just working away

I know, every week I say it's winding down...but I keep finding more stuff! This week it was a nice sedum, purple emperor, a spiderwort, a perennial lobelia, some coreopsis, some nice iris from the farmers market, and more bulbs from Costco, daffodils and fritillaria.

It really IS winding down, though, and fall bulbs are turning up in all the stores. It's hard to resist them, but I'm trying to be discriminating, because I have a "few"  ordered too.

The front is looking really good. I love how big these grasses got.

 

and the Echinacea are thriving

 

The back doesn't look too shabby either. I've added some stepping stones to the pergola and planted the musk rambler roses that I ordered.

 

Some of the clearance items are behaving nicely too......

 

The week after next will be vacation again. The plan is to work on the grape arbor, and maybe some of the fencing in the front. I have a theory that if we put a short fence in the front along the deer path, it might redirect them around the tasty plants. They're really quite lazy, you know. Either way, I think it'll be a good addition.

 

old farts and irises

Did you ever notice how old farts are attracted to growing and hybridizing irises? I have two new besties now, after recognizing (caving in to), my new iris addiction. One guy sells his irises at the farmers market. I've run into him a couple of times. He has over 1,500 varieties. I can only imagine how spectacular that must be in the spring.

My second new bestie, I just met yesterday at the pierce county iris sale. He's not quite as accomplished, (although both guys know each other), he only has about 800. See, that's the cool thing about irises, there are SO many. I'm pretty sure I'm going to be spending my winter studying irises.

Speaking of the pierce county sale, we went, I bought, I planted.

There's 3-4 black ones there, a really cool little one, and a couple of others that are going to be interesting. I also got some from my market buddy. I've taken to going down to the market every Thursday because he puts out different ones every week. I'm focusing on mostly blues and blacks, with a couple of bright orange, yellow and pinks thrown in for good measure.

 

This week, I also got a bunch of free ones. Someone was giving them away. So, now the irises go all the way across the back. If I don't like the free ones, I'll give them away next year. It's a giant happy science experiment, don't 'cha know.

 

The clearance rack was marginal this week. I got a perennial lobelia, a stokesia for the white garden, a couple of painted ferns, and a sedum. The nurseries are getting fewer plants. The season is winding down, and it's just too hot to take care of them.

 

I did find some of the first fall bulbs at Costco, though, and brought home 100 mixed daffs. I've had really good luck with Costco stuff, and we're just getting started on that one.

 

Last but not least, the pergola is finished......see that back door? no? that's the idea! It's just waiting for the two roses I ordered to be planted on both sides. That sale at Heirloom roses came just in time!

 

clearance rack score~

It's been unbearably hot here, so the nurseries are dumping plants right and left so they don't have to take care of them. I don't mind.
This week, the major score was at Freddies. I scored a really cool sedum, and a Euconomis *pineapple lilly, that were originally $14.99, for $4.99. Of course I had to go back and check it out again, and I came home with a white plant for the moon garden, a campanula that looks great, and a purple rain verbena that just needs some love.

The rack at lowes coughed up a couple of nice perennial lobelias (hummingbirds love them), and home depot had a mystery Echinacea. At the local nursery, another specialty Echinacea that just needed some love.

I'll be headed back to depot this morning to check out a couple of grasses that I saw there yesterday.
Ya never know.....

The guy at the farmers market had some pretty cool irises that followed me home. He told me that he has 1,500 varieties at his house. Must be spectacular in the spring. Seems I'm working on giving him a run for his money. I'm expecting an order this week of iris and a fancy day lily.

I'm also starting to think about fall bulbs and keeping my eyes peeled at Costco for their bags of bulbs. You can't beat the price, and they do have some really cool ones if you know what to look for.
I've had really good luck this year with plants bought at Costco, and I can hardly wait for next spring.

I'll leave with some clearance rack scores.....and a couple from last year that are just outdoing themselves.

 

ps, the bananas love this heat, they're going crazy

 

Rain, but not nearly enough

This week, it rained. I have to say, it felt pretty good to have a break for a couple of days. It didn't last, though, just long enough to give everything a bit of a drink, and then, back to 80 degrees. I can handle 80, the water bill, not so much. It's only been a couple of days, and things are already starting to dry out again.

The garden is filling in nicely, though. There were a few more clearance things this week, another Echinacea or two, a yellow poker plant, a couple of grapes, and a nice grass. The nurseries are really starting to wind down now, so....we'll have to see. Next will be the total clearance sales. There were some good things there last year.

The garden is doing great too....blueberries, still some raspberries, pumpkins, squash, and even an artichoke!

 

The lilies are blooming too.....too bad we don't have smell-o-vision. I'll definitely be getting more of these next year, and moving the ones out of the front that I keep fighting the deer for.

 

These came from Costco, by the way.

 

Next week......hanging at the fair, and the usual rounds of clearance rack.

It's always a treasure hunt!

 

It's finally cooling off a bit

We just don't do hot here well. By hot, I mean somewhere up there near 90 degrees, which it's been for nearly 2 weeks now. It's finally cooling off and it actually sprinkled a bit yesterday. I'll still have to water today, it just didn't rain quite enough.

The clearance bin is rockin' now. This week, there were 4 daylilies, a red coreopsis, and a fuschia look alike, all for $1.99. I also scored a petite Echinacea, a couple of dark purple daylilies, two Echinacea Cherokee sunset, and some yellow crocrosmia, all on sale or clearance.

Gotta love the clearance rack......here are some of last year's acquisitions.

Echinacea "milk shake", this poor guy was one green leaf and one sad looking flower. Now it's GORGEOUS, with 10-15 huge blooms.

These daylilies didn't have any flowers, just leaves and no ID, but for $3, I think it was worth it. (there's a bunch more, too)

I also had a brilliant idea this week, don't you think a nice pergola would look good in front of the neighbor's door?

We need some height to give interest in the back. I think that would be cool, and also hide the neighbor's house a bit.....just sayin'.

 

I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with how the front is working out. This week, I pulled up the poppies and batchelor buttons that were done and looking crispy, and it revealed all of the great plants. (and the holes)

 

I know, it's a process, and it's amazing how much it's changed since last year. I can hardly wait to see what it looks like NEXT year.

This week, more clearance rack (of course), there's a nursery in Tacoma that's closing down for the season.....gotta go there, and my thoughts are starting to turn to fall bulbs. Fancy daffodils, anyone??

you gotta love the clearance rack

It's super hot here, and things are beginning to wind down for the summer plant-wise. That means that a  lot of garden places have a bunch of stuff half price, or at least marked down.
Today's clearance rack score includes.....

Two $1 sedums, two, one gallon lithodora for $1.99 ea (they mistook them for annuals), a coreopsis, a nice red grass, 3 daylilies, one pink, one black, and one purple, a marked down 7 up plant, a marked down yellow crocrosmia "George Davidson", and my one full-price splurge, an Echinacea "green jewel".

I won't plant these until it cools down a bit at the end of the week, but it means being out there every day to water them.

A lot of the daylilies are in full bloom, and they're beautiful (at least the ones the deer haven't eaten).
I did go to Costco and get some irish spring soap. It's supposed to repel deer because they don't like the strong smell. Heck, I don't like the strong smell. I'll let you know how THAT little science experiment goes as soon as I get them put out.

Some more great blooms for everyone's viewing pleasure....

4th of july??? already????

Just not sure how that happened!
This week, the day lilies continued to come out to play. It's a shame they only last for one day, they're so beautiful.......

 

I'll definitely be on the lookout for more daylilies for next year.

 

The clearance rack was kind of a bust.....things are winding down in nursery-land. When it starts to get hot here, it's too much work to keep things alive. (hot=80 degrees or more).

I did find a nice cape fuschia, a white lupine, a couple of hostas for a buck fifty, and a Japanese painted fern.

 

We also made a little field trip yesterday over to Vashon island. I'd never been there before, and it was a short ferry ride over. There was a nursery there that was going out of business, and I can see why. I thought it would be cool and they'd have some great plants. It turned out to be a hoarder's site, and the plants were pretty beat up. I did score a couple of pacific coast iris, and some black currants, but, honestly, they should have just hauled up a dumpster.

 

The trip was not completely wasted, though, because we were able to stop a a great nursery called DIG. They had some really cool sculptures, and some more cool plants. I came home with an Echinacea, and a kaffir lilly that will be great additions. Another stop, another nursery, another Echinacea. This one with a huge pink flower, called bubble gum. It'll be a great addition.

 

Next week......not sure what the holiday will bring.......

 

I'll leave you with this.....

the back a year ago

and today.......coming right along.