My Everything Corner

Here are a few photos to give you an idea of how I've been spending these early days of Spring. I've been able to take walks before breakfast again. Transplanting seedlings has taken up a fair bit of time. I've also had some time to get creative with succulents I've overwintered. Exploring the garden for new growth is a daily surprise.

A few more changes in the yard begged for several snapshots to be taken.  Seeing as how I have quite a few shots to show you, I'll keep the words short. Some time out to lie in the grass.... And gaze up the sky. Watching the marigolds grow. The ninebark in bloom and watch out for the swarm of bees as you walk by. Another nest. This one belongs to this pretty mama Killdeer Goutweed. So much prettier than its name. Hostas are having their best year yet. Lamium looks gorgeous among rocks Calabrochoa looking gorgeous as a greeter to the fire pit. A peaceful evening walk. A long day of strong winds led into a perfectly calm night.

Rainy days always get me down, in a good way. Rest is what I need and with the outdoors being windy, rainy and the heaviest of greys, it is easy to allow myself that rest. Oh how I love that pair... The photos I'm sharing today are ones snapped yesterday.  I've been busy planting and I can hardly wait to show you photos in July when all of the annuals I've put in have filled out. Blooming right now are the irises, of which I'm growing two types - Japanese and Bearded.  They are short lived, but oh so lovely. I adore the blooms on the Bearded type while the foliage of the Japanese lends itself better as a backdrop for the entire growing season. Coral Bells are great in that they keep to themselves.  They stay compact, do not spread, and their foliage is lovely.  Most are better suited to dappled shade, but the type I'm showing here does very well in full sun. Ninebark, you gorgeous thing...I love you in all your forms. I have seve...

It's the big day!  Pumpkins, gourds and squash are going into the garden. In fact, I'm nearly done. It is the perfect day out there, 20 degrees C with a nice breeze, and I'm just in for a short tea break. Here's a little reminder of some of what my patch produced last year. Also, I nearly forgot about this little guy. I took this photo in the early Spring. He is a tenacious little fella. His persistence to get rid of the magpies from HIS tree paid off.  I watched many an altercation before the birds decided to move. He's still in the general area and in fact might be the little stinker that ate all the sunflower seedlings in my greenhouse. I hope you are enjoying your Wednesday or whatever day it happens to be when you are reading this. Thank-you so much for visiting and especially so if you leave me a comment.

I'd like to share with you today photos of what has been taking up all my time lately. Pretty much everything you see growing are perennials. The annuals will all go in this week and next. I'll be transplanting petunias, dusty millers, snapdragons, portulaca, marigolds, globe basil, coleus, begonias, hens and chicks, osteospermum, sage, sweet potato vine, and sunflowers. Most of these, I've been taking care of since I started them in April. I can't tell you how pleased I am how well have everything is growing this year. Most of my vegetable garden is in.  I'd show you photos of that, but right now there are just sticks in the dirt marking the rows. But I did put in several rows of flowers among the veggies this year, so that will keep things interesting.   I add more rocks every year. 2 little fish in an ocean of creeping thyme.  Beautiful creeping phlox.  More thyme.  I just love how it crawls over the rocks.  Nothing lik...

Last year, my husband took a small corner of his shop and converted it to a well insulated room to house my grow lights.  It has a small heater on a thermostat and I am able to keep it at the perfect 21 degrees for germinating. In only three days, I have baby dusty miller and petunias.  Hundreds of them!  This is a seed starter mix that I put together myself, which is a 50/50 blend of peat moss and vermiculite. It holds plenty of moisture and resists mildew.  My germination rate has doubled since I switched to this medium.  The lights are on a timer and I should mention, they are not the expensive grow lights, just 2 different types of regular fluorescents, alternating warm and cool spectrums. They are on for about 14 hours a day, only an inch or two from the plants, and on a timer.   When they get a few of their true leaves, I will begin transplanting.  That's where that special mix really comes in handy. Because it is so...

My friends, family and neighbors have all let me down.  Many a pumpkin was offered, and very few have left my yard.  Even my pumpkin thieving, (loving) sister didn't take very many this year.  All in all, I was only able to give away around 20.  When there are nearly 500, 20 does not make a dent.  So, I set to work painting and carving the ripe ones.  The kids and the husband carved a few each. The green ones have been used as props for the orange guys.  Even if more had turned orange in time for Halloween, I'm sure they still would have been used in the same way. On the deck and in front of the house, there are just over 300 pumpkins.  That is not counting ornamental gourds of which there were around 200, and they are scattered here and there.  I had a fantastic gourd patch this year.  There were so many different types, I never knew what I was going to find when I went out to pick a few. You know what I really love about m...