My sister, Sarah, did the sweetest thing upon our arrival in Tulsa this week. Knowing how depressed I was over leaving my beautiful yard and garden in Delaware (just the yard and garden mind you) she presented me with a small potted pansy. This was sweet for two reasons: First because the pansy is one of my favorite flowers, and secondly it is a cool weather plant and I’ll be able to plant it outside even though fall weather has begun. I’ve been pretty busy since getting off the plane, just trying to get settled in at my dad’s house. It’s always difficult trying to mesh two personalities and my dad and I are no exceptions. I did begin looking around for an area to plant my little flower though. I have noticed that a flower bed I had begun ten years ago has become overrun with blackberry brambles, grass and weeds; looks like a new outdoors project for me. I’ve also been eyeing the mums at our local Wal-Mart. There is some beautiful lilac and burgundy ones that might make nice statements in the flower bed building in my mind.
Drawing out a plan and strictly following it has just never worked for me. I may draw something out, but then next thing I know something doesn’t look right, or maybe this flower would look better there, or even a new plant is found at the store. The plan goes out the window and I just end up putting things where they belong. Now I depend on a rough draft picture in my head, and go from there. It works so much better.
I love placing rocks in a flower bed. Especially uniquely shaped or colored ones. Here in Oklahoma’s northeastern corner there are plenty of rocks - you just have to drive down any dirt road to see them. To use them in a garden setting however requires a little bit more of a critical eye. I remember when I first started creating the flower bed. It was a spot where a tarp had lain so my two youngest kids, two young nephews and I dug the area up, moving the rocks aside as we went. One rock was particularly deep, all the same I was determined it was coming out. We did manage after several weeks of digging and prying to bring it up out of the bed. It was more of a boulder than a rock, so the most we could do was just kind of rolling it to the border. Thereafter, it was referred to as the “sitting rock” by the kids. It was just about perfect for that purpose. The rock is still there since no one has ever had enough oomph to get it moved any further than its original placement.
Every region has its own plants and flowers that grow in each season, so I can’t tell you what to plant in your particular fall garden; I’ll just encourage you to put in something for a little color. Besides, gardening is a therapeutic activity and it couldn’t possibly be a bad thing to give something back to the earth.

A New Home - A New Garden

This fall marks the end of my time in Delaware. My youngest and I are heading to Northeastern Oklahoma, which is actually my home state. I'll be returning to friends and family, but leaving just as many friends behind. A difficult thing.
Next spring will bring new gardening stories from me, but don't think the fall and winter will be spent sitting in front of the fire knitting. For me, gardening is a year round affair. I've got wonderful catalogs, gardening books, gardening journals, etc. to peruse and plan with. I am a member of a gardening club that has an online presence to look into.
My gnomes are coming with me, just as any beloved family member would. They'll find new places to peak out from amid flowers and bushes. My father's home, where I am going, has an established yard and garden, but there's always room for more. The iris I planted some 10 years ago are still going strong. My younger sister put in a couple of forsythia that have gained a decent foothold, and there have always been waves of daffodils in the spring. A swing set the kids outgrew has been confiscated as an arbor for a sweetly scented autumn blooming clematis. And, a sprig of Mimosa tree has grown into a 10 foot specimen. My gnomes and I will get to add to all of this as well as grow vegetables in the major portion of Dad's yard.
A new adventure in gardening is awaiting.

Summer Storms

I believe this has been one of the wettest summers I've seen in my five years living in Delaware. We've used the pool only a few times because of the weather, and walking across the yard is like walking on a sponge.
Some of my garden loves the extra moisture, such as the watermelon, hostas, and, of course, the grass. Bill's tomatoes are producing like crazy, and I'm going to end of giving some away. We only bought one plant this year, since I didn't want to preserve any.
Some other plants are trying to battle through all this rain with varying degrees of success. The summer squash, both zucchini and yellow, lost their war; and the roses are trying very hard to stand their ground. The pink shrub rose seems to be doing the best of all. "Oklahoma" has tried to bloom several times, but caterpillars are not helping matters. I pick them off, and new ones hatch. I really hate to dust with chemicals, but I may have to this year.
I have discovered a new pet peeve in gardening; one I never knew I had: I hate morning glories! Now I know that sounds strange coming from such an avid gardener, just hear me out. Most of my life has been spent in colder, dryer climates, so morning glories were a beautiful annual that had to be replanted each year. Here in Delaware they are a vicious weed! The former owners of this house had planted a beautiful purple variety on the fence. Now I pull up seedlings everywhere: the vegetable garden, the flower garden, the lawn, coming up through cement around the mailbox, my herb garden, and even a couple of container plants I overwintered outside. They twine around and choke my lilac and a bleeding heart. Morning glories are no longer glorious to me, they are a gardener's nightmare.

My Garden Family - Yard Ornaments

My garden would not be complete without my little family of yard ornaments. The gnomes, squirrel, frogs, raccoons, kitty, and other members provide a finishing touch. In the front flower beds puppy dogs, deer, raccoons, bunnies, and gnomes sit among the plants. Some are peeking from beneath leaves, others are just sitting happily in their own little space.

In the back yard gnomes, a kitty, a lion cub, a squirrel, a girl named Polly, another we named Becky, a stork, more frogs, a puppy, as well as a couple of Japanese lanterns and others sit around the deck among the potted plants and flowers.

Initially, I wanted a gnome in my flower garden in Arkansas. It sat beside my birdbath in the front yard. When we moved into the house in Delaware and others found out a liked gnomes I was given two sets - a bobble head set for Christmas, and another brightly painted one for a birthday. A couple more have been added because they just called to me from a store shelf. Frogs are something else I like to collect. I think they're adorable. I now have four around the yard and I won't tell you about the collection inside the house. The rest of the menagerie was brought home when the in-laws decided to move to Florida. They didn't want to take all of their statuary because of the weight, so my yard inherited even more ornaments.

Much of the summer has been spent refurbishing some of the statuary. The yard they came from had many more ferns, hostas, and shade plants and tended to be much more moist which took a toll on the concrete. My sweetie and I have been patching and giving fresh coats of paint. In general bringing the family to life as we go.

Now when I sit outside enjoying the garden I never feel alone, even when the rest of the human family is inside. My garden family keeps me company as we inhale the fragrance of the blooms, watch the bird life feeding or visiting the birdbath, or just feeling the evening breezes. The best part is they don't feel it necessary to intrude on a quiet evening with demands that I help with something or calls of "Hey, Mom, watch this!" because they don't bother to use the swimming pool.

It Rained, and Rained, and Rained...

Wow! What a week it's been. We started out hot, muggy, and no actual rain in sight, and suddenly mid-week it began to pour. We have standing water in our yard, on our deck, in the gardens, and a mini river running down the street.

I managed to sneak out early this morning to nab a couple of squash that were trying to get away from me. Have you ever noticed how fast zucchini grows compared to any other squash? You can look at it one day and there will be a tiny nubbin no bigger than your thumb, two days later you've got a monster growth threatening to become a behemoth. Okay, I'm exaggerating a little. My pole beans are covered in blooms and tiny beans. I can't wait for the first picking. My daughter's watermelon is beginning to bloom. Hopefully she'll get at least one decent melon from the plant. We've not had a lot of luck with melons in Delaware. Probably because I'm just not used to gardening here yet.

Just look at my hen and chicks in the picture above. I've never seen it look so happy, and was beginning to think it wasn't going to survive. My mom has asked for a start, so I'll need to get her one sent pretty soon. I think there are finally enough babies for me to let her have one. I noticed our butterfly bush honeycomb is starting to get little buds. It should be in full bloom soon. Unlike other butterfly bush with the elongated panicles, the honeycomb produces masses of round sunny yellow ones. We purchased it last fall and the blooms lasted well into the cold weather.

Early Summer - Continued Plantings

Towards the beginning of June, I began planting our small vegetable garden. Yellow and grey Zucchini squash, Kentucky blue pole beans, and watermelon. Not satisfied with the small amount of space I decided to temporarily use empty space in the herb garden and flower beds. I planted Lisbon bunching onions from seed, a Big Boy tomato, and Nantes half long carrots with the herbs. Much to my neighbors' surprise a small block of sweet corn took root in the remainder of the front flower bed.

Surprising us all, the in-laws announced they were moving to Florida and putting there home up for sale. More than 30 years of plantings, potted plants, and other belongings would be sorted through and divided among my sweetheart and his brother and sister. Knowing how much I loved gardening and my penchant for adding gnomes and such to my flowers, he brought home several pickup loads of potted plants and statuary. Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled with the additions even though I would miss the family donating the items.

The deck around our pool is now home to pots containing peace lily, sedums, liriope, mullen pinks, coral bells, forget-me-nots, oregano, as well as brightly colored annuals: small marigolds, snapdragons, petunias, pansies. One neighbor had donated a couple of six packs of half dead impatiens and marigolds that she didn't need in her own bed. These were placed along one edge of the deck and are now beautiful spots of color peaking up over the edge.

My rosemary was beginning to look very sad and unhappy with area it had been placed, so I moved it to an area with more sun. I can only hope it survives, since I've had it for almost four years now. A sunny, but small area between the house and the driveway is now home to Lamb's Ear and Loosestrife. They join the existing liriope and crocus that were an early spring surprise.

In the front flower beds, the lilies are blooming, the corn has tasseled and little ears are developing. The single hosta is blooming, but showing signs that it will need to be moved this fall, as well. It has simply overgrown the area originally allotted to it. The pink rose purchased last fall is providing non-stop blooms, but the two roses from Wal-Mart seem to be struggling. They leaf, then wilt. I sprayed with insecticidal soap earlier in June, then my partner dusted just today with Seven dust. Hopefully whatever is bothering them will now leave them alone.

New bird feeders have been added to both the back and side yard, and the bird bath is full of water for my feathered friends. We have been host to house finch, gold finch, titmouse, chickadees, English sparrows, grackles, mourning doves, cardinals, blue jays, robins, and, of course, squirrels. I don't normally mind the squirrels since most of our feeders are squirrel proof. They do keep trying, though, and it is very interesting to watch their antics and intelligence as they try to get to the black oil sunflower seed we keep our feeders filled with. Once in a while our resident sharp-shinned hawk will appear, but most of the bird life around these parts are on to him, and keep out of sight when he's around.

All in all, the yard is shaping up. I'm nowhere near finished. We have a courtyard with waterfall and fish pond on the drawing board, as well as setting up the fountain and several new flower beds. I wonder if I could persuade my sweetheart into getting some big boulders for a rock garden...

First Spring Renovations

The first early spring renovations to be done were to move one of two of the huge hostas beside the sidewalk. When the leaves were just beginning to peek out of the ground, we dug it, divided it into six (yes six, it was that large) pieces and planted them in a swampy area under the large maple to the north side of our yard. We had worked earlier in the spring to add some extra soil to the area to keep it from being an actual pond. The hosta joined the original orange day lilies, some periwinkle, and a couple sprigs of variegated liriope. We snitched some starts of plants from the mother in law's yard - pink and white bleeding hearts, johnny jump ups, and creeping phlox in a variety of colors.

In the front yard, the two large yews were pulled out. I purchased two roses, one red "Oklahoma" and one yellow "Gold Glow", from my local Wal-Mart, and two types of oriental lilies - "Mona Lisa", and "Starfighter". Both lilies have a pink center with white margins. Two "Stella d'Oro" day lilies were moved from the shade of the large bush to the sunshine. I have yet to identify the large bush in front of the my daughter's bedroom window, but I did give it another severe pruning. Bright colored primrose in purple, pink, red, and rose brightened up the area under one of the small red. I also snitched a few starts for this area - mullen pinks, and another creeping phlox.

In the back yard I finished off my spring renovations with some marigolds, a couple of hanging baskets with petunias, and pansies, and began my herb garden. Existing potted rosemary, chives, and sage were placed in the ground. A very small English thyme joined these herbs. I kept the oregano potted since it likes to take over. I have several types of mints in pots as well, scattered around the yard to keep them from mixing - peppermint, spearmint, applemint, catmint, and lemon balm.

At this point I had to stop, since my boyfriend threatened to take away the credit card if I bought one more plant. I did find a way around that for late spring plantings, but that's another entry.