Here’s a green tip for you— instead of wrapping each present individually, I sewed Santa sacks for each of us. You just put all the gifts inside, draw up the tie, and you are done- no wrapping involved, and no waste. You can put tags on each gift in the sack so the recipient knows who they are from if there is more than one person as gifter. I made mine with red brocade fabric, and lined each fully with gold lame, and made the tie from gold roping~ pretty glam if I do say so.
To me Autumn is all about pumpkins, fall leaves, candles, and warm colors. I just love all the different shapes, colors, and varieties of decorative gourds. I have been collecting them for decades now, and I love to use them all over the house, even outside. Most of mine are either paper mâché or resin, and last forever, which is important to the Earthgirl in me to be able to reuse over and over again. While I love decorating for each season, I have to be careful from going overboard, as my entire pumpkin/gourd collection fills two large storage bins when packed away.
I love to mix them up. Each year I fill bowls with small ones, as well as use them in lanterns, around candles, in stacks, and on fireplace hearths from Labor Day until Thanksgiving. Here are a few photos from this year’s display at our home.
Choosing interesting bowls that have fun colors relating to the season is the key. This vintage one was my grandmother’s, so it’s very special to me.
These two Bordallo green cabbage designs are some of my favorite pottery pieces, and they really set off the pumpkin colors.
Here are two of my favorite paper mâché gourds on the family room mantle. I embellished a few of them with fall leaves to bring together the color scheme. I love them with a mix of candles. The more eclectic the grouping, the better, in my opinion. All of my candlestick holders are either inherited or thrifted from shops, or estate sales– I love them all!
In the photo below are decorative lanterns on the mantle in the game room. Tip: when you decorate the inside of lanterns, be sure to use battery candles so you don’t have a fire risk.
Of course, on Halloween a witch stopped by and helped me hand out candies to the Trick-or-Treaters, and even one of my pumpkins got in the holiday spirit and dressed up!
On the front porch, I created a stack of gourds inside old tomato cages for each side of the door. Just turn the cages upside down and bind the ends together with copper wire to form a cone shape, then fill with gourds. I added stakes to hold them in place in the pots during the fall winds. They are large enough to be seen from the street and make a big autumn impact.
But enough of my gourd obsession for now! Let’s move into the gardens. Here’s the east garden before the leaves started to fall. I love to watch the leaves turn their spectacular colors, but this year, because of the drought, you could blink and miss them. I felt lucky to catch a few pictures.
In the back garden, where there are many ornamental grasses with plumes and plants with berries, this is the season that they really come to life. It was a challenge to keep the grasses hydrated this year, so I’m thrilled that they made it through. The nandinas and hollies this autumn are beautiful and loaded with berries, which is a testament to their resilience after such a hard summer.
In this changing climate the poor pear tree is really struggling this season; it hardly produced any of its tiny pears. The birds and squirrels love to eat them, and they’ve been coming around to snack but not finding any. In a normal year, it would not be an exaggeration to say there were close to a million pears on this tree, with hundreds of tiny pears on each of the branches.
Lastly, on the deck, I opted for violas this fall because they reliably bloom all winter, and even into the spring if I’m lucky. I have them all in pots, so if we are predicted for snow I can easily bring them into the garage and back out when the weather clears.
That’s the end of my tour, I’d love to hear what you are doing in your gardens-
I hope all my readers have a wonderful and healthy Thanksgiving, and as always, Happy Gardening!
Hello, my gardening friends! It is June already, and I’m sorry to have been out of touch for so long. Life has a way of doing that here and there. Today I’d like to share some quick edits I have been working on this spring that have made a big impact on our home’s curb appeal.
The first thing I did in my line-up of edits was painting the pediments above the windows and front door. Sometimes just highlighting an existing architectural feature of your home can add just the right amount of emphasis. After running out of good weather last year, I was finally able to get to the repairs needed to the bricks and bluestone on the front porch, then followed with lime washing the stair risers on both front porches. Finally, sanding and painting the iron railings added some needed safety and I love how the glossy black railing stand out in front of the white backdrop. These were the finishing steps in the lime washing of the whole house that I started last year. Getting these done brightens up the front entrance immeasurably, and as much as I had fun, it feels great to check the box “done” on this huge project.
Next up was to add two more window boxes to the front of the house, for a total of four. The two largest ones I’ve had for years — one on the window above the front door and the other at the zig zag of the front walk. I added the two new ones on the front side of the garage. (They were given to me by my sweet daughter of choice! That makes them even more special.) For continuity, I filled each of them with botanicals and flowers in the same color combinations. There are more in pots on each of the front porches. Adding a bright splash of color is one of the quickest and best ways to amp up curb appeal!
Here’s a bird’s eye view of the window box above the front door. I filled it with Boston fern, caladium, and variegated ivy.
The two window boxes on both sides of the garage were each filled with a Boston fern, and caladium. Here’s a photo from further back, so you can see the effect.
Also this year, I spent a week shaping the boxwoods and hollies. It makes a huge difference in the curb appeal to finally give the boxwoods a uniform height and symmetry! They had damage from snow and burn from chemicals (overspray from a roof cleaning) a few years back, both of which took a while to fill back out to a point where they could be shaped again. It’s a long process to get them uniform, but just take your time, and stand back every few minutes to check your work. It is gratifying to see them all uniform again, after seeing them looking sort of like lumpy blobs as they grew out the damage. And while at it, putting a nice edging on the gardens seals the deal.
Above is a close up of the big pots on the front porch. Each were filled with caladium and variegated ivy. You might remember these pots from the last several years. I leave the ivy in them and swap out the flowers in the center each season. This ivy has been with me for at least 20 years or so, it creates the perfect “spiller” in a planter, and it’s easy to divide and transplant if it gets too large.
This window box at the zig zag of the front walk and mud room porch has coordinating flowers and trailing vines of mandevilla and vinca. Below is a better shot of the mud room porch. I know I say this a lot but, it’s amazing what a difference paint can make!
Another quick edit was changing out the wreath on the front door to a summer wreath. Adding a wreath is like adding jewelry. It’s an accessory that can showcase what your interests are. I love this shell wreath. OK — I love anything with shells, LOL!
I hope this leaves you with ideas you might incorporate at your own home. Some time invested a little bit here and a little bit there, and you will have it done! And as always, Happy Gardening!
Hello everyone! I have some big changes to show you. After 23 years of living here, we decided that now was the time to do a house refresh. I have been wanting to lime wash the house for years, and my wish finally came true. The house is all brick. It was a very dark reddish brown, and the north-facing side never really was bright enough to show off the plants that surrounded it. Well, now that’s history! Come take a tour of our finished new look —
Our fresh new appearance, with lime wash.
We chose to use a great product from Romabio Paints. Their formula is totally organic, mineral based, and the origins of lime wash go back several thousand years. It stands the test of time and mellows with each passing year in a natural way. The color we chose is Avorio White, which I love because as the hours of the day pass, the color shifts to take on the colors of the setting sun. And after dark, it truly glows.
After dark the new lime wash glows.
Another exciting aspect for me is I now have a light backdrop that shows off the garden. I can use the bright tropical colors of summer in flowers. I’ve filled the garden with magenta, coral, red and purple flowers. It’s so much fun! I’m already planning what colors to use in the autumn, and I am so looking forward to seeing how the house will look decorated for Christmas.
Using tropical colors in the flowers outside really pop with the new light color of the bricks.
The window boxes got more of the same with lots of tropical foliage and flowers!
This is the front of the garage — now the flower colors really show up, and even the doors do, too.
Here’s an in-process photo to see the red brick next to the lime wash. I am really happy how easy this was to apply, and the soft appearance it gives.
We hired a wonderful company — Brushes with Flair — to paint the top floor and very tall chimneys, while I painted the lower floors. The entire job took a couple of weeks to complete. The bricks are painted one at a time, carefully working the paint into all the mortar joints first, so the coverage is a very protective but breathable finish. It was time consuming, but well worth the effort. I chose not to wash it off for instant aging, but to rather let nature age it.
I also enlarged the stenciled numbers above the door to make it easier to read from the street.
New upgraded decking in a PVC which looks like mahogany.
While were were at it, we also needed to deal with our deck. Until now, the deck was pressure treated wood, which I sealed each year. In the days of old, a new pressure treated deck would last a couple of decades. Although the deck here was only 13 years old, we had to replace many boards over the years due to rot, and we finally gave up on it. We chose a new product from Timbertech that is made from PVC and is warranted to last 50 years. I guess time will tell, but we are grateful not to get splinters like we had from the old decking. The joists were also replaced, and all new bracing for hurricanes underneath, so now we are good for a while! Updating the rails, which looked a bit dated before, made a big difference, and the new LED lights are our new favorites.
We love the new LED lighting. They are much more energy efficient, and we don’t ever have to replace a bulb again!
We are looking forward to enjoying the deck now, if only the heatwave would subside. At least we can look forward to doing so in the fall!
Hope you enjoyed the tour! Wishing everyone a happy and safe summer. Until next time!
It’s almost cherry blossom time here in the D.C. metro area. That is the time all of us who live around here look forward to each year. It is a magical time, the harbinger of spring, and a time to enjoy all the beauty that Mother Nature provides us. It’s fleeting though, and the tree blossoms only last for a couple of weeks, if we are even lucky to have them for that long. So today I want to show you an easy peasy craft that is super realistic looking, and will last years to come! Come along, and I’ll show you how to make this cherry blossom arrangement —
These cherry blossom branches are so realistic looking, don’t you think? My mother-in-law, Barbara, made them close to 20 years ago as a craft project with her garden club. Here’s how to make them…
First step is to go out in the yard and pick up dead, fallen branches. These were from actual cherry trees, but many other types of tree branches work well: willow, dogwood, crepe myrtle — really, any branches that are thin will work for this. They can be straight or curved. Collect as many as you want for your arrangement. For reference, this one has about 30 branches and fills a 5 inch diameter vase. Next, cut the branches to what ever length you desire. Those in the photo are about 24″ long.
The next step is to cut LOTS of 1 1/2″ circles out of pink tissue paper. Plan on at least 6 circles for each branch. You can buy a paper punch at craft stores to make these circles quickly, or go old school and just cut them out free form, they don’t need to be perfect. Fold each circle into quarters, and crimp the bottom. This makes the little individual blossoms. We found it easier to make a whole bag of them at one time. Glue each blossom on a branch, leaving 4″ to 5″ of space between flowers. My favorite glue to use is a hot glue gun because it dries so quickly, but you can really use any craft glue so long as it dries clear. Let the glue dry thoroughly.
An alternative would be to make coral colored circles which would look like quince branches, or yellow circles would look like forsythia branches.
Next, using a vase of your choice, add each branch individually into the vase to get a beautiful shape, and enjoy! These are so beautiful, and look so real! I’m not kidding when I say these are 20 years old; they really last a long time! I hope you will try to make some.
Happy Holidays, from our living room to yours! I have some easy DIY Christmas ideas for you today. Great for your own tree, or a heart felt DIY gift to people on your Christmas gift list. And for those of you who are last minute shoppers, these might save you a trip to the mall.
As many of you know I used to have a craft business, and sold to many of the local gift shops, in craft shows, through designers, and to a few large retail chains. My favorite was always the craft shows because you get to see who your creations end up with, and which things get the most comments. Here are a few of my favorites from over the years. Hope you will give a few of these a try-
These tiny pots were always one of my favorites. Here I painted them to give them some age, glued in a couple of pieces of vine as a hanger, added some moss, and glued in a “mushroom” cardinal. These always sold as fast as I could put them out for display! The fun thing is you could switch these up in so many ways, instead of the natural look, they could be painted gold and filled with berries, dried flowers, or anything else you could come with. Guaranteed to put a smile on the face of anyone who receives it!If you are like me and have lots of little bits of lace and trims left over from larger projects, this is a really pretty way to use them up. Take any Christmas ball, and wrap or glue the bits of trim on them for a one of a kind original.Speaking of trim, these old fashioned cornucopias are easy to do. Just cut out a triangle of fabric or lace, and sew or glue the seam on the back, add a ribbon for hanging, and fill it with dried flowers, candy, or tiny toys.This is a great little use for lots of buttons from the button jar! For this snowman, I just stacked up some white buttons in graduating sizes for the body, then a red one where the scarf would go, and a few more white ones for the head, a large black one for the brim of the hat, a red one for some detail,and a few small black ones for the stovepipe part of the hat. I used hot glue between each button, and a ribbon for hanging glued in under the last button. These are fun, and you can create so many other Christmas oriented ornaments the same way. I’ve made Christmas trees with green and brown buttons, Santas with red, black and white buttons- sky’s the limit!This elegant pearl snowball was done with some leftover strings of pearls glued onto a satin ball, and a ribbon added for a hanger. Super easy, and you could use any kind of strand of beads for this. This is a wreath I made for my Mother in Law a few years ago. She had decided to downsize from a big tree to a tabletop top tree, and had lots of extra ornaments. I took each ornament and glued the little hanger on securely to the top of each one, so they wouldn’t come loose and break. Then wired each ornament onto a wire wreath frame, again, as securely as possible, added some bead garland, and it is a show stopper! This is a great use of all those extra Christmas balls, and It can be made in any size. It is equally beautiful with a candle in the center to use as a centerpiece as it is hanging on a wall or door.
I hope you will try making some of these. And most of all—Merry Christmas to each and every one!
Hi friends! 2022 springtime is at full tilt here in our garden. It’s been a long time since my last blog, and much has changed. We lost my sweet 100 year old Mother-in-law last October, and it has been a difficult six months. To honor our dear Mom, we are using her beautiful antique iron outdoor furniture here in our garden. I think it makes the whole garden look inviting, and creates destinations in each of the prime areas in the yard. I can’t think of a more earth friendly way of recycling than to reuse lovely, old pieces, and to honor the fabulous lady from which they came. I will give you the tour, enjoy!
Just beyond the cherry tree, at the front of the garden is the juniper hedge, and a row of creeping phlox. It makes the perfect backdrop for this pretty set of iron furniture that has been in the family for more than 100 years.When I get a chance, I’m planning to wire-brush and sand the iron, and give it all a fresh coat of paint. But I have to say, it has held up to the elements really well over it’s first century! Along the front walk, in the photo below, I’ve added Leo the lion to greet visitors as they come up the walk.On the front porch this sweet tiny chair makes a great spot for a pot of seasonal flowers.Circling around to the back yard, we have placed this table and chairs in front of the euonymus hedge, and I think it will be a great place for an outside office! The table area is right across from the patch of lily of the valley, which I also started from a division from my in-law’s home many years ago! Each year the patch grows bigger, and this year it is blooming right on cue.In the East garden, we’ve placed another table and 2 chairs. Perfect spot to relax at the end of the day, and enjoy a cool beverage! Up on the deck I had the perfect spot for this Sewing machine table next to the door, another good spot to highlight a pot of seasonal flowers. This table has always been a favorite of mine!A second sewing machine table is next to the french doors on the lower patio. I just love them both!Also, on the lower patio we have an adorable old cast iron fireplace. Right now I’ve put my pots of herbs on it to spur some new growth with the extra warmth, but my hope it to place it out in the yard and create a cozy sitting area around it. What a fun place it will be for getting together with friends in the early fall.I’m thinking this might be a good place for the fireplace in this corner of the yard. I’d love to make a circular brick pad for it to sit on and large enough for a few comfortable chairs. Well, I hope that this might give some food for thought in your gardens, and in this ever changing world with covid concerns, to create some safe garden destinations to enjoy with family and friends. Happy Spring, everyone! And for the Mom’s out there, Happy Mother’s Day!
This was a summer for the record books — high heat, heavy rain, and drought! It was very harsh on the trees, flowers, bushes, and all the humans and animals as well. Here is my view on what plants did the best this summer, what suffered worst, and a few of my tried and true tips for dealing with it all.
We had a whopping 43 inches of rain since the beginning of the year, and more than 9 inches of that fell in August. It made for an incredibly green and full end of summer, but it drowned many of the flowers. With all that rain, the cicadas and junebugs, and a mini drought in July, I had to give up on many of the annuals in mid-July and pull them out. I then trimmed up most of the perennials and rose bushes. I’ve even had lots of moss starting to grow in the lowest parts of the gardens after the rainiest times this summer. I’m still working on how to stop it. You can see the moss around the edges of the brick patio in the photo above. In the fall I’m planning to dig a few dry wells in strategic spots, and see if that will solve the problem. I’m hoping to relocate several of the plants to higher ground in the garden where they won’t get such wet feet. Definitely the lamb’s ears and the liatris will be moved, and probably many others.
From this angle of the back yard you can see how much everything grew this summer! The lower area gets a huge amount of sun, but the upper area (where I stood when I took this photo) gets some nice shade from the trees in the late afternoon now that they have grown so large. This is opening up all kinds of new possibilities with plant material, so I may be increasing the garden beds this fall to move some of the plants to higher ground. It doesn’t look like it in the picture, but it’s about a five-foot difference in terrain height, and this nearly creates a running river through the grass during a downpour. Adding the drywells and some more curves to the edge of garden beds can help a lot with that, so that will be number one on my list of to-do’s when the weather cools down.
One of the best performers this summer has been the blackberry lily. This one thrived in its new damp location at the corner of the yard. Its color was spectacular, and it really multiplied. This one is from a plant sale at Mount Vernon years ago. This variety was grown on Mount Vernon Estate in George Washington’s time, so it’s perfect here in what once was his Union Farm!
Each year I fall in love with the purple hyacinth bean vines, and this year is no different! They are a show stopper! And the liriope is a perfect compliment to it with its purple spikes. Right now it is like a purple lover’s dream, one of my favorite plant combinations. And they don’t mind the outrageous heat we’ve had this summer!
Here’s a close up, so you can see how pretty the flowers and pods are! At the end of fall I harvest a few of the pods, and the seeds can be planted the next spring.Also entering the stage for their solo in the garden are all the beautiful ornamental grasses, they are one of the hardiest things you can plant, and you just can’t beat their beautiful display all summer, and especially now when they bloom. They glow in the evening sun! And they get even prettier when there foliage turns shades of coral in the next month.
This pyracantha has come back! Just look at all the berries! I was about to give up hope when the main trunk died of a horrible fungus a year back. I had to cut it to the ground, and painted all the remaining stumps with daconil. There were just a few new sprouts that came up from the ground last year, but this year it is growing fast and looking fantastic again! It will cover the brick wall again soon, and I plan to train it into a cross-hatch espallier style, if I’m lucky. I anchor it to the bricks with black plastic coated wire, so that I can adjust and support it until the branches grow strong enough on their own. I find that it is almost invisible, and very strong, and you can use it over and over.
This photo was from early summer, during the one month we had a drought so the roses were still at peak bloom, but I wanted to show how I trimmed up the wisteria. I was being overrun with growth around the base, and it was overwhelming the arbor’s entrance to the patio, so I decided to trim away the lower foliage to open things up. I’m so glad that I did! Look at how beautiful the twisted vines are — they’re almost sculptural! I love the look. The top growth is still massive, and provides as much nice shade as a small tree, and only needs trimming a few times every summer, but for the first time in 20 years it bloomed! It pays to be patient; they take a long time to be established. Fingers crossed, next spring it will bloom again, too!
This was an eye-opening year for so many reasons, but it’s always a pleasure to me to get to dig in the dirt, and work some magic with plants. It is truly an honor when you get to stay in a home for a number of years and can see the fruits of your labors. A first for me!
Sometimes it takes these years with extreme weather to really bring out some of the best qualities of plants. With climate change, we will all have to adjust what we plant, and learn to garden using different and changing rules. Using tried and true plants, and regional natives, we can still have beautiful yards and gardens. We all have micro-climates within our yard. Even on the different sides of the garden, some plants will do better than others, more so now than ever. Lots of planning, observing and editing from year to year gives gardening its challenge, but to those of us who love the earth, its reward is huge! We nurture it, and it nurtures us. Happy Gardening!
Hi Everyone! Seems like summer has already happened around here. We are in our second or third heat wave here in the Nation’s capital metro. Maybe it’s because we had such a rainy year, with our little micro climate receiving almost 80 inches of rain, but the garden has never been so full of flowers of every kind these last couple of months. Brilliant hues were everywhere!
We love sitting on our deck perched above, and watching all the flowers unfold from a bird’s eye view. That is until we saw the beating the wooden deck and furniture had taken over the winter months. With Covid around, it was difficult to shop for the supplies to keep it nice, but thankfully vaccine availability finally opened up and now I’m fully vaccinated. Time to launch into fix-up mode!
The trees in all their glory!
First, all the bushes and garden beds in the front were trimmed back and weeded, and the beautiful wisteria on either side of the deck, planted 20 years ago, finally bloomed! That can take decades sometimes, so you have to be patient.
It finally bloomed!
With all that done, I scrubbed, scraped, and sanded the deck. Three coats of stain/sealer later, it is looking nice again. I use a 6″ sponge roller, which is the width of the decking boards, fitted with an extension pole, that way I don’t have to bend as much, a true back saver! I have a love/hate relationship with wooden decks. They look beautiful when they are freshly coated, and they stay cooler under foot than composite decking, but wow do they require a lot of annual work!
It’s hard to believe this was just one year of wear and tear, but I promise you it was!Three coats of sealer later, it looks nice again-
The furniture all got the same treatment — scrub, scrape and sand, and a couple of coats of the same deck sealer. I like the Olympic Maximum transparent stain/sealer. The color is Canyon Brown, and it truly covers even the worst damaged wood beautifully. Lots of tightening of the screws and bolts which tend to loosen up in the freeze and thaw of winter every year made them all in good shape again. Then on to one of my favorite spruce ups: I sewed new covers for all the cushions, 9 in all. I was all set to use some indoor/outdoor fabric until I started shopping. At $30-$50 a yard, and needing 6 yards at least, I decided to go back to the paint shop and purchased a huge canvas drop cloth. They are very durable, and for the yardage that I needed, much less expensive. So for $20 total, we now have fresh, clean cushions. It’s also washable, so as the inevitable spill or bird poop happens, they are easily dropped into the washing machine!
The white trim work had gotten very grimey as well. My go to cleaner, oxi clean, brings it back to brilliant, and the painting goes on quickly with a smaller version of a sponge roller. Makes the whole project sparkle when the trim is fresh and clean. Elbow grease goes a long way with projects like these, and satisfying when finished. The only thing left is to add a few more flower pots with some beautiful annuals for some pretty color, and enjoy!
All ready now for a pandemic deck get-together! So relaxing! I love to just sit and watch the garden… What’s that??? Cicadas!!!! Oh well, peace will be restored soon enough! Enjoy your summer everyone!
It’s a countdown to Easter, with bunnies, birds, and flowers in and around the house. Enjoy the tour!
This sweet little wren is building her nest under this cabbage on the front porch.These daffodils are a miniature variety from a tiny pot 20 years ago. They are always the first Spring flowers to arrive here in the garden.My favorite papier-mâché bunny — this year, he turns 35 years old!You might remember this wreath from a few years ago, when I first made it. And, another painted wooden bunny from a craft show.Hopping down the bunny trail, some of my favorite little bunnies — a gift from a dear friend.A cute little chick, and a dutch shoe painted by a classmate’s mom. When you sell crafts, you end up purchasing lots of fantastic things from the other craftspeople you meet along the way! I love Easter lilies! These are faux, but I have heard from a friend to keep the real variety away from pets, since they can be toxic! I have refilled this wreath frame with violas this time! Just love it!These willows look amazing when they first come back to life in the spring. I started this tree from branches that I rooted, and now it’s almost 30 feet tall! I have underplanted this with lilies. This is the perfect time to dig the runners up, and use them to fill in any open spots that might have appeared in the centers of the plants.These Nandina berries are still looking beautiful, but it’s best to trim them out before they drop. The berries ferment in the warmer spring temperatures, and if eaten, can cause upset to birds and other animals. Soon these Nandinas will fill with new sprays of gorgeous white flowers which will turn into this fall’s berries!I have many pots of violas here and there on the deck and porches, and this year I am once again planting lavender. I love the scent, and it is deer-resistant! The Aristocrat Pear tree is looking beautiful again this spring. It’s a slimmer Pear than the Bradford and is much more wind resistant — so, a good alternative!One last photo with two more from my bunny collection. I hope that everyone has a wonderful spring, and a Happy Easter!
This winter has been long already. We seem to have been getting rain, snow and/or ice almost every other day, oddly interspersed with days close to sixty degrees. On those nice days you know where I’ve been! The garden calls me. I’ve been trying to get a jump on freshening up all the garden beds by getting rid of winter weeds and stirring up the existing mulch, and as luck would have it, the county park at the top of my neighborhood just had a delivery of compost. My favorite! LOL!
I’ve already managed to bring home six car loads to amend the soil. What a difference it makes. In the spring when the grass starts growing again, I will add some additional clippings and stir it all in. This makes the absolutely perfect soil for flowers, veggie gardens, and young foundation transplants. I highly encourage you to check with your local county office and inquire if they also have a compost/mulch program. Some even will deliver to your home for a small fee. Ours here in Fairfax County doesn’t offer that, so I collect my own in large flower pots. They are easy to fill, and not too heavy to carry to wherever I’m spreading it in the garden. A two to three inch layer is perfect. Aside from dressing up the garden and providing nutrients, finely composted leaves stay in place better than the bark mulch on hillsides. So if you have a yard with terrain, it’s perfect.
Just look at that beautiful compost! It is very popular with all the gardeners and disappears fast, so I keep an eye out for the deliveries. This is created from the leaves that are picked up in the fall on yard waste collection days. I’ve found that it is the best quality, and because it’s from local trees, it’s a great recycling effort. And did I mention – FREE!In between the snow and ice storms I’ve already gotten quite a bit done in my garden prep for spring. I still need to cut back the big grasses, liriope and sedums, but spreading the compost makes it look fresh again.I even use the compost in my large flower pots. These cabbages were from my fall display, but I have them back on the front porch to brighten things up now that the Christmas decorations are packed away. I love to fill them out with additional magnolia leaves, where the mums were originally. Anywhere you would ordinarily use potting soil, you can use compost.Here we go again with another ice storm! Back and forth weather like this can be very hard on plants. If your plants get covered with ice like this it’s best to let Mother Nature melt it on her own time. Knocking snow and ice off can break branches if you are not careful. Also, that nice compost I just spread around the garden will insulate the roots to prevent them from heaving due to freezing and thawing.One more thing to do now that the trees are dormant: Take a good look from all sides, and see if there are any branches in need of pruning. This is the perfect time to do that, before they come back to leaf in the spring.Another snow! If your garden borders the road like mine does, you might want to define the edge of your yard with large rocks or taller reflector stakes. That way drivers of snowplows will know where their boundaries are.That’s all for this time! From our snow covered home to yours, remember that spring is just around the corner.
It’s here! 2021! This is the year of great hopes. May we all have a happy, healthy, and prosperous new year! From our house to yours, may your year be filled with all the best in 2021-
I am a self proclaimed Christmas tree fanatic! I look forward to decorating mine each and every year. Each ornament has special meaning to me, and it’s like greeting old friends when I pull them out of storage. It seems everyone has a different method, but here’s my process for the Christmas tree, from storage to fully decorated.
I have the type of tree where all the branches fold up for storage, so it takes up very little floor space in the storage room. I leave it in the stand, and covered in a plastic drop cloth to keep it dust free.
The next step is unwrapping it from the drop cloth, and opening the branches. This is really the most important step, “fluffing”, “zhuzhing”, and lighting- no shortcuts here!
Take the time to fluff out each little branch. I like to get them pointed in all different directions. It fills out the tree and gives it a natural appearance.Next up are the lights! I prefer to use strings of lights, instead of a pre-lit tree. A tip for how many lights to use is 100 lights for every foot of tree, for an amazing glowing tree. In my case that is 800 lights. For a beautiful effect, wind them in and out the length of each branch. Follow safety tips, and don’t plug more than 4 strings of lights together. Now we’re ready for the ornaments, although I love the look even with just the lights! To make turning the lights on easy, we use a power cord with a toggle switch. An even easier method is a remote controlled plug.When it comes to ornaments, I have to confess, I’m a more is more kind of girl. I love them all! To me, they represent many different generations and are symbolic of every aspect of the holiday. I could look at friends’ trees all day long and listen to stories behind the ornaments. It’s a wonderful time of the year for reflecting on the past, and remembering those who aren’t with us anymore. It brings them close again.
With that, I wish you and yours a very Merry Christmas, and a happy and healthy new year!
Hello, gardening friends! Are you loving the cooler weather as much as I do? What a change these last couple of weeks have brought. As you probably know by now, I am in love with purple, so I have decided to use lots of it this fall in my decorating.
This fall’s decor has a purple theme: cabbages, pansies, violas, mums, and the star of the show, the hyacinth bean vines!The front door got a fresh stain makeover, and I filled the wreath form with violas and pansies again this year.
This summer I grew everything from seed. I have to say it was fun but much more labor intensive. This was my pandemic challenge to myself: to see how much I could save by using just what I had. I think the only garden supplies I actually bought this summer was one bag of fertilizer!
I grew lots of vinca and several hyacinth bean vines that I experimented growing in different ways. I’ll share more on that today. I also tried zinnias, which are usually super-easy, yet I failed at that one. I put them outside too soon, and there was a rainstorm which brought on a cold snap, and the whole tray got fungus. Lesson learned to just wait until it’s warmer! Everything else did wonderfully though when I started them a couple of weeks later.
Here’s this years bounty, all from seeds from previous year’s crops!I trained the vines to look like living garlands on the handrails at the front entry just for fun, and they really look dramatic!I also trained one up the downspout on the side of the garage. They are very showy, and now getting covered with purple pods which are so pretty. These are annuals though, and do not like it when the temperature starts dropping into the 40’s, so I’m enjoying every last minute with them! I also grew one on the shepherd’s hook along the front walk, where I have grown them for many years. As you can see they are getting lots of pods, so I’ll have many seeds to share!Also on this season’s refresh list was this parking strip. It had become almost completely bare from doggie “leave behinds”, which encouraged weeds to sprout with wild abandon. Not good! So I cleared the weeds, raked deeply with a steel rake, spread lawn soil and seeded.After just a week we had this fabulous green velvet lawn. It has now been 3 weeks and I have to say this is the best seed I’ve ever used! It is by Vigoro, and is 100% perennial seed. The color is fantastic, and so far it has beaten every other kind of seed that I’ve tried. So this will get my “Best of Show” blue ribbon this year. So maybe 2020 isn’t all bad — LOL!On the turn of the front walk, the wall basket got a makeover, too. Using the same plants as I did on the front porch, I added a big cabbage, mums, pansies, and the trailing vinca from before. I was going to mount this above the front door, like I have before, but this requires daily watering. It’s so much more convenient to the garden hose right here. I may still add another one above the door, but will probably just fill it with pumpkins that don’t require watering. And speaking of hoses, just a reminder to drain them soon, and turn off the spigot inside to prevent freezing when the weather turns cold.Turning to the bushes in the garden, I want to call your attention to the incredible amount of berries on my cardinal holly! In the past this has been an indication of severity of the winter to come. I’m predicting a fairly cold winter for those of us here in the mid-Atlantic region. Until then, Happy Fall Gardening!
Hello my gardening friends! I’m hoping that everyone is safe and healthy! As Hurricane Laura approaches I’m photographing the garden, and hoping that we don’t sustain the category 4 status for too long. It seems this is another weather record to be already this far into the hurricane naming alphabet.
Here in the Washington suburbs, we have surpassed doubling our normal annual rainfall total already, and with several inches of more rainfall predicted, I am hoping that the Potomac river doesn’t flood the low lying areas too badly.
I am hoping for all to stay safe, and be careful. Take photos of the exterior of your home and garden just in case you need backup for insurance purposes. Pull in your outdoor furniture, and potted plants if you can. The high winds can make projectiles of even some of the heaviest things. Fill a bathtub with water for emergency. And please don’t go out in the storm, let it pass. Mother Nature is a force like no other!
These are all the volunteer vinca grown from seeds from last years flowers. They have filled in beautifully. We are veterans of many hurricanes in this area, and have found that these cement benches hold up to even the worst weather. Any of the wooden furniture we have on the deck will get moved to safety.All wreaths, flags, lanterns and potted plants can become airborne in hurricane winds, and need to be brought in. Better safe, than sorry!Here’s the back perimeter garden now. I have done so much work this season to facilitate better drainage, through loosening up the soil, adding amendments like compost and grass clippings, and this hurricane will be an extreme test. There is also an aqua drain system in place, with two additional drains which feed into the storm sewer hidden behind the large junipers in the corner. Finger’s crossed this will be enough!Lastly, the two wisterias and hyacinth vines have been pruned back to hopefully reduce the weight, and improve wind resistance.
Hello gardening friends! I have to say 2020 is definitely a different sort of year. This summer I have done almost everything differently than in the past. Through this pandemic, I am try to do as much as I can by just foraging in my own garden and being more self-reliant. I’ll tell you about a few things I’ve had luck with. Here goes–
This year I am relying more on my perennials for color. I divided many of them again and filled in where I normally planted annuals in the past. The large drifts of color are wonderful, but the bloom is not as long lasting as annuals. So, when they aren’t in bloom, I make sure to have enough visual interest in the foliage to carry the eye through each different area.
For many years I had planted vinca on either side of the driveway. Each year the color was a different shade of pink, and the beautiful flowers are prolific. They throw off lots of seeds, and this year I was thrilled when the seeds started sprouting under the cover of the pansies growing there since last fall. There were so many sprouts that I was able to pick and choose the strongest 100 or so to use as this year’s flowers for the front yard.
I used my weeding tool to dig the strongest and best of the vinca sprouts, and in no time at all I had more than enough to plant the entire front yard! I transplanted them into recycled seed trays until their roots had developed — this took about two weeks until they were big enough to be planted in the front garden.
They are now transplanted into the front beds, and many of them are starting to bloom. This is a much slower process than just going to a nursery and buying four or five flats of flowers, but in only a few weeks they will fill this mulched area. I saved probably $100 or more. On my two outings to the nursery this year, I noted how much more expensive flowers have become this year — in some cases DOUBLE the price of flowers in years past. I am thrilled to have free flowers this year and will do this in the future, too! I am a fan of The Farmer’s Almanac. It suggests planting with the moon cycles — planting between the new moon to the full moon is best. I have followed that advice for years, and it never fails!
Also from seed, these gorgeous heirloom begonias I got from a friend many years ago re-sprouted all on their own. Soon they will have the most beautiful, delicate pink flowers. Heirloom varieties are so wonderful. They are almost always very hardy and reliable! If you are lucky enough to get some — cherish them! If you are a fan of dried flowers like I am, then you can’t go wrong with these liatris. I love these in flower arrangements! I use them in fresh arrangements and dry them when the rest of the flowers go kaput. Just hang them upside down for a couple of weeks. They will retain their color and still look fresh! I have many of the purple and white varieties growing in my garden. They are one of the easiest plants to divide and make great gifts to other gardeners.Also blooming in the garden right now are my oregano plants. They are one of the easiest herbs to grow and are delicious in so many different recipes. I love when they bloom and dry them as well. They make fabulous dried wreaths and smell so good, too! I always get a second or even third flush of growth from these every year, which makes them among my favorite herbs to grow.
I’m including this amarylis in this segment, too. I thought it had gone dormant after last winter’s bloom, but I got a happy surprise when it re-sprouted in such abundance. I was planning on regrowing it for Christmas, but it looks like I will be enjoying it much sooner! Well, I have to confess, I did buy these this year. I couldn’t resist! I saw a post from one of my friends with a fantastic garden she created which she bordered with the Creeping Jenny, and I fell in love with it. I plan to transplant it into my garden this fall, and have it for years to come!
I hope you all are staying well, USING MASKS, and learning to navigate this new world we are living in. It’s been an adjustment for sure, but makes me appreciate the little things all the more! Like Dorothy said, “There’s no place like home!”
It can’t be almost Memorial Day — can it? I have to say these last few months seem to be a blur. Spring is always a busy time here, and this year is no exception. With social distancing so important now, I am grateful to have the garden and a long list of projects to distract me from what is looming all around. I hope all my readers are safe and healthy as well. Mother Nature is not stopping, I am very glad to say. And if there is a silver lining to all this, she shows us life goes on.
I have lots to share today, and I hope these gardening tips will help and the freshness of the season will uplift. My goal this year is to use what’s available to me here in the garden, to eliminate as much as possible my reliance on shopping for the items I need.
Just as Spring started to pop, we were so happy to have a visit with the fox family. Mom and Dad fox brought their 3 adorable little kittens, and stayed for a few weeks. They all look very healthy, and it was our pleasure to watch them grow from our windows.
This was my first big project of the year: renovating the back SE corner of the yard. My beautiful honeysuckle bush just could not tolerate the overwhelming amount of water from the neighboring yard. It broke my heart to remove it, but there was no chance of it recovering. I increased the size of the garden about 200 square feet and installed lots of extra perennials that I split and divided from other areas of the yard. These are more suited to the damp feet they get from the extra water, and I am hoping they will thrive in their new location. I added an ornamental maidenhair grass, more hosta, two varieties of iris, blackberry lily, liatris and yarrow. I beefed up the soil with lots of organic matter — leaf compost and grass clippings do wonders for absorbing the excess — and then after I installed the plants, I added more leaf compost as mulch to dress up the surface. The iris are starting to bloom now, and the rest will provide lots more color from these perennials as summer progresses.This path area from the back walkway down to the yard, which I worked on last fall, has filled out nicely. I was able to smooth it out by filling in the deep margin between the garden and the grass with extra clumps of grass from the back corner project. The rainwater from the downspout tends to race down that margin, deepening it, and needs periodic filling in. I have tried filling it in with river rocks in the past, but find that actual sod pieces hold stronger, and divert the rain out into the grass much better. Here in the east garden, things have grown so large. I have now gotten this side of the garden to fill in and accomplish a beautiful screening effect from the cul du sac beyond. In a month this will be all flowering, but I love the early green it brings in spring. To me, the all-green scape is so peaceful. The various shades of green and the variety of textures are important aspects when choosing the plant material. The crepe myrtles have become home to many cardinal and bluejay nests this year, and I increased the area under the far curly willow to fill in with more summer blooming lilies. The whole area has been top dressed here as well with more leaf compost. I like to add nutrients this way — it’s naturally slow release, and I collect it from the county park just up the street (for free!). So that’s an added bonus, too! Surrounding the lower patio, the flowers are amazing this year. They really like the sheltered effect that they get from the winds of winter in this spot. The roses have bloomed like never before, and the lamb’s ears, iris, peony, lily of the valley and wisteria have grown beyond measure! I will have plenty to share from here, come fall! I use a triple action product on the roses that provides food and protection from diseases and insects. Thankfully, I had just the right amount for all six rose bushes left over from last year. This is applied 3 times during the growing season, about 2 months apart, for the perfect amount of care.I have had some people ask what’s behind the lattice panels below the back deck. This area gives me a spot for shade-loving plants like the climbing hydrangea in the large pot, ginger, hosta, and many others. I also use this area as a nursery to start small plants, and to store some of the necessities of life, like the trash bins, hoses and my potting shed and tool hutch. It keeps things neatly tucked away to keep the garden area free. I actually created a cobble stone floor with rocks I dug up while gardening. We recycle everything around here! On my one and only outing to the outdoor nursery, I did pick up this great seed starting tray. And since I’m doing my best to DIY this year, I planted zinnia seeds. Five days later, I have sprouts already! I had forgotten how fun it is to start my own annual flowers from seeds. If you have kids around, this is a great project for education and fun! Here’s one more photo of our adorable fox kittens! I’m off to finish up some more projects. In the mean time — stay well, and Happy Gardening!
I love spring! With everyone having to keep “social distance” due to the coronavirus, I have been working my way around the yard enjoying the lovely weather. Things are popping around here, and everything is starting to green up and leaf out all at once. Here are a few hints to make sure your garden is in tip top shape.
This is the perfect time to edge your garden, and give it a nice margin for mowing. I also like to stir up the mulch a bit. It can get compacted over the winter, and stirring it up lets the rain and nutrients get through to the root zone easier. And while you are at it, clean up any of the debris and weeds before they have a chance to set seeds.If you have ground cover, this is the perfect time to pick out the leaves that have blown in over winter and pull any weeds before the new growth gets too thick. I also like to give mine a shape just for fun.This year I decided to increase the size of the garden around a few of my larger trees. I transplanted the lilies underneath this curly willow this past week. If you do this, be extra careful not to change the soil level or to disturb the feeder roots of the tree. I’m adding a light layer of leaf compost everywhere in the newly expanded garden to improve the texture of the soil and give the transplants some extra nutrients.Here is one of my all time favorites of spring — a flowering pear. This is an “Aristocrat” variety, which is slimmer and stronger than the “Bradford” variety. Even still, it has grown very large. I trimmed up the lower branches to open up the walkway and to make it a little more difficult for the squirrels to jump from the tree onto the roof. Last, but not least, if you over wintered your fall pansies, like I did, give them a deadheading to pinch out the spent blooms. They will fill out and give you tons of new flowers! Happy Spring Everyone!
Here are some of my favorite quick tips to make cut flowers last a little longer:
Roses: add an aspirin to the water, and change the water each day. Cut an inch or so off the stems every other day.
Tulips: add an older copper penny to the water, and change the water every day. The penny will make the tulips stand up straight in the vase!
Hydrangea: Cut the stems a couple of inches, and then dip them in alum powder, then place them in water. This keeps the capillaries open so they can drink water. They drink a lot, so make sure to check the level each day. If they do dry out, fill a sink with water and submerge them completely for an hour, they will spring back to life!
And for all flowers: Here’s the easiest trick of all, place your arrangement in front of a mirror, and it doubles your fun!
What a crazy year this has been! Extremes of all kinds, but through it all there were some clear winners. In this year’s picks I want to talk about some of the hardiest plants in the garden.
Boxwoods have gotten some bad press of late, due to the blight that has been going around, but by following some simple, clean gardening practices, they are one of the best and most beautiful of all the plants in my garden.
I’m going to start with one of my all time favorites, the boxwood. The boxwoods in the photo above are about 45-50 years old and are the true stars of the garden. I prune them in early December each year and use the trimmings for Christmas decorating. Beyond that annual pruning, I hardly need to do anything to them. They have weathered every kind of extreme in their lives and continue to look amazing!
For several years, there has been a disease affecting boxwood plants called boxwood blight. The boxwood blight is passed by using infected tools. Just by cleaning your tools thoroughly before pruning or trimming, you will protect the plants from getting the disease. I clean my pruners with rubbing alcohol prior to using them. Another tip would be to have a pair of pruners dedicated strictly for use on these beauties, but I would still recommend swabbing them between cuts with alcohol to be ultra safe.
Here’s another surprise entry in this year’s top plants — grass. In the early season, when this photo was taken, we had just gone through the wettest spring ever! Everything was green beyond measure, and then by the end of June, we entered a severe drought. For four months we didn’t really have any measurable rain. I did not water, except for the trees, and let the grass go dormant all through the summer months. It turned completely brown, and the dirt was like dust. I was truly worried that I’d taken the no–watering thing too far. In September, I started watering, although we were still having 95-100 degree days and no rain, my hopes were to at least save the roots. Nothing greened up at all. Then finally as October started, we had 5 beautiful soft rains, and like a miracle, the grass came back into health again, like nothing ever happened!
Which brings me to the point of this story: there’s nothing like real rain! What comes out of a sprinkler just doesn’t compare. When you water in the triple digit heat of the summer, it encourages weeds. Grass doesn’t grow in extreme heat. I will stand by allowing the grass to go dormant in that kind of condition. It’s much kinder to the roots, than to stress grass into trying to grow — which can kill it. Another giant help to the health of this year’s grass was dethatching the lawn and applying a root stimulating turf builder last fall, which gave us a thicker and virtually weed free yard this year. I highly recommend working your way around your yard using a dethatching rake. It’s very hard work, but pays off in a beautiful way, allowing water and nutrients to easily get to the root system.
Here’s the same area again just last week. You would never know how harsh a summer the grass weathered! It’s hard to not water and to watch it go dormant, but it’s the best thing you can do for the health of the root system. Have faith in Mother Nature, she will bring it back in the fall.
I also want to point out one of my all time tried-and-true flowers: my pansies! After the summer of gorgeous color from the vincas, I wanted to continue with some hardy winter flowers. With any luck they will provide color until the end of April.
This year the pansies in the ground were joined by the pansies I planted in this wreath that my sister gave me! It really brings the whole Fall theme together! Thank you, Tracy!
The beautiful mums have some competition this year. I was so happy when the weather finally cooled down some, I put in 125 pansies across the front. A fresh start to celebrate the season. And gives the frontage some great fall curb appeal. I was thinking ahead to Christmas when I chose the colors — gold, burgundy red, purple, and white — to complement the traditional fruit wreath I’ll be hanging in December.
I know I’ve given props to the knock out roses in the past, but they were really beautiful again this year. We had a swarm of June bugs that came in with the 100 degree heat in the summer, and they did interfere a bit, but I use a granular three in one formula that kept their dirty work to a minimum. It fertilizes, prevents diseases, and for the most part deters bugs- Bio Advanced- worth a try next year, if you have these issues. (I am not paid to endorse, but this is really great stuff in my opinion.)Another stunner this year were these emerald euonymus. They are incredibly easy to grow and maintain, really no special treatment other than to shape them after the spring growth. This is only two plants! They provide privacy to our back yard from the cul du sac and make a gorgeous living fence, don’t you think? They are beautiful year round, too, and are a favorite nesting place for our flock of cardinals and bluejays.
Before I say good night, I hope that next year’s growing season is not as harsh as this one has been, but just in case it is, here’s hoping that we can all adjust to our changing climate by seeking out the most hardy plants. Let me know what changes you are planning; I’d love to hear!
The calendar says it’s autumn, but wow is it ever still hot! We have now had almost double the number of over-90 degree days in a normal summer and almost no rain since June. Drought has taken hold even though we had a massive amount of rainfall for three full months in the spring. The poor heat-stressed grass is having a hard time bouncing back, so I’m really happy to have at least one stalwart perennial to count on looking beautiful. Sedum, or Stonecrop — also known as Autumn Joy!
Despite the ultra hot weather and drought conditions, I can always count on these beauties this time of year! They look beautiful all summer ranging in color from green to white, then in late August to early September they start their transformation into every different shade of pink and onto a lovely shade of coral.
They are beautiful mixed in with other plants, or in waves or borders of all sedum. I love the look here mixed in with the knock out roses. If they grow too fast in the early season, they can sometimes get very top heavy and split open from the center. I have two remedies for this. First, you can always pinch them back to about a foot tall before July, but if you love the taller look, here’s a solution to that: Place six or so garden stakes in the ground an inch or so in from the outside diameter with another circle of three or four of the stakes about half way in to the center of the plant. From there wind some really strong twine or coated wire carefully from stake to stake on the outside and drawn in to the (hidden) stakes in the center. Lift the branches carefully above the wire as you go. (Think about how a spider web looks.) Sometimes you need to do this in stages an inch or two at a time while raising the branches, as too much at one time can split a heavy branch. Another tip is to use black coated wire. (I use old, recycled wire from a former invisible fence.) It almost disappears even up close, but six feet away you can’t see it at all! When I moved here 19 years ago I brought only two sedums from my last garden. Every two or three years I split each one into 2 or 3 plants, and now I have masses of them here and there throughout the garden. I’ve turned the original two into probably 60! It is a definite main staple in the garden here, and with so many extras to give to away to friends. Gardening gold! Another big plus is that the pollinators and butterflies love them!
A question about these fantastic perennials from a friend a few days ago inspired me to make them my feature plant for this blog segment. Thank you, Cathi!
If you are looking for a plant that does well in virtually any climate, even the harshest of summer weather, there is no more perfect choice than Autumn Joy!
The roses love the sun — but me, not so much. Especially when the “feels like” temperatures are approaching 115 degrees outside! Doing anything we can to stay cool is important. Here are a few things that you might not have thought of, but they really do help:
Most importantly conserve, conserve, conserve! Water is precious, and so is electricity on days like this. Try to stay indoors as much as possible during the sunny hours. Draw your shades and curtains on the sunny side of your home, it adds insulation, and protects flooring and fabrics from fading as an extra bonus. We have found that the rooms are 10 degrees cooler by doing just that. If you have ceiling fans keep them running, stale air and humidity can lead to mold and mildew. Try to eat fresh and healthy salads, or no-cook meals. Just turning on the stove or oven can heat up your entire kitchen. Run your dishwasher overnight when the water usage is less. After washing, air dry your clothing, or minimize using your dryer. I find that removing clothes from the dryer and then simply hanging them to dry after 5 minutes releases wrinkles and works great. And who likes to iron anyway, right? Those are some of my best indoors tips, now on to the outdoor tips–
Watering flowers after the sun has moved off of them keeps them from getting scorched, also gives the butterflies a safe place to drink some water. Don’t forget to leave a bowl of fresh water out for pets at all times. And for extra help, a soaker hose under a blanket of mulch 2″ deep is great for retaining the soil’s moisture, and it keeps their roots cooler, too.Trim the back of foundation plants all around your home to leave at least six to twelve inches of airspace between the plant and the exterior wall so your house can breathe. This keeps down the pests and insects as well as molds and mildew. Consider upgrading your outdoor lighting to a power-saving low voltage lighting system. Our’s here provides nice lighting to walkways at just 4 watts per fixture. Much better than a 60-100 watt bulb from old style lighting!Another way to minimize heat in the garage is with insulated doors, and if you have garage door windows, cover them during the summer months to keep the sun out. I created my own shades by cutting simple pieces of fabric and attaching them with velcro all around the edges of the windows. The coach lighting here is energy saving diode lantern style fixtures which use the equivalent of a 15 watt bulb in energy, but provide terrific lighting for safety.All around the back of the house, we have these great new solar powered lights. They are motion sensitive, so they are just on when needed. It’s always great to have these in case of of power outages, you will always still have light.My most important tip is to always have some water with you if you are going to be outside. You can’t drink too much water on these brutally hot days. Wear light colored, loose fitting clothing, and try your best to stay in the shade. Please be careful everyone!
Happy 4th of July! It seems that we have jumped head first into summer with temperatures close to three digits already. Today I want to share some photos of this year’s flower show while everything is looking so full and healthy.
Happy 4th of July!As so it happens so often the summer equinox brought on the most beautiful display of daylillies. They are the harbinger of summer to me, and this year they are gorgeous! I love to give them a dose of coffee grounds as they are emerging as a slow release fertilizer to help give them a boost.
This year’s purple iris were even prettier than usual. I trimmed back the plants that surround them to give them a little more sun, and, combined with the huge amount of rain we’ve had again this year, the color was super vivid. Don’t be in a big hurry to trim back the foliage after they bloom, they need to store up for next year’s crop of blooms. This variety’s foliage stays green all summer and fall!
Sometimes you have to live and learn with certain plants, to see where they do best. I have found out that this little nook on my back patio — with all the brick surrounding and protecting it — is the perfect location for my potted herbs. I was able to start them way early in the season with the extra warmth radiating from the bricks. And although most herbs like full sun, they benefit most from morning sun. Here in the mid-Atlantic region the afternoon sun can be really intense and actually fry the delicate leaves, leaving the cook with nothing to harvest. Give it a try — I think you’ll like your results!
This year, I decided to keep to a very classic layout with the summer annuals in the new front garden bed that I carved out along the walk last year. I had been attempting to fill the area with pachysandra last year, but it really didn’t do well in this exposure, so this year’s border of variegated lirope is backed up with a row of sun patiens and flowering vinca, and additionally on both sides in front of the boxwoods for extra symmetry. I like to vary what I do with the annuals each year — just for fun and color change — and this year I went with deeper color. I think they stand out beautifully against the mulch. I use the brown mulch that claims it holds its color for a full year — it really does! A quick scratch up with the rake a couple of times in the summer keeps it looking as fresh as when it was first put down. I like to sprinkle the weed preventer first and lay the mulch on top, and after using that method the weeds are few and far between – yay!
TheHummingbird vineis this segment’s featured plant. This one has been planted in many different locations in my garden over the last 19 years. I trim it down to a foot after it drops its leaves each fall, and each year it grows back to about 20 feet in length. It blooms in the late summer with pretty orange flowers and the hummingbirds love it. This year I brought it up onto the upper deck so I can watch through the kitchen window for the hummingbirds to return. It can be invasive, sending runners underground, and sprouting up all over the place when it’s planted in the garden, so for ease of maintenance a pot works best. Originally it was growing over a metal arch in the east garden, and it looked lovely with a bench underneath. It was toppled over in a storm that did in the metal arch. The leaves and vines are delicate, so it’s easy to train onto a topiary form, a trellis, or whatever your heart desires!
Well, that’s all for this segment. Happy gardening until next time! I hope everyone has a safe, happy 4th of July.
Hello my gardening friends! I have some big news. I am now being hosted by a new company after having way too many technical difficulties with my previous host. I will open comments and questions again and improve this blog with many new ideas. I hope it will be more helpful and encouraging to my readers. So please leave a comment, I’d love to hear from you. (The first time you leave a comment it will go into moderation to make sure you’re not spam, but after that it’s an open forum.) I’d love it if you want to share my posts as well — the more people in discussion, the more tips and ideas! As always, I’ll be here at LisaEarthGirl.com and for those on Facebook at LisaEarthGirl.
As some of you already know, since my mishap last November, falling from a ladder while working on a tree, breaking my ankle and a rib, I had a bit of a slow start to this year. I was very lucky that I didn’t get hurt worse. (Coincidentally it happened on the same day and hour as our esteemed Justice R.B.G. had a mishap and broke her ribs.) I am back physically, thank goodness, and learned to be extra careful on ladders on windy days! I also would like to warn against leaning a ladder on branches that can sway in the wind! Safety first. Best tip I can give!
Learning a lesson the hard way to be more careful on ladders
The cycle of renewal has happened in a big way here. With all the rain that we had over the last year and a half, the garden is lush with new growth. Everything has sprouted with beautiful, fresh new leaves and lots of flowers everywhere. Many trees and bushes bloomed way out of their normal sequence — some early and some late — but it has been a gorgeous month and a half here in the mid-Atlantic. Vibrant colors everywhere!
Here’s a tip for one of America’s favorite plants, the flowering Azalea: When pruning and feeding, wait until after blooming, but finish before the 4th of July. This gives the plant time to set new buds and new growth before the frosts and freezes of the next winter.
The vivid new growth this spring is everywhere!
Last week I took a field trip with a friend to one of our local State Parks — Green Spring Gardens. We discovered many gardening ideas, and plants that were in full bloom a full month earlier than their usual bloom time! It was a refreshing way to spend the day, and fun to see school children so interested by what they were seeing. Fun for all ages, really! Why not pack a picnic and enjoy a hike at your local park someday soon?
A beautiful day at Green Spring Garden State Park. What a wonderful place to visit, perfect for all ages!
My biggest gardening concern so far this year is for some of my favorite mature bushes and trees to overcome the amount of rain from last year: the pink honeysuckle bush, the stellar cherry blossom tree, cardinal hollies, and the aristocrat pear. Last year’s losses were two prized cyprus bushes that drowned along the fence border garden. The change in climate and a neighbor’s poor drainage have proven deadly. The challenge continues with attempts to combat the excess water. I’ll keep you posted with some remedies to help keep the excess water away.
I always like to echo the colors I already have in the garden in my flower pots by the entrance. This year’s choices are blue salvia, lavander geraniums, and purple lobelia surrounded by variegated ivy. These all do very well in this area.
I’m back in my own garden now, preparing for the season ahead. I’ve almost finished with the mulching, weeding, and trimming back perennials. The grass has turned green again, and that alone makes a great backdrop for everything else. To celebrate the beautiful weather, I planted my annual flowers last week in flower pots and areas that are protected close to the house. In past years we have still had the odd late frost, but this year the long range forecast is showing we are much warmer. I used some of my favorites that do well in my micro climate on the banks of the Potomac — vinca, impatiens, salvia, lobelia and geraniums.
I’d like to start up a new segment on each blog from now on on plant I.D.- I’ll start with one that stumped me for years. I’ll encourage others to join in with plants from your garden.
Just for fun — here’s a plant I.D.- I used to call this the “Mystery Bush”, it looks very similar to many other plants, (wigelia and choke cherry had been previous guesses) but I’ve finally identified it as a pink honeysuckle bush. It started life as a volunteer in a friend’s yard, and she gave me a cutting. It has gorgeous flowers, which then turn to bright red berries, and in the fall gorgeous colored leaves — a true plant for all seasons! It has grown into a beautiful, mature 7 foot tall bush, with an 8 foot diameter. With too much water and rainfall last year, I’m fighting to not lose it this season.
It’s good to finally be back, and I hope that everyone is out and enjoying their corner of the world. Happy Gardening!
As we say goodbye to 2018, I want to say thank you to all my readers. I am wishing you a safe, happy, healthy, and prosperous 2019, filled with many rewarding gardening days!
It seems autumn has finally arrived! In celebration, I always am drawn to the nursery to bring home a few of my favorite harbingers of autumn, the beautiful chrysanthemum. I am going to give you some tips today to give you at least DOUBLE the blooming time on these beauties. Sometimes I have kept them going for almost three months of flowers using this strategy.
Here goes–
When purchasing mums, look for plants that are just showing color, but in a bud stage. This will give you the longest amount of time to enjoy.
First, when choosing your mum, buy one that is still in the “color showing bud” stage. This way, you will have the opportunity to get every minute of flowering time.
Instead of planting the mums in the garden, plant them in pots at least four inches larger than the nursery pot that they come in. This allows you to pull them under cover of a porch, garage or even into your house during fall rainstorms — their biggest enemy!
Mums in all their glory are one of the most beautiful sights of fall. I love to have some by the front door to great visitors.
When watering the potted mums, just water the the root zone from under the foliage. This is very important. Water on the flowers after they open will kill the flower. It breaks my heart when I see a well-intentioned gardener plant their mums and then water from above with a hose, only to see that the mums are dead the next week. Watering only the soil keeps the foliage and flowers dry and protects them. Using this method should give you at least a month and half of bloom time.
Deadheading your mum after the first set of blooms have bit the dust will expose a second set of blooms. You can have double your bloom time!
Now to extend that month and a half of blooms for a month or possibly even more, here’s my final tip: deadheading. If you remove the first set of blooms when they have finished, you will see a second set of buds hidden underneath. These are smaller, but will provide you with a second bloom cycle of flowers. Double the fun!
Second set of blooms opening! Gardener’s gold…
I hope you will give this method a try if you love mums as much as I do. Happy autumn gardening everyone!
Hi everyone! We had an unbelievable amount of rain here this year, almost double our annual rainfall total. The air feels like a sauna even in October. It’s been hard to spend more than a few hours outside at a time in the heat and humidity — but you know I can’t stay inside, and there’s work to be done!
This type of steel rake is my favorite choice for de-thatching and preparing the soil for overseeding. Just look how much debris it removes!
My priority now is renovating the lawn. Normally, I would finish this completely in September, but the weather has put me behind schedule. To do this right, I started by weeding the entire lawn by hand, as opposed to using an herbicide. When planning to overseed, one needs to make sure not to have any chemicals on the lawn which could interfere with the new seed sprouting.
I am using a specialized steel rake to get every bit of thatch out of the lawn — a tool I inherited from my grandfather. This is THE most grueling step. After de-thatching two-thirds of the lawn, I have collected more than a dozen full bags of debris (don’t worry — you know it’s going to the compost heap). I’m impressed with how effectively this steel rake pulls out the thatch — and it loosens the surface, which makes for great new seed contact into the top soil.
Everyone who walks by while I’m working asks me why I don’t just use a machine for this, but if you saw how much better this works you’d know why!
This is what those plugging machines do. They really don’t get any thatch up, and compared to my steel rake — well, there is no comparison, not to mention that the plugs of soil the machines leaves behind look like, um, something else we don’t really want to see…
I bought a premium seed that has a variety of grass types: some that sprout within a week to stabilize the bare spots, and additional varieties that will be sprouting over the next few. This mix also had a seed-starting fertilizer mixed in, but if the variety you purchase doesn’t have this, I’d recommend using some.
Keeping things moist while the seeds are doing their magic is key, but with all the rain we’ve had, I’ve only had to water the new seed a few times.
With the combination of sod, seed and fertilizer you can hardly see where the old tree stumps used to be!
I’m happy to say that I finally was able to easily pull out the last of the roots from two pear trees which used to grace the front yard. Now those areas are much smoother in elevation. The vast majority of the surface roots came out with the tree, but a few deep ones remained. On these areas, which were quite large, I used a couple of pieces of sod and more seed around the edges to completely fill it in. Now you’d never know that those were trouble spots!
Once the new seed reaches three inches tall, you can start mowing. We gave our newly-seeded lawn its first mow this week. I have a tip for this, too: Set your mower to highest level first, because after a few weeks of not mowing, the existing grass will definitely be quite long and would clog the bagging chute. In a couple of days, set your mower to the normal level and cut it again. This way your lawn won’t be stressed as much — and you won’t create new thatch by using a clogged mower!
Yes! Nice new seedlings emerging.
The front yard is finished, now on to the back…
I’m hoping the weather will cooperate so I can finish up my raking this week, but (if you can believe it) we have a new hurricane bearing down tomorrow night, and two more in the Atlantic pipeline. Hope everyone stays safe, and best of luck — I’ll be back with some pretty fall flowers next week!
Here is the “before” photo of the front entrance garden. I want to fill in the area between the boxwoods with a seating area that will soften the straight edge of the walkway by adding curves.
Long ago, when I first designed the front yard of our house, I left a 15 foot wide gap between the boxwood bushes that wrap the front of the house. This was supposed to be very temporary. My intent was to change the path of the front walkway and bring it up the middle of the lawn instead of from the driveway on the side. Well, as years slipped by, I have had much more pressing projects. The front pathway took a back seat, but it’s time to get started with a new plan. I’ve changed my mind on moving the location of the walkway for now, but I still want to soften up the existing straight line of the boxwood garden. To improve curb appeal, I added some seating and space for seasonal color by the front entrance. I’ll show you how I went about it, step by step.
First, I laid out a long rope to define where I wanted to expand the edge of the garden bed and marked the new edge with landscape paint. Then, the hard part — cutting the edge with a scallop edger, and turning all the turf over with a rounded shovel. This is back breaking work, but I prefer this to a cultivator — you have far less grass growing back up, almost none! You can see already how the curvy edge softens up the row of boxwoods.
Here’s another angle from the side that shows the new edge. Once it had rested for a few days, I broke up the shovelfuls of turf to smooth it out. Over time the turned grass will degrade, providing nutrients for the new garden area.
Here is the “after” shot: I added stone benches, transplanted pachysandra and annuals, and finished it out with a nice topping of mulch. You already hardly notice the straight line of the walkway. I’m planning to add some flagstone pieces to the side bordering the walkway and fill in with more pachysandra between the stones in the fall when the weather is cooler. Until then, I’m happy with the progress, and the more welcoming look!
I’m not quite finished with it, but already I’m much happier with the amped-up curb appeal, and a new place to sit in the garden. I’ll post another photo in the fall when I add some flagstone pieces to transition from the walkway to the benches. I’ll transplant more ground cover to fill it in when the weather cools off. Hope you all have a safe and wonderful 4th of July! Happy gardening!
Welcome to our tropical rain forest! We’ve had so much rain here that working in the garden can’t happen, so I’m working on some fun projects in the meantime-
Happy Summer everyone! Trash to treasure is one of my favorite pastimes. I’ve been busy doing a few fun summer projects and want to share them with you. We’ve had a lot of rain here in the mid-Atlantic region, so as it’s been too wet to work the garden, I’ve been working on these projects between the storms.
Trash to treasure – these great chairs were covered in years worth of grunge when I got them.
Recently I was given some old Adirondack chairs with ottomans that a neighbor no longer wanted. They had sat in the woods for years and had gotten covered in sap, bugs, pollen, mud, algae and who knows what else. They were in pretty rough shape, but I scoured them down, power washed them twice, and finally brought out the palm sander and managed to get through all the grunge. It was quite a job, but I was determined to make them beautiful again. A few coats of my favorite stain and sealer later, and now they are fantastic! I moved them up onto the deck, and now they make a great spot to sit and relax or maybe even whale watch! Trash to treasure, for sure!
After a ton of cleaning and sanding they are now the perfect place to relax.
Also on the deck, I moved the teak dining table over to the arbor. I came up with a really fun and simple idea to create an outdoor chandelier above it. These were all things that I had, but easy to find at most garden centers. I took a wrought iron plant hanger and attached it to the center support post of the arbor, then with a few links of metal chain hung a garden orb. Inside the orb I hung a candle lantern. It makes a great chandelier, and no wiring necessary!
An easy chandelier made with a plant hanger, some chain, a candle lantern and a garden orb — no electricity needed!
Here’s a closeup so you can see how I put it together.
These were fun projects. Don’t be afraid to roll up your sleeves and apply some elbow grease — restoring old furniture is very rewarding. The chandelier project was very easy, and it will be nice to enjoy a meal underneath! Hope you’ll give them a try…
Hi all! It’s been a looong while since I’ve written a blog, and I have lots of catching up to do and some explaining as well. It seems that this entire last year has been a mess of frustration with construction and neighbors. Every one of the homes on my street has had multiple pieces of huge equipment visit for weeks on end, causing all kinds of mayhem and thoughtless behavior, making it impossible to get a worthy photo for my blog. So thank you all for putting up with my absence for so long. I will do my best to show you what I’ve been up to lately…
HUGE equipment parked all around my property 7 days a week, all year, definitely doesn’t make for a pretty photo.
Thoughtless contractors and neighbors dumped illegal chemicals and detritus. Storm water management officials to the rescue. They explain to the offenders the right way to dispose chemicals, so that they don’t impose a health risk to the environment. Thank you beyond measure!
Even feral kitty Stomper was greatly upset…
Since I couldn’t work outside, I completed projects inside. I refinished the flooring on the main level. This is actually a deck finish! The nice thing about it is that it has UV blockers, and very little odor. We also re-tiled two bathrooms and updated the kitchen appliances.
Last fall I worked on repairing some of the damage to what used to be a beautiful view. I carefully transplanted 17 large bushes, and when spring came I was thrilled to see that they all survived the winter and are looking healthy.
It was touch and go for the last couple of years with this pyracantha. It had one issue after another — fungus killed half of it, then scale, whitefly, and powdery mildew all took a great toll. After radically pruning and treating it with horticultural oil, and then spraying it with a mixture of milk and water, it is now a picture of health! These are all earth friendly remedies. So glad for small miracles!
There were some beautiful moments last week when the sun popped out. The flowers all opened up on the same day! After such a nasty winter, I can’t begin to say how much I appreciated it! Each morning I add the coffee grounds to the base of a different plant to provide some natural feeding. By the end of the year, I’ve made it all around the garden. The plants love it!
And another couple of beautiful old faithfuls that never disappoint!
Growing so fast you can literally watch the new foliage burst open to welcome warmer weather.
The violas and pansies are having their last hurrah during this needed rain. I’m ready to be back out in the garden and already have some more projects underway to show you next time. Here’s hoping for some peace and quiet to return to this neighborhood and for some lovely time outside.
2018 has been foggy, windy and mostly frigid. Time to stay inside!
I’m ready for some nicer days — aren’t you? 2018 has been unusually frigid and foggy, wildly windy, and with sudden, crazy temperature swings. It makes me crave some tropical — or at least milder — springtime weather. Not to be had just yet, so until then, I’m doing some gardening indoors.
Crazy back and forth temperature swings have confused the pansies as to what season we are in.
Time for a fun new plant or two — this one is a weeping pussy willow.
I’m always on the lookout for interesting new houseplants and couldn’t resist this one. It’s a weeping pussy willow, grafted onto a standard willow trunk. There is a legend that goes along with it: If you tie a loose knot in a trailing willow branch and then make a wish, the wish will come true. You then untie the knot and thank the tree, and it will grant you more wishes in the future. Well, I could use some of that! I’ll tell you if it works!
Another great low-light plant is the shamrock. This shamrock is starting to bloom again. I guess it knows that St. Patrick’s Day is almost here!
The peace lily and the shamrock also are starting to bloom. I’ve had both of these for a number of years and highly recommend them for low-light areas. Mine are both in need of re-potting in larger containers, but I’ll wait until the blooms fade. A good rule of thumb is to use the next size up in pots, and March is a perfect time to re-pot a houseplant.
This peace lily is a great plant for low-light conditions, and re blooms several times a year.
These are orchids that are not blooming at the moment. I have any idea to try –
I’m waiting on some orchid plants to come back into bloom and decided to do something fun with them — I made an orchid garden to use as a centerpiece in the dining room.
If you want to try to make one of your own, here’s how: I took a huge punch bowl and lined it with floral foam (mine took four bricks of floral foam). I then added the real orchids (still in their pots) into the punch bowl around the outside rim. (So they can be popped out easily to water and put back in.) With the space that was left, I added faux orchids (I used 9 stems/sprays), and filled in with pine cones to cover any remaining visible floral foam or open spots. (You could also use moss, or shells, or anything you like for this step.) Bunching them all together garden style like this creates a statement piece with lots of impact. It’s so tropical-looking — just what I was going for! It makes me feel like I’m in a Victorian greenhouse when I look at it — a real plus for these chilly days. This could be done with any flowers or greenery that makes you happy, so I hope you’ll give it a try. Good cure for the winter blahs!
Here’s my finished orchid garden. Hope you’ll give this a try!
The yellow flag iris was almost glowing and has increased to nearly six feet in diameter. When the flowers dry up you can trim out the flower stalks for aesthetic reasons, but the leaves should be left to absorb nutrients for next year’s crop of flowers. I love this variety because the foliage stays absolutely beautiful until frost in the autumn.
This has been a crazy couple of weeks: the street was milled and repaved, and major renovations have been going on inside the house. So, the garden again proves to be my escape.
Well, it’s not quite the Chelsea Flower Show, but I have to say this year’s flowers have been gorgeous so far!
I will be a bit sad to see this season pass and have to wait another year to see these beauties again, so I’m creating my own 2017 Flower Show in pictures to revisit. I hope everyone has been enjoying their own gardens this year! Here are some highlights from mine…
Never to be outdone, the always beautiful white iris bloomed early this year, with some of the blooms reaching eight inches in diameter!
I can’t say enough about how much I love these peonies. These were a gift, and this was the first year that I have grown them, and they are quickly becoming my favorite spring flower. They lasted more than a week in a vase, looking pristine after cutting them and bringing them inside!
These hellebores are amazing. They have been blooming non-stop for months! The color is wonderful — a slightly greenish-white with pink edges to the petals. They are quite graceful and getting more and more blossoms. They like mostly shade with just a little filtered sun.
The alliums were really multiplying this year, from 4 to 10! I love the shade of purple. For those of you who dry flowers, these dry very well! I will soon cut them and hang upside down to dry. They are so pretty stuffed into a Christmas tree during the holidays — looks like a star burst!
The roses have been just loaded with blooms — until now — the rain did them in. But, new blooms are forming and it won’t be long until they look like this again. Those with a sharp eye will see that my rose has a deep red rose blooming right in the center. This is because most new rose varieties are grafted onto hardy old fashioned rose root stock, which can sometimes send out shoots and bloom. I think it’s beautiful to have the mix of color — but keep them managed or the shoots can take over!
The lamb’s ears is at its peak, and will will look great the rest of the summer. I love how its greenish white color makes the roses pop. Behind the rose the yarrow is starting to bloom. Yarrow is also a flower I love to grow for drying purposes.
This is the view out the french doors by my desk. I love to see everything with such full spring growth, the sense of renewal does my heart good!
In the evening light the azaleas shine along the front pathway. The pathway lights are low voltage and easy to install, and what a difference they make in the curb appeal!
As the sun sets and the lights come on, I think it’s a magical time of day. It brings out the vibrant color on the rhododendren. I have been mixing my coffee grounds into the soil around the dripline of all of these acid loving plants, and the number of blooms this year is a testament to how much they like it. Great way to recycle the coffee grounds, too. Hope your spring has been full of flowers — they do wonders for your happiness!
As spring turned to summer the garden changes to various hues of yellow. Here the correopsis, yarrow and the Stella D’Oro lily bursting out onto the scene, with a backdrop of Nandinas (which discreetly hide the A/C units) that have color in the foliage and wonderful little white flowers. I love how long all of these stay in bloom, usually about a month and a half!
This year on the deck I created some different styles in the pots and planters. These have a mix of flowers that are all in the same magenta color family- Zinnias, geranium, impatiens and vinca. They are really filling out now. If they seem to be getting too much sun exposure, it’s good to rotate them around each week to keep them healthy.
I have put my herbs into pots this year, they are closer to the BBQ and kitchen, which is very handy. I love all the green, and of course the great scent. I find that a half day’s sun is the perfect amount!
Last, but not least is the window box over the front porch. Similar to the deck planters, I used a mix of flowers. All the same varieties as the others, but with the addition of some beautiful purplish/pink lantana to drape out over the front of the windowbox. It’s a more simple, sort of cottage look, but maybe even more full and very summery looking!
Well, that’s my 2017 Flower Show — hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know what your favorite flowers are this year from your garden. Happy summer!
Hi all! I think I am finally ready to show you some of the garden areas I have been working on since last fall. My goal was to open up the areas that had gotten a bit too crowded and simplify the overall design. While we walk through the yard, I’d like to show some tricks and tips that might help solve similar dilemmas that many of us deal with.
Closeup on the front corner of my yard. A row of juniper does double duty shielding the windows from headlights of vehicles rounding the corner, as well as defining the edge of the property.
I have never shown a closeup of this garden area on the blog before. It is the front corner of my front yard, where the cul-du-sac meets the street. Here on the corner a low wall of juniper bushes are very strategically placed. As cars round the corner at night into the cul-du-sac, this blocks the headlights, shielding the windows from the bright headlights. All you need is 3 or 4 foot high evergreen bushes in order to protect the house from an oncoming vehicle’s headlights. No one wants to feel like a search light is spraying the inside of your home, and this does the trick! This garden is layered with euonymous and liriope on the street side, and anchored in at the corner with a dogwood tree. We have an up-light that shines at night into the canopy of tree, which right now looks like a cloud of beautiful white blossoms.
Front walk has been opened up by removal of some larger bushes and layering in lower plant material in foreground.
Here is the updated front walk. I cleared out some of the jungle of large plants on either side of the Nellie Stevens holly and highlighted it by relocating the hostas to either side in a semi circle to add some visual depth and light to that side of the walk. The liriope on the lawn side of the walk were all divided and will stay low. They will add some seasonal interest in the late summer with their purple flowers. These carry through the front of the other two garden beds on either side of the front door to create a nice flow from one garden to the next.
Here’s the walkway from the front stoop. The zig zag is not the best layout. I smoothed out the visual flow by running the liriope through all three of the front garden beds.
I inherited the layout of the walkway, but if I were to design it myself, I would have brought this odd zig zag section forward to match up with the rest of the walkway and made the whole walkway 4 to 5 feet wide. It’s always nice to be able to walk side by side with someone on a front walk, and being on the north side of the house, it would have been smarter to bring the walk out of the shadow of the house. If I ever win the lottery this is one of the things on my wish list – LOL!
Rounding the corner the azalea is in full bloom right now, underplanted with a sea ofperiwinkle to move your eye around to what’s next in the side garden.
This side of the east garden was opened up a bit removing some of the iris and lamb’s ears and extending a few new waves of color into the existing design. In a couple of weeks this will be teaming in color.
Moving around to the east side of the garden I have done a lot of work. There were many of the older perennials that needed dividing, and some areas requiring removal, like the lamb’s ears which never was happy in that location and the beautiful iris which were overwhelming their area. All is smoothed out, and in a few weeks this area will be teaming with color. I have simplified many of the waves of color on this side, and interspersed some of them with liriope and periwinkle which will provide more year round interest. I also want to suggest to those looking to brighten up an area that placing lighter colors or variegated plants in the dark recesses under trees will draw your eye in and create more dimension. Repeating the plant material, colors and varying the numbers of plants in a group is also helpful to pull your eye through.
One more thing worth mentioning in this region of the country and other drought-prone areas: limit the amount of lawn that is in your yard. For example, in my yard the side and back are fairly hilly, so the lawn is kept to a minimum through there, and treated more like a wide pathway flowing through the yard and the garden beds are much wider. In the front, the yard is flat, so we have kept a larger patch of lawn for activities– perfect for throwing a Frisbee, or a game of croquet. This limits the amount of water, nutrients needed, and even helps with the amount of time you need to spend mowing — bonus!
Moving around into the back garden, I’m really happy to see that all the roses I transplanted are really flourishing in the full sun. This is where I have amped up the flower power, and have sedum, orchids, astilbe, hellebores, ginger, lamb’s ears, yarrow, iris, peonies, lily of the valley and hummingbird vine. Many of these were started from gifts from my gardening friends! The idea was to have something blooming for as much of the year as possible. The only time there is a void is February, and don’t worry, I’m on it. I think I’ll add some crocus bulbs in the fall to make it year round. Will I ever be done? No, but that’s the fun for me!
A long view of the newly revamped back yard border. It now has flowers blooming almost all year. It is half in full sun, and half in shade under the deck, so I’m able to have a wide variety of plant material.
Don’t forget — April showers bring May flowers! Here’s a rainbow from our last April shower – bring on the May flowers! Happy gardening!
Happy Earth Day 2017! Time to get outside and do something nice for our mother Earth- whether it is planting a tree, cleaning up a park, or marching for science- enjoy!
Every year I’m working against the clock to have the yard looking at its peak when the cherry tree blooms. This year we have had an inordinate number of warm days, and I have almost finished — well, at least the front yard. It’s hard work, but the weeding, edging, mulching (90 bags!) and lots and lots of pruning are almost completed. We have lots of people who drive by and a few who take Easter pictures here when the tree blooms coincide with Bunny Day. I think this year I was lucky that this tree is a little behind the Tidal Basin cherry trees in D.C. The cold snap and late ice and snow storm that collided with them didn’t harm mine, just delayed it a few days. For those who are as in love with these trees as I am, this is a Kwansan variety. Its double flowers are magical!
The “Charleston pink” phlox that surrounds the tree is at its peak right now, and the tree is hours away from exploding with color, so this is just a teaser and I will post another photo when the tree is blooming — until then, Happy Spring!
Update, April 6th – The tree has started to open. I’ll post a photo each day until it’s fully open. We had an incredible Spring storm that blasted through here just now with intense wind and the darkest clouds I’ve ever seen. Everyone in its path — stay safe!
You can see now how many flowers have opened in just a day. More to come in tomorrow’s update!
Update, April 7th – She is now in all her glory! It’s always worth the wait. I feel so happy to have her in my garden.
Full bloom! Always worth the wait! Happy Easter everyone…
One more close up for posterity! How I love this tree!
Beautiful Mt. Vernon mansion house wearing her new “old” colors again.
Each year on George Washington’s Birthday, the Mount Vernon Estate opens its gates to the public for free. As you might imagine, it is filled with people coming to celebrate the day. Since it’s right down the street from my home, I try to go every year. There is always something that is undergoing a renovation, and it’s great to see what’s newly been uncovered with all the advancements in technology they have. The mansion house has now been painted with colors that have been discovered to be the original — very different from the colors we all thought for years to be accurate. For at least the last century, it has been painted white and it’s bright red roof shown against the blue sky. Now the colors are much softer and more muted. A golden tan is on the field of the house, and the roof is a much softer red. It’s very pretty, but for those of us who see it everyday, quite a change!
The amazing view from the veranda looks exactly as it did when George Washington lived there.
The “back yard” of the house it is still just as it was when President Washington lived there. Believe it or not, the view from the veranda has been protected in a way that you cannot see any other structures across the Potomac River — 80 square miles of protection to be exact! I think that’s an amazing accomplishment. All the lawn that you see is trimmed by a scythe, no mowers used here. It’s quite impressive to watch. The estate’s team of gardeners have a wealth of knowledge about the colonial era tools, and there are special tours where they will demonstrate many of them. If you get a chance to visit, you might want to call ahead and request a special tour!
The inside of the orangery at Mount Vernon.
This year I went specifically to see the orangery and it’s surrounding garden. This area was used in housing the small citrus trees that they grew in planters. The trees would be outside in the warm months and moved indoors into the orangery in the winter. It has a dark colored slate floor, and masonry walls which would soak up all the warmth from the sun during the day through the south facing, floor to ceiling windows. Then in the evening, the shutters would be closed, and the floor would radiate it’s heat back into the room, keeping it above freezing, and all it’s tender trees and plants would be kept alive. They have not quite finished this renovation and the plants are not inside yet, but soon it will be full of tender plants.
Enjoying a warm and beautiful walk in the brick walled garden. A cherry tree espallied against the wall is almost ready to spring back into growing from the extra warmth of the wall.
On the outside of the building there is a large garden surrounded by brick walls to protect against nibbling deer and other animals. This area was mainly used to start new plants for transplant into the other landscaped areas and was used as sort of a colonial era plant nursery. President Washington was the recipient of many gifts of plants and new varieties of seeds and, according to his journals, enjoyed experimenting with them.
The walls of the garden have many different varieties of espallied trees — mostly fruiting trees like apple, peach, fig and cherry. They were grown against the walls for extra warmth to prolong the growing season, and also pruned to just a few feet tall, to make harvesting the fruit easy. The colonial people were very clever in their farming practices!
This fig was from a past Mount Vernon plant sale, one of the Washington’s favorite!
Along the brick lined paths they additionally would grow herbs and medicinal plants. A very diverse variety of plants grew there. The tiny little boxwood plants that you see edging the walk, figs trees, herbs and many other plants and seeds are sold in the annual plant sale fundraiser, coming up in Garden Week, another really fun event!
Here is a close up on the apple trees in the larger vegetable garden. February and early March are when they are pruned to keep them low, and easy to harvest.
There is a huge vegetable garden on the other side of the mansion as well. With hundreds of mouths to feed, this was a most important garden, and it was in constant rotation of crops. Lettuces, cabbage, carrots, potatoes, melon and many more things grew here. This season the early spring onions and cabbages were looking great.
A dove with an olive branch sits atop the cupola on the mansion house- — what a fantastic view!
I always hate to leave Mt. Vernon estate, but the afternoon was coming to an end. So until I am back there next year, Happy Birthday George Washington! And happy gardening to the rest of us-
Wild weather going from 70’s to 20’s with thunder, snow and hail, then back to sun- breaking records almost every day.
We are having some truly crazy weather here in Mount Vernon. Over the last week, we have had a daily high of 74 degrees and a daily high 38 degrees; snow, hail, sun, and rain; and three or four days with 60+ mile an hour winds! It seems like we are having records broken every day. You never know what will be in store from one minute to the next.
I’ve been making the most of the nice days and getting lots done in the garden. There have been some interesting things — and some not so — but it’s been great to just be outside soaking it all in. Here are a few things that I’m doing here that I hope will be a useful reminder to you in your gardens.
An easy fix for mature grasses with a bare center — read all about it here!
When we’ve had a nice afternoon here and there, I managed to get at least one or two ornamental grasses trimmed down. With more than a dozen out in the garden, this is the most time consuming of all of the cutting-back tasks. Mature grasses always start to die back in the middle after a few years, and it can start to look like a doughnut with all the growth around the edge and bare in the center. I have a tip for working with these: If you have a saws-all you can use a long blade to cut around the inner circle and remove it. This will dull the blade, but just keep it for this duty — makes it so much easier to cut out the fibrous, tough center. The bare center then can be then easily be filled in with a chunk of fresh, new growth from the outer edge, making the plant good as new.
These grasses can grow to be more than three feet in diameter in just a few years, so an alternative would be to divide it in fourths (or more) and turn one plant into many. Gardener’s gold! I have seven of them trimmed down now, so I’m well on my way. And — once you have finished trimming down the tops, don’t forget to clean out the old leaves and debris that settle in to the center during the course of the previous year. It will make the crown of the plant much healthier, and as a bonus it will look much nicer, too.
First spring flowers are already blooming! Time to scratch up the mulch and enjoy the fresh Earth scent!
Now that we are starting to have warmer days, I like to stir up the mulch. It can become so compacted over the winter when it freezes and thaws. By stirring it up, it is much more porous so the spring rains can more easily soak in. It also makes the mulch look fresh and nice.
This is also the perfect time to check on emerging bulbs and perennials. I like to take the time to clear out the branches and leaves that have blown in, and give the garden beds a good edge for the upcoming growing season. Another tip — use your senses to evaluate your soil. It should have a beautiful fresh earth scent, as you stir it up. If it doesn’t, remember where and return with some nice compost to stir in when the soil has warmed. Ditto that if you see an area where rain ponds up, or there is moss or heavy clay.
The roses are already sprouting leaves in this warm weather — time for a major pruning.
Right now is the perfect time of the year to trim up rose bushes. Leave five or so main branches, and cut out any that cross. Make your cut about 12-18″ up the branch just above an outward facing leaf bud.
Last year I heard a new tip and really like it: sprinkle cinnamon on the soil surrounding the rosebush about a foot in diameter. It keeps fungus at bay. It really works. I had no black spot at all on the leaves of the bushes where I did this.
On to a reminder about some of the ugly necessities in the garden. After 17 years, we are replacing the A/C system. I wish they lasted longer, but even though we have ours serviced every year, there are only so many years of life in them. Here’s a tip I’ve mentioned before, but bears repeating: make sure to trim any bushes or hedging back so that the unit has at least a couple of feet of breathing room around it. You will have perfect air circulation around the unit and the technicians will have room to service it. Thank goodness for that invention, makes life so much more enjoyable!
I also made some progress clearing out a space to dedicate for storing my recycling bins and trashcan. It’s a little more visible than I’d like, so I’m still thinking about what I might do differently to improve on it.
On an exceptional day last week, we took a field trip to Mt. Vernon Estate, just down the street. More on that next time!
In between some more wild weather, we had a beautiful day to take a field trip to George Washington’s home, Mt. Vernon. I’ll be writing the next blog on some really inventive gardening tips from there that are still valid today!
I hope you’ve been able to get out in the garden on your good days, and may we have many more to come. Enjoy!
A simple bundle of amaryllis flowers in a round cylinder vase adds a great pop of color on the hearth. They are tall, so I like using them against a wall in an unexpected place.
I always feel like my house looks so bare after I take down the Christmas decorations. The outside, too, seems so bleak and beige. It gives me a case of the blaahs. Here are a few simple things I’m doing to counteract those winter doldrums at my home.
I like to have colorful flowers to give some warmth to the home. For me, that means using tropical flowers and colors. I love the way tropical flowers work with so many furniture styles, too. From modern contemporary, to coastal, to traditional, they look wonderful.
I’m a practical lady and, as you know, and I like to grow a lot of the plants I use for decorating. But tropical flowers don’t grow around here unless you have a greenhouse, so my choices are purchasing them from a floral supply shop (very expensive!), or using silk replicas. Well, you know what this budget-minded lady is going to use! There are some amazingly realistic silks available now, too.
On this tabletop I have a single heliconia flower. Such vibrant colors make me feel warm. I filled the base with crabapples for some extra color.
With many tropical flowers, you get wonderful impact with one or just a few flowers, especially with the larger flowers. The key is color — the more saturated the better, in my opinion. Luckily, readily-available square and round cylinder vases are great with almost everyone’s personal style.
Here are a couple of my favorite ways to display arrangements made for console tables or floor arrangements. These are tall so they are better positioned near a wall rather than as a centerpiece, which you would want to be low enough you could see across the table for conversation.
In the entry hall I have a vase of bird of paradise flowers. I added a branch from the curly willow tree to give the arrangement some motion.
It’s also nice to have small “minis” that you can scatter around on side tables, or on a tray with other things, or even in multiples down a mantle or dining table. I’d suggest trying orchids or succulent plants that require very little care, great for busy lifestyles or those who travel.
Here’s a fun tip to give some extra zip to your floral creation: take advantage of the base of the clear vases by using interesting things to dress them up. Some favorite fillers are shells, beach glass, stones, wine corks, small fruit, moss or lining the vase with leaves.
I like to balance out the room with some small mini potted plants, these tiny orchids can live for years with very little care.
When I was last at my wholesaler with a friend, we discovered that there is now a 4″ wide ribbon that is made exactly for this, and looks like a variegated leaf — pretty clever! We picked some up for her daughter’s upcoming wedding.
Don’t forget your bookcases! Just a small pot of leaves or ivy can breathe some interest into an otherwise stale spot.
Another tip when using silk flowers in a clear vase is to add a couple of inches of water. This might seem funny to some, but it seals the deal, makes faux flowers seem real! And one more tip when using faux: make sure to keep them dusted.
Outside, I love to have a few pots of pansies for color, and I add branches of boxwood or juniper for some background. I also do the same with bare branches from the curly willow for some interest and height.
Well, these are a few of my favorite ways to combat the blaahs. Hope you find them interesting, and please share with me what you do in your home!
I like to have some flowerpots to look at out on the deck from where I sit at the kitchen table. Makes me feel like spring can’t be too far off. Hmmm…. Nice thought!
A new year is starting — time for some new gardening goals!
Hi there! It’s been a hard few months for me, trying to not worry too much about the future, but I’m doing my best to re-focus on what I can do. I urge all to stay aware of clean gardening practices and what we can do for the environment: not using chemicals, recycling/composting, participating in clean-up efforts in our communities, and last but not least, sending your Senators and Representatives a call or an email asking them to keep as many environmental protections in place as they can. You can reach them all at (202) 224-3121. The Capitol operators can help you find your Senators or Representatives, even if you don’t know their names.
We have a lot of work ahead of us! I don’t mean to rant on, but really, who doesn’t want a clean and healthy world? I think we can all agree on that! I think that is my biggest dream. I hope we can curb our losses at the EPA. Climate change is real!
Here in my little corner of the world, I managed to get quite a lot finished up in 2016, but I still have so much to do. This year’s main focus is on improving the areas under and around the deck.
It was time for an edit in this garden. With more shade from a tree, it was out with the sedum and in with a transplanted rhododedron.
Here are my goals: I’ll make an designated area to place the trash can and recycling bins that is both out of sight, but still easy to roll out to the curb. This also will improve the area where I store my flower pots, extra hoses, etc. And, there is one area I couldn’t work on last fall because I ran out of time — I need to lift some of the bricks on the back walkway and level them. After sixteen years, the ground has sunk around the plexi pipe that carries the runoff water from the downspout — should be an easy fix! Third, I will use my brick saw to cleanup the edge of the walkway where it connects to the driveway.
All the cosmetic work will boost the curb appeal, too — always a plus. When spring arrives, the garden around the base of the deck will get some annuals to really fill out the space and give some added color. Looking at the winter garden, when most everything is bare or died back to the ground for the season, things look bleak, so I will post a picture when everything has sprung back to beautiful life and show some before and after shots in a few months.
Here’s a photo of my re-make of the old planters into privacy screens. I removed the rotted supports and replaced them with posts I had saved. These are buried 3 feet into the ground, with no cement, so they can be re-positioned later if I want. I’ll be sure to post again when everything is in leaf and bloom, but while the bushes are bare you can see the screen more clearly.
When I manage to finish all of that, the upper trim around the house and gutter system needs a complete cleaning and painting. Lots of the basics — weeding, mulching, trimming, mowing and edging — go on pretty much year round. Here’s a winter tip to make quick work of a messy, windswept yard: We find that it is much easier to run the mower over the grassy areas every month or so even in winter to pick up the leaves that blow in and smooth out the clumps of grass than it is to rake the whole yard over and over.
Here is another area that I edited. It had become crowded and one of the bushes had died. I balanced out the azalea bushes on either side of the Holly tree and divided and replanted the hosta in a wave. An edit every few years it helps to keep things fresh.
Last fall I did manage to finish re-making the planters and arbors and reinstall them. Using the leftover lumber from other jobs that I had stored in the garage, I added extra posts so that the planters could be used as privacy panels (hiding the less-than-pretty necessities that are stored under the deck). Then I planted the rose bushes, which had been in pots before, and divided and replanted the liriope to fill out the garden. Also, five other areas of the garden were edited and simplified. Plants had grown so out of bounds over the years, and it was time to selectively remove and transplant many to new locations. Now there is some breathing room, with nothing crowded. I added another three cubic yards of mulch to spruce up the beds, and then the cold weather set in.
This fun garden ornament that I was gifted has so much personality. It spins and bobs in the wind! I would love to incorporate a few more interesting things throughout the gardens like this.
On the creative side of things, I’m looking forward to making some stepping stones to access some of the deeper garden beds more easily.
Lastly, I received a really fun garden ornament from my sister, and it adds so much personality to the garden. Thank you, Tracy! It makes me want to incorporate a few more special things to spice things up! More on that later…
What are your goals for 2017 out in the garden? I’d love to hear!
Look closely at your plants. Many will have seed pods that you can dry and save for next year. This begonia has strikingly pretty ones in a teardrop shape.
Hi, friends — happy fall! I’m sorry I have not posted for a while. I’ve been busy finishing up projects, and glad to say that I have completed many. The ten new storm windows are installed, and the new flooring in my basement finished, too. Now I can get back to my favorite thing — gardening! I was asked to write a post on how I collect seeds and keep plants for the next year, and I am happy to do just that.
There are many plants that I’m saving this year by collecting their seeds and berries.
After collecting pods, let them dry out. Break them open and pop the seeds out. Save for spring planting.
I store my seeds in recycled glass jars. I glue silica packs to the inside of the lid to keep moisture at bay.
The pretty Hyacinth bean vine produced literally hundreds of pods this year. The best way to save these is simply to pick them and let the pods dry out. The pods break open quite easily then, and I just store the seeds in a glass jar until next spring. Here’s a preserving tip that you might not know: Glue a silica pack on the inside of jar lids — it will absorb any excess moisture from accumulating inside the jar. I save the silica packs from old shoe boxes and other shipping boxes that come with them inside, so it’s a great reuse for them.
Many bushes will drop berries that will sprout in the spring. Transplant the seedlings to a safe spot in the garden, and you will be amazed at how quickly these volunteers will grow into great new plants.
Many plants in the garden, such as the nandina, holly bushes, pyracantha and liriope, have berries that I just let fall into the garden. In the spring I cull the best sprouts from these to start new plants. It’s amazing how quickly they grow into beautiful plants all on their own with hardly any effort.
Many of the annual flowers that I grow in the garden produce seeds. If you check the soil in the areas that you have planted with annuals, you will see volunteers sprout up regularly. I do this every year with the vinca that is planted by the driveway. Even the gorgeous heirloom begonias that I grow in pots will self-seed. It’s always a good idea to save some of the seed just in case they don’t return. It’s easy to find the seeds. They will either be in little pods or form inside the flowers.
Many annuals will drop seed throughout the summer, and if the soil is not disturbed too much you will have many new sprouts in the spring. I like to keep the strongest of the new sprouts and clear the rest. Each year I like to grow a different color vinca. It’s fun to see the blend of colors from previous years, growing up through the current year’s plants.
Some of the more tender herbs and plants are easily propagated by taking cuttings that you can root in water then plant indoors to save over the winter months. Begonias and basil are two of my favorites.
Another way of saving begonias, ivy and many herbs (such as basil) is by pinching off a few branches and rooting them in water. In just a few weeks you will have enough roots to sustain a fresh plant that you can keep indoors over the winter months, and plant outside once spring comes. The same can be done with many of the hardy herbs, like chives, oregano and thyme that grow in a clump. Just divide a small clump (2″ or so), and plant to create a wonderful indoor planter that you can pick and enjoy for cooking all winter.
This is a huge bundle of liatris that I hung to dry and then arranged in a clay pot. I have many of these on top of the cabinets in my mud room.
I hang lots of the flowers from the garden from peg racks to let them dry, and store them there until they make their way into a flower arrangement or wreath. It adds color, and I love having a reminder of summer all winter long. Here I have yarrow, oregano, pussy willow, bay leaves and many others. Even hummingbird vine that I twist into wreath bases. Easy to do, and it’s fun to be able to make things for gifts that you grow yourself!
There are some herbs and perennials that I cut and dry to enjoy all winter in bundles and arrangements through out the house. These will stay pretty — sometimes for years — if they are out of direct sun. I regularly dry the liatris, yarrow and even oregano when it’s flowering. I like to hang it in bundles from peg racks in the mud room to add a little color.
There are other perennials like the blackberry lily that I let dry and the seeds will easily shake off into a paper bag. Those will be saved in a jar as well for springtime planting.
Some perennials produce very decorative seeds after flowering, like these blackberry lily. Once the stems start to fade, I cut and dry them. It’s easy to shake the seeds off into a paper bag and save them for next year’s planting.
Happy Fall Gardening Everyone!
I hope that you will try a few of these in your own garden. Seeds are like coins in a piggy bank. It’s always fun to have some “Gardener’s Gold,” and don’t forget to share your bounty with other gardeners — a jar of seeds for a Christmas gift is always fun and welcome!
This pretty lemon/lime coleus has done well in the summer heat — watering it at least once a day has been the key! It attracts butterflies and hummingbirds, too!
Here in the mid-Atlantic, this has been a really rough summer, and the climate change has been very pronounced. Officially, it is the second hottest summer on record. With well over 50 days of temps in the mid-90’s and higher, the plants and trees are struggling — so much so that I am rethinking the location of many different plants in my garden. The micro-climate in my yard is hotter than the officially recorded temps by usually around five degrees. I think that is mostly due to the fact that we don’t have many shade trees on the property.
It’s a good time to take inventory of how the plants are faring. I think it’s interesting to compare how the same variety of plants do on various sides of the house, getting sun at different times of the day.
I am concerned about a row of euonymous that I planted along the front walk. Each spring, they start off looking amazing and full but lose their leaves by the end of summer, leaving them looking like bare stalks — not pretty. Those will be removed, and in their place I will add more liriope, and just fill the walkway garden with it, since it has done exceptionally well in that exposure.
The other hits in the front garden are the Hyacinth bean vine that I started from seed from last year’s winner, and also this gorgeous lemon/lime coleus with purple flower stalks. Both of these have been attracting butterflies and hummingbirds!
The purple flowering hyacinth vine started from last year’s seeds has also come into its prime in this heat.
On the other side of the house in the east garden, I have a huge amount of beautiful white iris that are struggling in the intense amount of afternoon sun, as well as lamb’s ears that are always looking bedraggled. They will both be removed as well. The garden on that side is now getting established, and the crepe myrtle trees have grown to a point that they are blocking an unappealing view, so I couldn’t be happier about that! I might not even install anything else in that garden, and leave them some extra space. Deep watering has kept them in good health, so just adding some extra mulch is all that is needed.
The underplanted iris and lamb’s ears will be removed to give the crepe myrtles more space. They are exceptional trees for hot climate and have grown quite a lot this season.
In the back yard, I have some renovating to do. After 20 plus years, and even a move from our old house to this one, the planters we built from pressure treated wood are on borrowed time. I am rethinking how we might rework a privacy screen for under the deck, and then add to the flowering bounty underneath. The knockout roses and beautiful peonies that I currently have in pots, as well as some of the white iris I am removing from the east garden will be planted there. I’ll increase the garden’s size to accommodate them as needed. They’re my “green children” after all!
I have a couple of beautiful photos to share of the Labor Day weekend’s sunset here, and a last photo of this summer’s front door — next time you see it, it will be decked out for autumn, and hopefully a lot cooler! Until then — Happy gardening!
The setting sun on Labor Day weekend from the front garden.
And a minute later-
Pink glow on the front door from the setting sun — goodbye summer! Hello Fall!
Number 1 on the list are the daylilies- this variety is a double flowering beauty. I can always count on them for at least a month’s worth of show.
The outside chores are done, and now it’s time for a nice cold iced tea. I’m going through photos from this summer’s garden and want to share some of the plants and flowers that are thriving in my garden in this heat wave. These are my picks for this season’s best here — please let me know what your favorites have been in your corner of the world!
I took this front porch photo while I was up on a ladder brooming down spiderwebs (which are way too plentiful this summer!). I love looking at the garden from a bird’s eye view. The ivy in the flower pots has gotten huge and looks great year round. I just change the center flowers each season.
These are the caladium plants that I rescued from the rains. They have come back nicely, and are very happy in the protected window box under the deck.
These “King Kong” coleus in the window box above the door are my favorites of the summer — very tropical!
The knock out roses are in their third bloom already and always are a classic fav!
The liriope have become great border plants along the front walk. Every three years I can divide each one into 4 to 6 new plants. In the late summer, they will have purple blooms.
My little friend loves these boxwood — He’s happy anywhere in the shade! Boxwood have always been a wonderful walkway plant here in Mount Vernon dating back to the days of George Washington.
Up on the deck, I am loving all the color from these vinca in pots. I also have these planted by the driveway. They love the sun and heat much more than I do!
And last but not least, the curly willow trees that are planted in three corners of the property. I always feel cooler watching their branches dance in the breeze.
It’s summer, all right! With temperatures approaching 100° here, there is no more comfortable place to be than in my basement at the computer, blogging without feeling guilty that I should be out working the garden. We have just passed the 4th of July, and now we move on to the “3H” time of summer: Hazy, Hot and Humid. No matter how long you live in the D.C. area, you never really get used to it. Water of all kinds is your friend — whether it’s the beach, pool, sprinkler or hose! And, please make sure to drink your eight glasses a day; it’s not fun to get dehydrated.
When it gets this hot, it helps to keep the weeds down and moisture in by stirring up and adding some additional mulch in thin spots. Your flowers and veggies will love it, and also boosts the curb appeal!
With the exception of a couple of weeks in early June, this has been a very rainy season for us, and that has caused not only extreme growth on established bushes and trees, but also annuals and vegetables to rot because of heat and moisture. I had to replace all of mine, but they are looking fantastic now.
I have coleus in the planters this year. I love the bright splash of color, and they are very hardy in the heat-
After losing the first set of annuals at the front door due to too much rain, I put in coleus. Sometimes I see plants in the nursery that seem to be doing so much better than others, so that’s what I bought. I love the huge colorful leaves! I have more of it growing on the back deck and in the window box — love it there, too.
Stomper would like me to request that everyone set out some water in the shade for four-pawed friends — it’s greatly appreciated!
I want to put out a reminder in this heat to please keep your bird baths filled with fresh water and a dish or two of water ideally in a shady spot for the wildlife. It’s sometimes hard to find clean water this time of the year for them, and it’s much appreciated!
I find myself just trying to keep up with the weeds when it gets hot like this even though I use a weed preventer in the garden beds. I’ve been adding some extra mulch here and there where it’s become thin and stirred it with a rake in other spots for good airflow to soil. This is a good practice to get into this time of year, and it boosts the curb appeal, too!
Look what I found while weeding and edging!
And while I was edging the other day, I found this wonderful heart shaped rock, nature’s gift!
I have a new lawn mystery to solve. Brown spots! I think these have been caused by lawn grubs. More on this soon.
I’m noticing about 100 brown spots in the grassy areas. They can be caused by so many things: fungus from too much rain, or a dull mower blade, pet spots or grubs like fire flies. I’m not sure what is causing mine, but I’m leaning towards the grubs idea. I’ll report more on this soon, and have a remedy for you, too, when I do.
Today is the Summer Solstice- the longest day of the year! Let’s all get outside and celebrate! Today’s the day to set your sundial at noon for perfect time!
I just had a most fun weekend with my high school friends for an all-class reunion. It has been more years that I want to count, but it seems we always pick up where we left off, and we always love getting together! Since I’m still a “local”, I love opening up the house to my out of town friends. I was bestowed with some very creative and lovely gifts and want to share some pictures, because I thought that if you are like me, then you are always looking for ideas for great gifts! These ladies came up with some fantastic and thoughtful ones that you could tailor to your own lucky recipient!
Windsocks and garden flags are colorful and cute, and they have a hidden benefit!!!
I love this windsock. I hung it out off the deck railing right away to signal that the party had begun, and not only is it colorful and cute, but after a couple of days we realized it had a hidden benefit! I have a wide deck railing that the birds like to perch on, and every day I would need to wash it off due to the bird’s leaving something unwanted behind — if you know what I mean. The motion of the windsock hanging so close to the rail kept them from perching there, or doing their “business” there. Yay! Hidden benefit!!!! Don’t worry though, there are plenty of close by spots for them to perch, and for us to enjoy them in the garden.
How wonderful to pamper yourself with a hand and foot scrub after a long day of gardening!
Here’s another creative, pretty and very useful gift that any gardening lady or gent would love! These are specially-made hand and foot scrubs — sugar for your hands, and salt for your feet. There are many recipes to make these online and you can even color them with food dye to match the personality of your lucky recipient. And really, who doesn’t like to pamper themselves after a long day’s gardening? Perfect! Of course, these containers are just right, too!
My Earthgirl statue, a hand-painted watering can, and a stained glass panel. Love them all!
I thought this was truly fantastic: an Earthgirl statue bestowed on yours truly — I’m humbled! This was a very inventive gift for me, of course, but there are so many interesting statues out there, that I’m sure you could find the perfect one for your gardener as well! Also, I included a couple of other things I have received over the years in the photo. Watering cans are classic, fun and useful, and I’ve always loved this stained glass panel of Monet’s Waterlily garden.
A bottle of wine is always enjoyed here with guests — and now I have a special glass, too!
And last, but not least — what a perfect way to end the day: to sit back to view your garden, but with a glass of wine in a hand-painted wineglass! There was a different glass for each of us. How special is that??
I hope these imaginative ideas will help you to choose a great gift next time you are looking for one. Thank you again to my lovely house guests, I will treasure these always! And you shouldn’t have!
Soaking as a sponge doesn’t even come close to how damp the garden has been here in the mid-Atlantic region. With more than a month of rainy days and only a few sunny ones mixed in, some extreme measures are needed here. Almost half of the flowers that I planted ended up rotting from it all. On the other hand, it caused a lot of the established plants to grow a ton of wimpy new growth because they were growing so fast. So here’s my 911 to help manage this crazy season’s issues.
Remove the drain saucers from your flower pots when heavy rain is expected so that the pots do not become waterlogged.
First, if you have heavy rain in the forecast and have flower pots or planters go ahead and remove the drain dishes so that the rain will drain through and not become soggy. This is also a good idea in general, with so many mosquito-borne diseases this year. If the flower pots are not too heavy and you have some overhead coverage, like a porch or under a deck, carry the pots underneath before the rain so that the blooms do not get damaged or rot. I did this with my roses, and was very glad I did. Open blooms will be destroyed by the heavy rains. If this happens, deadhead the plants as soon as possible.
If possible protect the open blooms from the rain, by putting them undercover. If they do become damaged by the rain, deadhead them ASAP.
If your grass is thoroughly soaked, try to stay off of it until it dries. When it’s walked on with standing water, it crushes the soil, compacting it which can then lead to other problems and weeds down the road. Clover is really difficult to get rid of and seems to love compacted soil, as do dandelions, and many of the weeds that we try so hard to keep away.
If you have standing water in your lawn, like mine, try to not walk on it or mow it until it has had time to dry out.
It’s also not a good idea to mow when the lawn is wet. That rips the blades of grass, instead of cutting them, so you will get brown tips to your lawn- not a good look! Beware of using the mulching option on your mower when there has been this much rain, it is better to collect and compost the clippings until the soil has had some time to dry out. Mulching the lawn clippings right now can cause fungus and mold issues.
I like to keep an extra package of garden stakes on hand. The new growth has grown way too fast, and much of it can use some extra support.
Where extremely fast growth has occurred on plants you may need to either stake the plants to give them some extra time to strengthen, or trim them up some. This is the time of year when azalea and rhododendron bushes should be trimmed anyway, now that they are done blooming. And with all this rain that we’ve had, a granular slow release fertilizer can be helpful. Keep an eye out for wilting, and trim it out, ASAP. That will hopefully halt any further disease.
One last thing: if you do see wilting and fungus that need to be trimmed out, please have a small container of rubbing alcohol that you can dip the blades of your trimmer into between cuts, so you won’t spread infection from plant to plant.
I hope that you won’t have much damage in your garden, like I did, but it can’t help to know some plant CPR just in case! Happy gardening!
It might even be too damp for my favorite duck family around here — bring on some sun!
Hi, everyone! I’m about ready to start building an ark. We have smashed through a century-old record for the most rainy days in a row. The previous record was 13 days, and we are now in our 16th day of rain! The street lights are staying on all day, because it’s so drab and dark. I, for one, need some springtime cheer, so I thought I’d post some bright spots from the garden on this rainy day…
Long shot through the azaleas to the east garden.
The glorious white irises.
The happy yellow flag irises — always make me smile!
Some beautiful cosmos started from seeds a friend gave me. P.S.: This is the perfect time to sow seeds outdoors, now that the risk of frost is over.
The pansies that I planted last fall are making a spectacular encore in this rain forest weather.
And drum roll, please — the beautiful allium flowers just exploded open!
Well, that does it for today, a new downpour has started up! The upshot is no watering will be needed around here for a looooong time. Rain, rain, go away! I know later on in the year I’ll want some more, but for now I’d like some sunshine, please!
Here it is — the second half of spring already! The garden here is bursting with activity, both flora and fauna. We recently spent a leisurely morning with our fox friend, our feral kitty, the crazy squirrel, duck family, chipmunks and many songbirds to name a few. It’s always an adventure around here!
With the nice weather warming the soil, the garden is growing quickly now, despite the fluke ice storm that deposited an inch of slushy ice two weekends ago. The trees are blooming all out of sync again. Strangely enough, the dogwood was the first to bloom and has held on to her flowers for almost a month.
This fluke ice/slush storm was winter’s last hurrah. Most plants had started to get their new spring leaves, so this storm was most unwelcome.
We have finally turned the corner on frost and freeze warnings, so I’ve been planting herbs and veggies. It makes me so happy to see how many heirloom varieties are now being offered in the garden centers! I’m trying out many old fashioned varieties this year, so I will have some fun things to report back on.
The flowering trees were a welcome sight, and the dogwood is still blooming!
I’m so glad that the trees came through the winter alright in this region. We had such a strange autumn that many of the National Cherry Blossom trees bloomed around Christmas, about 1/4 of them! The affected trees didn’t rebloom, but thankfully they are all okay.
This patch of lily of the valley has doubled in size this last year. The scent is wonderful!
The same happened with many of the bulb flowers. The hyacinths that I have in my garden had sprouted at Christmastime, so they became freezer burned by the cold of winter and their flowers were all deformed this time around. Thankfully the daffodils had not gotten as big and were fine. On a better note, the patch of lily of the valley is looking the best that it ever has, and I’m so glad to report that it is covered in fabulously scented flowers. This is a fantastic ground cover with tons of old fashioned appeal, and will grow nearly anywhere, so keep that in mind if you are looking for something to fill a tough spot.
Not in bloom yet, but this area is planted with large masses of flowers. I can’t wait to see the allium in bloom!
The allium bulbs are getting so huge as well. They were a gift at Christmas, so this is their first year. I will post some pictures when they start to bloom. I love how interesting the flowers are, and I planted them in a wave, between masses of iris, daylily, lamb’s ear and coreopsis. It’s getting so full that it should look amazing when they are all in bloom. While they are newly emerging, this is the perfect time to round up the edges on hosta, grasses, liriope, and lily to get them in shape for the new growing season. I like to do this now, rather than in autumn because they send out shoots underground over the winter months, and can start to look a bit messy otherwise.
On other fronts, I’m continuing to work on the storm window project, and I have a tip for you on fixing discolored brick. Years ago, way before we bought this house, someone had used some crummy paint on the trim work. It left long streaks of ugliness on the brick. I had tried all kinds of things to remove it short of sandblasting, and nothing could clean it off. My solution — more paint! I picked up half a dozen exterior craft paints in different brick colors and blended them. Just dab them into the offending areas and like magic the stained areas look fresh and clean. I have done this before on the front stairs and many other places on the house. If you didn’t know a stain was there, you never would. I won’t tell, if you won’t! Works like a charm. Give it a try!
BEFORE: ugly white streaks on the brick.
AFTER: Looks like new! Blending a few different brick colors and dabbing it on the stained bricks works great, and it’s easy to do!
I hope you are having a wonderful springtime and getting time in the garden. Here is one last photo, a bird’s eye view picture from the upper window looking out on the neighborhood trees. I just love how many bloomed all at once again this year!
Bird’s eye view of the tapestry of colors of the blooming trees.
The curly willow was the first tree in my garden to start its new growth. This year, it has doubled in size!
This has been a very strange spring so far, with weather not being able to make up its mind between winter, spring or summer. There have been some really turbulent wind storms as well. Even still, I’m doing my best to get the garden and house in tip-top shape. There are many projects underway and inspections taking place. I will walk you through a few of the big ones that you might find helpful in relation to your own home and garden.
While I’ve been getting the perennials and bushes trimmed up and ready for new growth, the cleaning outside has started from the top down.
Here’s the before picture of our roof taken at the end of summer. You can see the black streaks appearing.
It’s been five years since we had our roof cleaned, and it had developed black streaks from algae and air pollution again. Last time only the north-facing front was grungy, but this time there were streaks on all four sides. The method of cleaning has improved greatly since the last time. Now the technicians spray the roof with a special soaking nozzle using a detergent that makes quick work of cleaning the shingles. This is far better because it does not damage or wear the roof like the machine scrubber of the past.
Here’s the after photo — all clean now and squirrel damage repaired. Now it’s good as new!
They also did an inspection and discovered 3 spots where squirrels had chewed up the shingles trying to get inside. We quickly had that fixed. I recommend that everyone have their roof inspected each year. The damage on ours wasn’t visible from below, so we would not have even known until water damage became visible inside. That would have been much more expensive to fix!
Here’s why I think everyone should get a roof inspection. This is where a squirrel chewed a hole right on the corner. You can’t see it from below, so we wouldn’t have known it was there.
Many roofing companies will inspect at no cost and take pictures to show you damage that they find. Many thanks to the A Team Roof Cleaners, and Marshall Roofing for the repairs.
BEFORE— The 30 year old storm windows. Back then you only had one option of where you could place the center bar, only in the middle of the window. That meant looking at it every time you looked outside – not pretty!
I am also back on track replacing ten of the storm windows on the main level of the house. I’m always a “bring the outside in” kind of girl, so having proper windows is important to me. The former storm windows didn’t match up with the style of window in the house, so instead of looking out of a pretty wooden window, we had been looking at an ugly metal bar in the middle of our view. The new windows are great, and even come with a new coating that helps them stay clean — YAY!!!! I love that feature.
Anyone who is considering window replacement look at this option first. The new storms provide great R-value, and in our case were 1/10th the cost of a window replacement.
Here are the nice new storm windows – with the center meeting bar where it should be. And bonus being a special coating to help keep the windows clean!
That’s a fantastic savings! We chose Larsen Gold Series Storm windows — I’m not a paid spokesperson, but I do believe in sharing my sources.
I also still need to scrub down the north steps in front of the house. I like using oxygen bleach and then rinsing it well. Makes the stones and the grout look like new. And this year, I’m determined to actually finish power washing the sidewalk. There’s always some touch up paint needed on the trim work. It all takes time, but in the end, it makes everything so much nicer.
Those of us who live in the Washington, D.C. area are very happily watching our national cherry trees blooming, and that means mine are not far behind. So as I wait on my beautiful cherry tree to start opening up, I’m checking off things on my to-do list for this spring — hope that yours is on its way, too. Happy gardening!
Goodbye ice and snow! Spring is popping! We shattered high temperature records already, and went from heat to A/C in the house on the same day. The groundhog was right — it’s an early spring. I’m ready, or at least I’m try to keep up. This last week I managed to get a lot of grasses, sedum, liriope, iris, rose bushes and some of the straggly nandina trimmed up and ready for the new growth. I’m more than half done, but this year many of them are already showing signs of new growth. Normally that doesn’t happen until much later in March or April around here. Mother Nature has been confused, most definitely.
After just a couple of years, despite lots of maintenance, there was a huge amount of rot in the wisteria arbor. Time for replacing!
We also had some pretty awful rot in the arbors that we built only a few years ago. Before we installed them, I primed them, put on two coats of paint, and then annually gave them another coat of paint, but they completely failed anyway, full of rot — very discouraging! So this time around, we used PVC instead of wood, and there will be no chance of rot again. It looks great! We were rushing to get this project finished because this is one of the arbors that the wisteria is trained on, and we wanted to get it finished before it started to open up for spring. Just made it!
The new and improved arbor, this one made with PVC instead of wood — no more rotting! This one also has been made a little wider to give more sun protection below, and more room for the wisteria above.
This is really my favorite time to be outside in the garden. I love getting the plants ready for the season. Things grow so fast you can almost see it happening, and it feels so fresh after being couped up during the winter. The robins have been coming through en mass, and I have already seen nests being built, so I know I’m not the only one ready for spring! Here are some of the early blooms already making their debut in garden:
As soon as the snow melted the crocus appeared…
Followed quickly by the daffodils…
And now the hellebores are starting to bloom — so pretty!
Opening the drapery and finding more than 30 inches of snow from winter storm Jonas. It was beautiful, but paralyzed the Washington region for a week!
We dodged a big one this week and are getting rain instead, but lately we have been using a four-letter word a little too much — SNOW! And a three-letter word, too — ICE!
Winter storms can really do some damage, and it didn’t surprise me that winter storm “Jonas” left some nasty damage in his wake a few weeks ago. I’ve got some ways to fix some of the worst damage, and ways to prevent damage in the future, as well as some interesting snow clearing tips for my readers. Hope you don’t have to use them anytime soon, but here they are just in case.
When you have really deep snow and drifts, it’s important to give first priority to clearing away the snow from your doors, and shovel a pathway out just in case you need to get out in an emergency.
Prioritize clearing a path out from your doors first. For safety!
Spreading a plastic tarp on your porch and stairs before a snowstorm makes it easy to clear off. I cleared this in about one minute!
Here’s my favorite new tip that I just tried out on my front porch. It is so easy to do, and I bet it saved an hour of shoveling! Before a snow storm, just spread out a plastic tarp over your stairs and porch leaving a foot or two of extra length at your door. Weigh down the edges with bricks or large rocks to keep it from blowing away. When the storm is over, slowly lift the tarp from both sides. It is like teflon — the snow simply slides off leaving a clean and dry porch and stairs underneath. I wish I had known this trick years ago; what a time saver!
If you spiral (every 6 inches or so) a string or wire loosely from the base of a plant all the way up to the top, you can help the small branches from splitting open and breaking under the weight of the snow. Especially prone to splitting are boxwood and arborvitae.
I get lots of questions about snow pack on plants, and whether or not to remove it. In most cases my best advice is to leave it alone, and let it melt away naturally. Most plants have an amazing ability of springing back to normal all by themselves, but there are some tips I want to share which help them stay strong in the face of heavy snow pack. Starting from the base of a plant, loosely spiral some string or wire up through the branches to the top of the plant. I like to use this black plastic coated wire because it disappears into the branches, and is virtually invisible. This will help the plant to hold together and not split open under the weight of the snow. If you have extremely heavy wet snow you can very carefully lift it off with a spading fork or your hands. But, if the snow is frozen to the branches, it is best to leave it alone, it can easily tear the branches off.
Here’s an example of how much spiraling a wire through the boxwood can help. The one on the right has it, and the one next to it doesn’t. Makes all the difference!
Be mindful not to toss heavy shovels full of snow onto your plants when you are clearing your walkways and drives. It can be so heavy that it crushes the plants under the weight of the snow. If you have any broken branches, cut them off as soon as you can safely do so. To leave the broken/torn branches attached could cause disease to set in. Try to remember which plants those were and give them a really good pruning in the early spring to prevent damage in future winters.
Deep snow is extremely heavy 7 to 20 pounds/sq. ft. Try to stand straight while shoveling, and lift with your legs.
We learned a lot from this deep snow, and can’t say this enough: work slowly, take lots of breaks, hydrate often, keep your back straight and lift with your legs. This is such heavy work, and it gives your heart a real workout! Be careful out there! And, as the groundhog predicted, spring will arrive soon… CAN’T WAIT!!!!
There is a winter storm on the way, and it is forecasted to be of historic proportions.
It was a beautiful Christmas, but now it’s time to put it all away.
I am scrambling to get the last of my Christmas decorations and greenery taken down and stored away so I can focus on snow shoveling when Mother Nature is finished giving us a frosty layer of the white stuff. Possibly 2 to 3 feet of it.
As you know, I love my Christmas things and have some really good tips for storing them so they will last for years and years. I have also come up with some space saving ways of storing them and will share a few of those tips as well. For me, I feel like so many of the ornaments remind me of long ago Christmases, friends and family members, and so keeping them preserved and safe is very important.
These trunk sized bins are great for storing away long items, like garlands.
I have purchased plastic bins over the last few years, and I highly recommend using them. They are stackable, moisture proof and with a little bit of thought you can find the perfect size for almost every item. Here are some of my favorite storage ideas:
For the garlands, I like the 3 foot long, trunk sized bins. Most garlands are either 6 feet or 9 feet long, so if you coil them back and forth you only need to bend them once or twice. You can pile 6 or 8 of them in each bin, depending on how thick the garland is. I have three of this style bin for my garlands. They are also good for storing Christmas trees, if you have an artificial tree that comes apart in sections. For my trees, which fold up umbrella style, I just wrap them in a plastic drop cloth and store them standing up.
I like to use the boxes that my ornaments came in to store them safely. Egg cartons work great, too!
For my ornaments, especially the glass ones, I recommend saving the boxes that they came in. I find that they perfectly stack in the smaller sized 2 foot long bins. (I think mine are 18 gallon size.) For ornaments which have no box, I reuse egg cartons, and even plastic berry containers to store them in. I have also found that shoe boxes work great for larger things — nutcrackers and candles for example. Also, I like to put one or two of the little silica pouches that come in shoe boxes with the fabric ornaments, to keep moisture away.
If you flatten wreaths out before storing them, they take up WAY less space.
For the wreaths, I usually remove the bows and decorations before storing. I coil up the ribbon and store it with other fabric items. By doing that, it flattens itself out and doesn’t need to be ironed before using it again. (I will do almost anything to not have to iron!) I like to flatten out the wreaths and stack them. It takes only a half a minute to rake your fingers through the greenery to each side to flatten them, and they take up only a fraction of the amount of storage space that way. I can store 25 wreaths in the same space as 6!
I store the trees wrapped in plastic tarps in the closet. Saves time on reassembly next year!
I really like to store all of this together inside the house, instead of up in my attic, where temps can be well into the 100’s in the summer months. The heat can fade and even melt some things, so be careful what you store in your attic. This closet in the basement works perfectly, so now it’s so long to Christmas decorations until next December.
Still trying to think up a good storage idea for this pine cone tree. There’s always something…
The only thing I haven’t come up with a good storage solution for yet is this pinecone tree I made years ago. It’s fairly large and heavy, so I might have to make a crate on my own. For now, I wrap it in plastic bubble wrap.
Now that that’s packed away I’m going to use some lemon oil on all my tabletops. Wow, what a difference! Happy Winter everyone!
There is still a lot of new growth on many plants that would normally have gone dormant by now.
Well, it’s January 3rd and I’m already gardening! You know I can’t stay away from it for more than a few days.
We have had such a warm start to winter. Even when it has gotten cold overnight, the days are pleasant — so pleasant that here in the mid-Atlantic region, we have daffodils sprouting and cherry blossom trees flowering. Although it’s warm now, we will pay for it in February and March, according to the weather people. A classic El Niño with ice storms to come, so until then, I am getting as much done as I can and enjoying every minute in the garden!
I was a lucky gardener and received some fun gardening-oriented gifts for Christmas, too. A really nice gardening seat and tool tote, a pointsettia, a rosemary topiary and some beautiful allium bulbs. These were such thoughtful gifts! I spent this weekend planting the allium bulbs. Normally one would not do that this time of year, but because our temperatures have remained in the range you would expect an October day to be (between 50-70 degrees), I went ahead and got them planted. I just know they will be gorgeous this spring!
The pointsettia doubled in size this last month and is loving the east exposure.
I also finished getting the roses ready for winter. They were still blooming until just this week! The last of the leaves dropped, so I scooped them all up. Its a good practice to always do that, as the leaves can harbor diseases which can cause black spot on the next year’s growth if left on the soil below the plant. Better safe than sorry, so I collect them. I had a little bit of it on my older roses this last summer and tried something new: a spray of half water/ half spoiled milk, and much to my surprise, it worked! I removed the affected leaves, sprayed, and within a couple of weeks new growth had sprouted showing no signs of the black spot. Remember this for next year in case you see any. I love it when there are simple home remedies that work! And have no harsh chemicals, either.
Rosemary is a fantastic plant to have inside over winter, the scent is wonderful, it cleans the air, and you can cook with it. How great is that!
Inside the house, I re-potted my rosemary topiary and lightly watered the pointsettia. They both really don’t need much water this time of year, and both like bright light. I have the perfect east facing window that I keep the pointsettia next to, and in previous years this has proven to be just the right exposure. It even kept color long into March. I love to have the rosemary in my kitchen, and can’t resist brushing by it to release the wonderful scent. I often use it in cooking, and it is just so pretty, too! These are also natural air fresheners.
Looking forward to seeing what kind of weather tomorrow brings, but I’m hoping to get back out there in the garden. Hope to see you!
It seems that this Christmas season I have been playing a little too much catch up with the leaf raking. I feel like taking a moment to relax and sharing a few photos of Christmas this year at our home. Much like years past, I used lots of fruit in the Williamsburg style. There are candles and wreaths in each window, and garlands with cranberry chains around the door, stair railings and candle post. It is simple, but fitting to the history of the colonial style of architecture in this area of the east coast. And of course, I love it!
I hope each and everyone of my cherished readers has a warm and happy Christmas, and a healthy new year! I’m looking forward to next year’s gardening, and planning for some interesting new plants to try. May you enjoy each and every new day in 2016!
The front door at night, with a Williamsburg style this year. Lots of fruit and cranberry chains.
The living room tree all aglow!
Here is the tree in a daytime shot so you can see the ornaments a little better. And this year my tree is celebrating its 21st birthday!
The entry foyer with amaryllis flowers, my favorite Santa and angel chimes.
And — to me — the crowning touch is always Christmas bows!
This was the view of autumn leaves from my deck this year. They were so beautiful! Now I have a lot of raking in my future.
Now that the mums have finished blooming, I have filled in the pots with boxwood trimmings from my yard. They make beautiful “plants” all winter long.
I’m finishing the last of the winterizing and want to share a few tips that will add polish to the holiday curb appeal, and make the perfect backdrop for seasonal decorations. These will make a big difference for just a weekend’s worth of effort. And as an added bonus, it’s also a great way to work off some of that turkey with all the trimmings that we love so much!
First up is finishing the leaf raking and weed removal. Reach in and pick out all the leaves that have gotten stuck in the bushes and then do a final pass in the mulched areas of the garden and your lawn. This alone will make a huge difference in the appearance, but we aren’t going to stop there! Next, give the mulch a rake to loosen it up, and add extra if needed. Winter mulch tip: As you are stirring up the mulch, make sure to leave a space of a few inches between the mulch and the wall of your home. This will discourage the unwanted “guests” (mice!) from burrowing there.
Fill in gaps in the garden by creating “instant plants,” just push small branches into the soil. Simple as that!
Here is a row of “instant juniper” plants, where I removed the summer annuals. You’d never know they aren’t actually growing!
Perfect time of the year to give the clay pots a good cleaning before storing them away for the winter months.
Not all of the “instant” plants are used outside. This extra ivy is in a bucket of water and will root over the winter. Ivy is also a good air filter, so I love to have some inside!
Now that you have pulled out the spent summer flowers and have areas that might be looking a bit too spare, here’s one of my favorite tricks of the trade: I trim the bushes in the yard and use those trimmings to create “instant plants.” Just take the branches and push them into the soil about 6 to 8 inches. I use about a dozen small branches to create each “plant.” On either side of the driveway where I grow vinca in the summer, there are now juniper. They look great, you’d never know they weren’t actually growing. I also do this in the pots and window boxes to create small boxwood “plants.” This trick lasts for months, usually into February, and since I trimmed the branches from my own yard, its free!
Speaking of planters and pots, this is the perfect time to give the clay pots a scrub and dry them in the sun before putting them away for the winter months. I like to use a scrub brush or a kitchen scrubbie with regular dish soap for this job. They easily get rid of the grime on the pots and make quick work of the job. Find a good place for winter storage where they won’t freeze. The clay can be very susceptible to cracking apart when it freezes. The same scrub is perfect for all the yard tools as well. A tip for the shovels and rakes: Once they have been cleaned, a light coating of cooking oil or spray will help guard against rust over the winter.
The final crowning jewel to get your home ready is clean windows. Now that your yard looks so nice you will want to have fresh, sparkling windows to view all your hard work!
Back to an old school watering can for now. Time to shut off the outside water for the winter months.
What a beautiful day it was Friday! It is hard to believe that the weather is going to turn FREEZING in the next few days. Just a quick reminder to turn off your outside water spigots this weekend before the extended winter cold sets in. My Dad used to always call me and remind me to do this, so in his memory I want to send out this reminder.
Here’s how:
Turn the valve off from inside your home, remove the hose, then drain the remainder of the water out of the outside spigot. Remove and drain your watering wand or nozzle from the hose. Drain and coil your hose. This way if you want to use your hose in the winter it won’t be full of ice!
Outdoor shut-off valves are usually located inside the house opposite the spigot outside. Remember righty-tighty, lefty-loosey! While you are at it, if there is space behind the water pipe, slide in some insulation batting (or a section of newspaper or cardboard) to add an extra layer of barrier from the cold and help prevent frozen pipes.
Once you’ve turned off the valve from the inside, open the outside spigot to drain the last drops of water.
Lastly, drain the water from your hoses and nozzles so they won’t be full of ice if you want to use them this winter. I like to be able to wash the car after it snows to rinse the road salts from it.
This is also the perfect time to bring in your terracotta pots and drain dishes for the winter — more on this one soon…Have a great weekend!
Sunflowers are one of my favorite fall flowers. I love to have them on the kitchen table to enjoy.
I hope this finds everyone enjoying the beauty of autumn. I feel like the rich colors of the season — golds, oranges and reds — are always so heartwarming.
It inspires me to bring those colors inside my home and display as many of my favorite pumpkins, gourds and fall flowers as I can. I use real, dried and artificial ones in bowls, baskets and flower pots all over the house. The more the merrier for me.
I’ll be the first to admit that I have a bit of an obsession for those cute little gourds. I’ve been collecting them for years and love putting them out each fall. This year’s decoration is more casual and simple here at the house. Here are some photos of some of my favorites — hope you enjoy the autumn tour!
The weather vane gets something different for each season. This time of year I surround it with gourds.
My collection of paper mache gourds are used to fill containers which I use on tabletops and as centerpieces. Whenever I see new gourd varieties this collection grows!
I like to have some flowers by all the entry doors to welcome visitors. This year I used beautiful deep yellow mums by the front door. My favorite gargoyle is welcoming visitors, too!
By the kitchen door, I have pansies, violas and mums in yellow, plum and burgundy colors. Most of my friends and family use this door so I always like it to look cheery.
More pansies fill containers on the deck to look festive for entertaining outside.
Back inside, on the family room mantle I love to display the pumpkins with lanterns, ivy and more candles.
Adding a few of my chubby birds into the mix in the family room, too!
The living room fireplace has a fun new twist this year with the addition of some antique spools on which I display small pumpkins. Reminds me of my dear friend who gave them to me every time I see them!
A grapevine pumpkin with a spray of fall leaves and berries under a garden cloche sits on the coffee table.
Pumpkins piled simply on a platter add color on the dining room mantle.
Who wants soup? I added these to my collection a few years ago. They have a lid to keep things hot. I’ve used them to bake pumpkin custard in, too – yum!
In years past, we created much more elaborate arrangements. This one was made by my Mom and me for her garden club event, but this year I’m feeling like a more casual style fits my mood.
And last, but not least a favorite table runner with a pumpkin motif, and a trifle bowl full of gourds on the dining room table. It’s not fancy, and I like the simpleness for everyday. Here’s wishing everyone a very happy and healthy Thanksgiving and hope this will inspire you to bring some autumn bounty into your home!
