how can you not love a plant that blooms in december?

This week, the hellebores started going.....

Love my hellebores....this is just the beginning. There are some really cool ones out there, and some really cool black ones out there. I'm always on the lookout for more really cool ones. You can just not have too many hellebores.

The seed catalogs have started to arrive too. I've been busy watching it rain and making my wishlist on pinterest with my 2016 goals in  mind.....cool stuff, fragrant, reblooming, and rare, ought to be fun this year.

In crafting news, we've become the home for wayward bowling balls. My sister delivered 3 last week, with one more left in her attic. Not sure what I'm going to do with them all, but I'll think of something.

mosaic bowling balls

who knew??

A couple of months ago, I joined a mosaic group on facebook. Little did I know, it would change my mosaic outlook altogether. I have learned SO much from this talented group of people, and my mad nipping skills have gotten 1000 percent better. (since I never did it before). It has helped me cut glass more accurately and precisely, and I have a boatload of projects in mind right now.

The most current one is the hummingbird bubbler/ fountain.....I worked on it a bit this week because it was raining, and I'll probably do some more today too. I find that mosaics are best done in "bits". Work on it for a while, step away, let it simmer, work on it some more. Gives a good perspective.

 

When this is done, it will go out in the "to be grouted" collection. I'll do a bunch of things one of these days. Grouting is a messy, time-consuming project, so it's best done it batches.

 

Next up, I'm thinking about doing a bowling ball fairy house.....why not?

I have lots of ideas and a bunch of things set back to be projects, so I won't be bored.

 

P.S. bought flower show tickets this week too...Can you say "spring fever?"

Planning for next year.....

I know, this one's not even over yet, but I'm already thinking about the garden for next year.

I've bought some martagon and oriental lilies to be delivered this spring, and it gave me a serious case of spring fever, already.  Also spent some time on pinterest making my wishlist, which included a list of irises I already have. That took a while. I didn't realize I have so many irises already.

For 2016. the plan is to be discriminating.....In the past, it was all about filling the space, and that has worked well. For the next phase, it'll be about the cool stuff. Wishlist stuff that might be a bit more expensive (so there will be less of it), but cooler.....more fragrance, more distinctive and rare, more reblooming.

We've done pretty well with projects this year, but there's a few that are still left. Yesterday, we took advantage of a black Friday sale to buy some solar panels. The idea is to use the solar panels to power a pump, which will pump the water out of the cistern (already installed), to water the garden. We'll also install drip irrigation in the raised beds and worm towers too.

I'd like to get my chicken coop going again in 2016, and also put in a Japanese shade garden over by the bamboo. It's good to have a goal.

Since the ground is frozen, and there's not much gardening to be done, I'll be spending the rest of the winter dreaming of daylilies and doing mosaics. I have 3 bowling balls ready to go, one that will be a hummingbird fountain, a cute bumblebee needing to be done, and whatever I find at the goodwill that strikes my fancy. I want to  make a multi layered pond scene too......

There's a birdbath and an owl that need to be grouted. I'm saving that project for a warmer day, and I'll grout a bunch of things all at once. Now I just need to make them.

fall

Is it bad that I'm already checking out things for next spring?
I've been working on my wishlist for next year. The plan is to be more focused on what I buy, not just any old plant, but some really cool ones, with focus on rebloomers and fragrance.  I'm making a wishlist on pinterest and checking it twice!

In the meantime......some of the daylilies are still going....I just planted these in august, so I'm excited to see what they look like. I don't think they're rebloomers, just confused.

The weather has been nice, so the garden is still going pretty strong. Lots of the Echinacea are getting a second wind after being baked all summer, and some other things are still hanging in there too.

Last weekend, I made a major score for my winter projects. A gal named Claudia was selling a bunch of stained glass and tools. I made her an offer, and came home with a TON of glass, a new grinder, and some other misc stuff. Sold the glass I couldn't use and a couple of tools that were duplicates (more money for glass), and spent a rainy Saturday making this.....

Bought that birdbath at a yard sale for $10 this summer. It's  not quite done yet, needs a background, but the weather's supposed to be nice today, so, it's outside to weed for me!

I'll finish it the next time it rains. (soon)

 

Still going.....

Here we are at almost the first of October and the garden is still going. It's been inspired by the recent rain, and things are enjoying a second life.

Some of the daylilies I planted in august are already blooming. They say you're supposed to cut off these late blooms, but I just can't. I just have to see what they look like before they go to bed for the winter. I can already hardly wait for next spring.

(a little beat up from the weather, but still cool - plum perfect)

 

I found a couple of things in the clearance rack this week, some crocrosmia, and a pink lavender. They're all snuggled in and I'm caught up on planting. (not weeding and spreading gravel, though)

 

We've also been doing some crafting.......cement pumpkins.

 

They're heavy, but they'll look great on the front porch.

 

I'll leave you with some garden goodies that are still going.....

 

Winding down

Well, the summer is winding down and it seems like fall happened overnight.

It started raining last week and has pretty much kept going since then. That's ok.

There have been a couple of good clearance rack buys......some Echinacea (green envy), a honeyberry, and a nice itoh peony that was half price. (still expensive).  They're all planted and getting a drink this morning.

There are still some daylilies blooming. Some of them are new, having been planted only a month ago. They're pretty cool, so I hope they make it through the winter. I can hardly wait to see what they do next year.

Speaking of next year......I've been thinking about the direction to take the garden next season....The last couple of years have been about filling up the space, which I've managed to do pretty well. I've gotten practically free plants because they were a mystery and literally picked up some free ones off a sidewalk. Next year, the theme will be quality. I'll be looking for things on my wishlist, and maybe spending a bit more on individual plants, but buying fewer. I can also weed out some of the freebies that have multiplied, and trade them for others. The theme will be "the cooler, the better".

Off to get that list started!

too hot to care

It's been pretty miserable hot here, except for last Friday which was a day long thunderstorm, when it finally rained......

Not much gardening happening, although the chips are FINALLY all done. (is it bad that I want more now?) I'll be moving on to the weeding I've been ignoring, thankyouverymuch>

It's amazing what a little rain will do for things.

 

Costco started bringing in the daffodils this week.....more work!

 

In my theme of "it's al in the details".....the cover for the gas meter.

 

next up, something for the garbage cans!

 

finally......a bit of a break

This week, we had a bit of a break in the weather and it went back down to our normal 75 degree temps. It's supposed to rain today, although not nearly enough, and then by the end of the week, be back to 90. Enough already!!!

The garden is looking pretty baked, even the most tolerant things are tired. (me too!).

I did manage to shovel some more cedar chips and get pretty caught up on planting. the good news is, the clearance rack is full. All those poor little babies they've baked over the last couple of weeks. Nothing some water and a little care won't fix (unless they're just plain crispy). There's also a nursery going out of business for the season, so I had to pick up a couple of things there too...

New this week.....some $1 daylilies from lowes, a half price rose, a couple of Siberian iris, and a coneflower I just couldn't resist. I mean, who could??

I also got a great order from Maryotts daylilies (happy birthday to me), and some new iris too. There's 2 more iris orders yet to come. (they were done in February), and, well, who knows??

I'll leave with some fancy Echinacea blooming now....gotta love 'em

it's raining.....

it's not necessarily pouring, but it IS nice not to have to water for once.

The heat wave has FINALLY broken and it's much cooler~ YEAH!!
We just don't do hot well here at all......

I was able to get caught up with my planting yesterday. Just a couple left that need homes. The clearance rack had been good to me this week, 5 peonies, 3 clematis and a couple of other goodies from the big box chain. ( I've been watching those peonies for a while) The markdowns are really kicking in now because they can't keep things alive in the heat. Love it!

We also took on an art project.......
Last week, I bought this trampoline frame from craigslist for $25.

I had a plan......

We beat it up, and bent it...

and then welded a bit.....

Today, we're scrubbing and painting (if it doesn't rain).....soon, finish project installed. Trust me, it's gonna be cool.

I'll leave you with some pics.....my "edith bogue" magnolia is blooming......Many, many years ago I went on a search for this one. It took a LONG time to find it, but I was SO worth it.....The flowers are about 12" across, and smell like lemons.

just some more, because I can.

next year....more martagons and lillees, more fancy daylilies, just more.....