Ghetto Gardens: June

Life has been so busy since my last post, its time to play catch up once again.

Our Endless Summer Hydrangea seems to be on steroids, compared to last year. Last year, she had two blooms for the season. The only thing different that I have done this year, is to put coffee grounds on all my Hydrangeas, Rhododendrons, and Azaleas. I am happy that we are a coffee family.

Old fashion Hydrangea

Hydrangea blooms

Not all the Hydrangeas are doing as well. I had to move, once again, the Nikko Blue hydrangea, and she is pink, not blue. I am working to make the soil more acidic. It has received coffee grounds, a little holly tone and had pine needle mulch around her.

Not to be out done, the Lilies are putting on their show.

Dahlia

Cypress Vine

I was am happy that this is growing let alone, blooming.

Gazania

Water Pickerel

Gooseneck Loosestrife.

This is a very invasive plant. I love invasive plants, but she is a bit unruly in our garden. The worst offender IMO is trumpeter vine. The roots are a good half mile deep.

Nice to see the Rainbow Butterfly Bush is blooming in June. It is gay pride month after all.

Brugmansia

I have been wanting one of these since I encountered her in Hawaii.

Maui 2007

Here is ours 2012.

The day we got her, she bloomed. The fragrance is intoxicating. Unlike the Moon flower, these flowers bloom for more than one night. However, they lose their fragrance after the first night. That's what we have observed. FYI

Bee Balm Red

Bee Balm Magenta

It looks more purple to me, but who's to argue with a name tag.

Caladiums

Another reason I had not posted anything for a bit. Honey went to Phx for a week to see the fam, and I stayed home to keep the show moving. I wanted to surprise Honey with a simple backdoor landing/ramp. How hard could it be? LOL

I want to start by saying this project was to make life easier for the dogs, and us. But mainly for our dog Scooter. Half blind, falling apart, Blue Tic Hound/lab mix and our baby. He had a terrible time managing the steps, and he is too big to carry. So the birth of the doggie deck was born. I had scored most of the lumber for the project from my niece. After a few 4/4's, some concrete and screws, I sank a little over 40 dollars into the project.

Original steps.

Not anything I have seen on Yard Crashers.

It started out looking a mess but that is one sturdy bitch.

The ramp I would have liked to be a little longer, but you have to work with what you have.

I still need to continue on with more spindles down the ramp in place of the temporary 2x4 rails. I am waiting to give it a coat of paint to make it all blend together. But Viola.

I gave the little bench away. I am surprised anyone wanted her. But with a little stain, she looks WAY better. I also wanted to thank my cousin Chrissy for all her help.

Speaking of cousin Chrissy, she bought me this Banana tree last year from a nursery. Maybe you recall? I now need to separate them. There are a total of 10 new trees in that spot. Happy day!

Bougainvillaea

New pots for the walkway. I cant re pot the plants because of the baby birds hiding under the Begonias. But as soon as they leave the nest.

This photo was taken last year of the Forsythia beside the road. It was doing fine, and even bloomed beautifully this spring, however, something happened. The plants started dying out.

I had to cut them all the way back to the ground. In normal circumstances I would have no problem with this action. I am now wondering if they will come back healthy, if at all. I cant stand to look at that empty space for too long so I hope they do something fast.