Blizzard 2012

We woke up today with a good 4 inches of snow already on the ground, with more coming down.  We had coffee in the parlor looking out at the winter wonderland.  What a glorious feeling, knowing we had nowhere to be.  

The West Lawn

 

 

Check out the snow piled up on the arbor in the background.

 The Roses and perennials are weighted down with snow.  I was worried about the branches breaking from the weight of the snow, so they got a little shake down with a broom after these photos.

 This was actually the first photo that was taken today.  While we were having coffee, you could not see this tree from the snow falling.  It was a white out for sure.

 My favorite photo of the day.

 I love how the snow collects on the branches of the forsythia's.  I did not shake the weight off of these bushes.  I use to think you could do anything to forsythia, you would never harm it.  This still mainly holds true for me, with one exception.  The five or six forsythias that bit the dust last spring, and I still have no idea why.

With temperatures to remain low, all this snow is going to be around for awhile.  The good news, its not on the walks or driveway.  Yay!!!

Arbor update

The deer fence project continues. 

After I had built this so called arbor, I hated it.  Remember, I was only working with the lumber I had on hand.  We won't go into my borderline hoarding tendencies.  Pack rats run rampant in my family, you know who you are.   All kidding aside, I had limited resources.

Before. What a mess.

After.

I change the orientation of the arbor by adding another post.  This setup made the most sense because the other span was waaaaaaaay to wide.  Putting a gate up on that would be a real bitch.  Remember, I am not a carpenter, but I do my best with the tools I have and the ones I can borrow.  Thank god dad is practically next door and my cousin Chrissy has every tool known to man.  Not to mention she helps me with many of my projects in the yard.  We work well together, but none of my projects feel like work.  Not sure if Chrissy shares my sentiment.  Back to the arbor, I needed an entry at this point of the yard that was wide enough to either get the mower through or myself hauling things with a loaded wheelbarrow. 

Today we ripped the deck boards in half to make the the tops of the fence.  I couldn't possibly explain, more on that when I take pics of the process.

Arbors

Clearly I love an arbor.  Now before you think I have too many, the five new arbors have function as part of the new deer fence.

The first arbor I built framed The West Lawn.

The second arbor to go up was the Heirloom Arbor, which is the gateway to the backyard.

The third arbor to go up was the East arbor.  It went up with the deer fence in mind.  It is very similar to the second arbor but smaller.

The final four arbors went up after the deer fence posts were set.

 The first of them was the hardest.  I love how it turned out, and cannot wait until I get it painted.  But it was a bit of a bitch to build.  I am not the carpenter, but I do my best.  I wanted this to be tall enough that I would never have to duck my head while coming and going.  I also wanted it wide enough as to not bump into it while carrying in bags or boxes and such.

 Now this arbor is up, but it is not I am not happy with it.  I tried to tell myself that I was liking it, but after a few days of looking at it, no.  This will not look the same the next time you see it.

 I wanted to keep this arbor very simple, and it is.  I love its simplicity, now the gate has to be simple as well.

 We put up this arbor last year and the Trumpeter vine has taken it over.  With the addition of a deer fence, there was no place to attach a gate to this arbor.

 So the last arbor was born.  This arbor is my favorite of the five new arbors.  I need to get the trumpeter vine to start growing on this arbor so I can take the metal arbor down.

Here are photos of the deer fence posts that I set.

 Notice the arbor was not put up at the time this photo was taken.  

Summer 2012

 Once again I need to start this posting with an apology.  It has been a hot minute since my last post and so much has happened this summer.  Looking back on the season, the weather was nothing short of an OMG WTF.  HOT and DRY.   Late winter and early spring were fabulous.  I should have known the summer was going to be a bitch with the arrival of all the snakes.  Luckily, the snakes went away and in came the heat.  It was a part time job keeping everything watered.  Then our county had a watering ban. Ugh.  Fortunately we started getting some rain and the ungodly heat started to pass.  We did start getting some rain during late summer, and it poured.  I was surprised by how fast everything went from brown, dry and brittle, to a lush green.  

The following photos are in no particular order, just some of the highlights and low lights of the season.

The Hydrangeas were a success this year.  This is the third year for the foil hydrangeas and they have never looked better.

Here are the Banana trees, starting from the beginning of the season to the end.

If you remember, this little coleus was a volunteer last year.

 She is looking pretty fierce now.

Some of the lilies this year.  I will say that the heat had a definite impact on our day lilies this year.  Some of them did not bloom at all and none of them bloomed profusely.

I have referred to this plant as Crocosmia, but under further research, I believe it is a Blackberry Lily.

Not knowing the name or type of a plant, is the kind of problem you have, when you are not a Master Gardener and get most of your plants from seeds, family, friends and neighbors.

 The Canna lilies were a little bit of a disappointment.  A couple of things I did wrong.  I think I put to many in each pot and  I didn't realize that there are no drainage holes in any of the three large pots.

 

 The Hummingbird vine or Cypress Vine did reach the top of the arbor.  This plant was a success this year.  A few of the things I loved about this vine was that the Hummingbirds loved it as much as I did.  The blooms are small but abundant.  But the thing I loved most was the foliage.  The foliage is very feathery, lacy, airy, fuzzy all at different times.  In the early morning with the dew on the ground and the sun rising behind the vine it does look fuzzy. I will be starting these from seed again next year.  They started from seed very easy, and thrived on neglect as seedlings.  

 The first Gardenia bloom.  I am concerned about taking care of this plant.  Everything I have read seems to suggest that this is a difficult plant to grow.  I am going to try my luck anyway because I think she is gorgeous.  And the fragrance is delightful.

 The Luna Hibiscus did not thrive with the heat and drought.  I have a few of these plants around the yard and this one being one of the smallest, it bloomed the best.

 The Scarlet Hibiscus had a better success, until the deer found them.

 Forget me Nots.  I have never grown these before, but received a package from the Flower and Patio show.  Not to offend but they are a little forgettable. 

 All of the Mandevilla had a good season.

 Purple Datura volunteer in the Plumeria pot.

 The biggest success this year were the Moon plants.  They thrived on the heat, and bloomed profusely.  I could smell them from the moment I pulled into the driveway.

 Dare to be different.  In a sea of Black Eyed Susan's is this little Coneflower volunteer.

White Coneflower

The wildlife was out in force this year.

I am sure you recall, we had 7 snakes in the yard this year.  The first snake out on the last day in February.  Yes, February.  The snakes were not the only members of the wildlife family out in numbers.  The deer were not to be outdone.  Not sure if you recall my idea of getting the deer to stay away.  If not, I won't bother telling you, because it didn't work anyway.  In the photo you can see two baby deer, but momma deer and her third baby are to the right out of my camera range.  They were adorable.  But when I came out to have coffee one morning to find eleven deer making a buffet out of the flowers, cute or not, they have to go.  So the deer fence is going up.  As of now i have the post in the ground with the arbors built.  More on that later.

 I have seen wild turkeys in the field before but usually at most three.  This year I had seen quite a few in the field about everyday, but this one morning I discovered they were in the yard.

 I started more Plumeria cuttings this year and all have survived and thriving.  I also started pineapple plants from using the pineapples bought at the grocery store.  They are still doing well at this time.

 The Obedient plant did not take the heat and drought well.

 Still waiting for signs of life from the Forsythia.  I still have no idea of what caused their demise.

 I about lost this Rhododendron from the heat and drought as well.

 Yes, there is still a pile of mulch.

 This is the little fern that was thrown in the trash last year.  She is doing quite well.

 The duck weed has taken over.  I love this.

 I was very pleased with the first season of the Brugmansia.

 The variegated Bougainvillaea loved the heat a dry conditions of the summer.  It was beautiful.

 The Lanai

 The Sweet Autumn Clematis bloomed this year.  Yeah!  I was beginning to wonder if she was ever going to bloom again.

 The Celosia was a bit of a disappointment.  They are pretty but the blooms are not nearly as big as I have seen.

 The Asters have been beautiful this fall.

 I thought that the drought this summer would have an impact on the fall colors.  I have been pleasantly surprised.  Maybe not as vibrant as previous years but pretty just the same.

 Dad's yard.

 Heading to ghetto gardens..

 This is exactly what I feel like after this season.