It's November

You never know what you're going to see when you walk around the yard. That's why Pat and I tour every day. We cut the day lilies down a month ago. We must have forgot to tell this one that the growing season is past. It's November for crying out loud. It's the time when Northeast Ohio is bracing itself for the sun to go away for 3 months and the snows to arrive. But look what we found,. it brings a smile to your face.

not a garden post

I didn't get to spend any time in the yard today. I left for a school planning seminar in Columbus at oh too early in the morning and got back way too late. A funny event happened near the end of the first seminar. The fire alarm went off. After a moment of hesitation because no one knew their designated exit door, 600-some odd educators filed out of the hotel. The hotel staff looked at us with that look that says "who are these people and what are they doing?" Well, we're teachers and what are you supposed to do during a fire drill? It was fun. The picture is us milling about because all the rooms had to be checked out. On a disappointing note, the presenter didn't show up for a seminar on post high school opportunities for at-risk kids, which are my kids. Do you sense the irony in that?

an unexpected pleasure

The vinca vines that are all over the gravel are a small wonder. They are supposed to be an annual. The ones Pat plants in her planters die off every fall. There's too many P's in that sentence but I don't know what do do about that. I'm married to Pat. We are talking about plants and plants go into planters. One year the vinca grew all the way down to the ground from the boxes on the deck. Look what happened. They went native. Every year they come back. The ground under the gravel path is moist all year round. Maybe the deck protects them enough. Aren't annuals just perennials that can't survive year round in the climate they are planted? And they are still green as life is draining away from eveything around them.

Thank you Blotanists

I've been a member of a site called Blotanical http://www.blotanical.com/ for a month now. One of my faults or virtues, depending who in the family you are, is that I don't usually read directions. Well, maybe I need to change. There is a function called "picks" in Blotanical that allows viewers to "pick" a blog they find interesting.

Have you ever wondered if anyone looks at your blog besides family, who may do it just to be left alone? When I found out how to use the "pick" function, much to my surprise, I found that lots of people have read my blog. It was humbling, to say the least. I started to email everyone and offer a belated thanks. Then I thought, a public thank you was better. Thank you to all who "picked" one of my posts.

As you know by now, I always have a pic. This is marsh milkweed. It is native to Ohio and attracts butterflies. The garden club said it was an invasive weed. Pat and I quit the garden club.

Hosta from our back yard

It's only November and I already miss my hosta. Here's a slide show from early July 2009.

our back yard

Pat and I don't have a distinct section that you could call a garden. We garden the whole yard. We use the ever shrinking turf grass as a palette. I would rather show pictures of the yard in June and July when everything is green and thick. But, these pictures still tell a nice story. You can tell the yard's been worked. The gravel paths started as just a way to cross the yard in the winter to get to the wood pile. Well, as you know, one thing led to another and 28 tons later, Pat and I can walk and garden anywhere in the yard, regardless of how muddy the ground is. The white pvc tubes around the yard are bumpers so the water hose doesn't crush any plants. You can't even see them in the summer. Anywhere you see plantings we worked in sweet peet. It is the only fertilizer we use. We weed by hand daily. We'll put out 40 or so pots in the spring.

I thought that I was the only one who liked wide yard shots. I recently joined Blotanical to see other garden blogs. I ran across a blogger from Wisconsin who blogs at: http://obsessivegardener.blogspot.com/ . Sylvanna has a wonderful blog on what makes a great garden blog. You should check it out.

So, I'll take these shots all year round. One of these years I might even use them to compare one year to the next for planning purposes.

Thank you

there's still life in the back yard

Everyday I walk the yard to see what's new, and everyday I find something. The leaves have all fallen. The hosta is gone. The ligularia flower stalks look like sticks with fuzz balls on top. I'm walking by the hydrangea and look what I find, a myrtle flower. It's the last flower in the back yard. The myrtle stays green all winter.

First lady bug of the year.

This lenten rose is buried by hosta during the summer. It will be the first flower to bloom, sometime in February. It looks good set against the brown leaves.


The lungwort looks healthier now when the temp's between the high 30's to the low 60's than it did during the summer. I need to read up on the plant.

not so big, not so blue

It will be back and it will be bigger. This year it measured 5.5 feet wide and 3 feet high. We'll add leaf compost from our compost pile and sweet peet in the spring. The plants in the background are turtle heads.

11/07/09

07/01/09

our weekend project

All the perennial flowers and grasses we pulled from the pots and back yard found a new home in our front yard. Last spring we decided to plant perennials in some of our annual pots. That way, we had a ready made fall project. We planted two different kind of grasses, daises and some other kind of flower. As usual, Pat knows the plant names, I know how to dig, as it should be.

Done

will it winter over?

Today Pat and I pulled perennials from pots and soil tiles except for this one. We think that this grass might winter over. It is in full sun all winter. We think the gravel will radiate some heat because snow never stays on the paths for long. Any ideas or suggestions?

mowed, not raked

The neighborhood is raking leaves back into the piles at the curb that they raked last week. I got home from work and mowed. I didn't need to rake because I mowed leaves last week. I don't get it, why not just mow? the city gets it. The leaves it collects get run through a schredder and get used as mulch in the municipal flower beds.