled to get them. I was somewhat shocked at the number of perennials that I have bought over the past few years. They just happened to be having a fund raising event and were serving pie on the terrace. We couldnt turn that down. We then hit a nursery and of course it started to rain harder. We persevered when we found the complimentary umbrellas.

Yesterday I ran over to the country nursery thats near our place and picked up some more annuals to fill out some of my containers. I have less containers this year.

I believe all the containers are planted, all the seeds in the ground and just a few wintersown plants left in the ghetto. Now I really need to concentrate on deadheading and weeding.

Ive not had much time to read, but do see that Ei has been frequenting and I like that. You brighten my day girlfriend! Im pleased to hear that Julie has lost the brace.

Kathy, the Niobe / Jasmine combination is wonderful. I really enjoy your California pictures. Thanks!

It looks like someone enjoys a good game of peek-a-boo :o)

Well, its nearly 10:30 and my day started early and was action packed, so Id best finish up here.

Michelle

Just time for a very quick post this AM, I've been busy busy as our two day garden tour is only ten days off. Yikes! We are in pretty good shape though and I'm starting the polishing up and rearranging the garden art phase. My garden helper is sooooo fantastic! I'd never have had things this ready to go without her help.

Glad to hear Julie has lost the neck brace! Nice!

Woody, love the shed color and Vyvyan looks good after the wilt episode.

Kathy, really love the Niobe/Jasmine combo! beautiful. ~~ I'm going to grab an update pic of the castor bean pot today. You won't believe how much its grown.

Eileen, thought you'd like this shot from last fall.
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Have a great day everyone!
Deanne

Rain here...so no photos. I was planning a big clematis shoot today. So many clematis and roses in bloom, but alas...
Must go get Phoebe ready for her trip to the groomer.
Enjoy your Wednesday!

I've been following along with Woody's painting challenges, and Cindy's absolutely correct, it ain't easy! We've switched out colors, and Marty says he'll paint the same wall over again no longer (twice). I think I may have ended up with colors better suited for interiors -- blue-greys and an off yellow Marty calls "meconium." BTW, great news about the meds, Woody. If that dizziness goes away, even better.

The June gloom is taking the form of heavy mist in the morning, which interrupts the painting -- but there always seems to be a million other things going on anyway. Yesterday, at my urging, Marty drove south to check on a '62 Corvair van for a friend, to see if it was worth buying (no!)

Congrats about the neck collar, Julie. Nice to get it off for summer. How uncomfortable would that be! What a bonk on the head you had.

Cyn, so glad progress is being made.

Here's my Buddleia 'Silver Anniversary' that's really starting to thicken up. There's another one this size and a small cutting, so three in total in the tiny back garden. Love this shrub.

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And a shot of the aerial bobbles of the Waverly salvia and calandrinia outside the office.

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Never heard of Silver Anniversary before....but it's a beauty! I am fond of whites too...

LOL, Denise - I do believe I ordered and planted that buddleia last fall after seeing yours - now Im wondering where the heck it is in the front landscape (I seem to recall that's where I plunked it)... golly - I need to start investigating more - altho I think it's my poor memory any more. I have yet to inventory what I planted last year - i put in a journal list that is usually my reminder any more for names, etc.... Geez.

Good luck to all on the painting choices -- Denise, that color combo sounds lovely - Im sure it will be fine. Geez, a Corvair? are there any still running? Wow!

Rainy drizzle here today and back to the hummmm-idity and nasties of summer.

-cindy

Wow, Denise that buddelia is unusual. I always scroll from the bottom up and its interesting how I usually can tell from the pictures whose garden I'm viewing before I see the name. I don't envy the color choosing challenge. I'm horrible at it.

Deanne, the robin photo is fabulous! How nice that you found yourself a garden helper. Will she be helping more this season or was it because of the tour? Does she garden?

Cindy, I know the feeling about disorganized garden records. I have a plant that is growing in one of my gardens which doesn't look like a weed, I don't recognize the foliage so we will have to wait until it blooms to ID it.

Michelle