Garden Variety Picspam... and Pimping!!!
I spent over three hours this morning planting and replanting. I tried to do it yesterday, but in 90-plus degree weather... yeah, no so much. So, the urns that looked this in late spring..
now look like this...
Come next month, the urns will be further embellished with dead branches and tiny orange lights, the same Halloween decorations I've done for years; if it ain't broke, don't fix it. ;)
With the effects of summer heat and lack of hydration (read: neglect), the flowers in the urns didn't look so good today as they did when they were first planted. I don't have a photo to show. Those flowers were planted in the front bed of doom, where good plants go to die.
That's the wormwood on the left, for all you fans of the Potions master.
I haven't figured this bed out fully. I used to lose plants to moles, not a problem this year, so far. *crosses fingers and loads fresh batteries into the electronic mole chasers* Nowadays, there seems to be no rhyme or reason why some plants thrive and others wither. Some areas are better shaded than others, and the soil isn't consistent, clay ridden in some spots. And don't get me started on those shallow pine tree roots; I seem to run into them whenever I dig a hole. Whatever the reason, it's a constant struggle to get anything to survive and flourish beyond a year.
In this picture, you'll see some transplants. I needed to move these little fellas because one of my Russian sages was sprawling all over the place, and hiding the tiny hostas and astilbes. Notice the healthy vital Russian sage in the upper right hand corner.
So, I thought I'd plant some taller plants (sedum) infront of the Russian sage and put a ring around it to prop it up. After defoliating the poor plant in the process, I removed the ring because I like the wild, unfettered look it had better. I was forced to crop it back because of the damage, the poor bunny. And I'm not touching the other one. Lesson learned: try those rings earlier next year, or just live with the chaos.
In other areas, my lamp post garden finally looks the way it's supposed to after five years.
This photo was taken in early summer before the ecchinecia and rudebekia had fully bloomed, but after the clematis had come and gone. Compare to the one I took today...
Ewww, kinda spent, eh? Fear not, for I shall repurpose the stalks as Halloween decorations in my window boxes. Speaking of which...
Look how fresh and perky the annuals looked in the spring. And they survived the summer and my vacation, thanks to the watering efforts of our neighbors. Here they are today...
Fuller, a bit leggy, and somewhat dry at the bottom, but ALIVE! I really like the combination of sneezeweed, vinca, summer snapdragon and creeping jenny. I hope to repeat it for next year.
In other productive news, I whipped up a batch of icons for us admins at The Petulant Poetess. I used mine for the first time yesterday in touting the Petulant LDWS Challenge. The sign-ups are open, so check it out, literary flisters!!!
For my friends in the US, enjoy the Labor Day weekend! :D
now look like this...
Come next month, the urns will be further embellished with dead branches and tiny orange lights, the same Halloween decorations I've done for years; if it ain't broke, don't fix it. ;)
With the effects of summer heat and lack of hydration (read: neglect), the flowers in the urns didn't look so good today as they did when they were first planted. I don't have a photo to show. Those flowers were planted in the front bed of doom, where good plants go to die.
That's the wormwood on the left, for all you fans of the Potions master.
I haven't figured this bed out fully. I used to lose plants to moles, not a problem this year, so far. *crosses fingers and loads fresh batteries into the electronic mole chasers* Nowadays, there seems to be no rhyme or reason why some plants thrive and others wither. Some areas are better shaded than others, and the soil isn't consistent, clay ridden in some spots. And don't get me started on those shallow pine tree roots; I seem to run into them whenever I dig a hole. Whatever the reason, it's a constant struggle to get anything to survive and flourish beyond a year.
In this picture, you'll see some transplants. I needed to move these little fellas because one of my Russian sages was sprawling all over the place, and hiding the tiny hostas and astilbes. Notice the healthy vital Russian sage in the upper right hand corner.
So, I thought I'd plant some taller plants (sedum) infront of the Russian sage and put a ring around it to prop it up. After defoliating the poor plant in the process, I removed the ring because I like the wild, unfettered look it had better. I was forced to crop it back because of the damage, the poor bunny. And I'm not touching the other one. Lesson learned: try those rings earlier next year, or just live with the chaos.
In other areas, my lamp post garden finally looks the way it's supposed to after five years.
This photo was taken in early summer before the ecchinecia and rudebekia had fully bloomed, but after the clematis had come and gone. Compare to the one I took today...
Ewww, kinda spent, eh? Fear not, for I shall repurpose the stalks as Halloween decorations in my window boxes. Speaking of which...
Look how fresh and perky the annuals looked in the spring. And they survived the summer and my vacation, thanks to the watering efforts of our neighbors. Here they are today...
Fuller, a bit leggy, and somewhat dry at the bottom, but ALIVE! I really like the combination of sneezeweed, vinca, summer snapdragon and creeping jenny. I hope to repeat it for next year.
In other productive news, I whipped up a batch of icons for us admins at The Petulant Poetess. I used mine for the first time yesterday in touting the Petulant LDWS Challenge. The sign-ups are open, so check it out, literary flisters!!!
For my friends in the US, enjoy the Labor Day weekend! :D