Saturday is the first day of fall meaning that my favorite season, summer, has only three days left. It’s really looking and feeling like fall around here. The leaves on the trees, while still green, are getting that dried, crunchy look. A few trees have even started to change, but not enough to be…
Now that I’m back in school, projects and chores get completed on the weekend or not at all. We recently noticed that a cherry tree between our house and the house next door had died. Since our turf will be repaired at the end of the month, we decided that we should take this tree down immediately…
There’s not a lot blooming in my yard right now. This summer’s heat has really taken a toll on my landscape beds. One plant that blooms like clockwork in late July and early August in one bed is the Magic Lilly (Lycoris squamigera) also known as Surprise Lillies or Naked Ladies. This photo was taken…
Back at the end of April I wrote a post describing how my Iris didn’t bloom very well this year. I suspected that the problem was that they needed dividing. I worked on this task last week and hope that next year I’ll see a dramatic difference in the blooms that I get to enjoy….
Our yard has numerous Azaleas planted by the previous owner. Many of these could be forty or more years old. Over the years the Azaleas have grown to be very large, even with the deer constantly nibbling on them. When an Azalea becomes overgrown it can be cut nearly to the ground and will happily…
A few weeks ago I posted about how we gave the row of Forsythia on our property line a drastic pruning. Recall the after from May 21: You can see quite a bit of difference in the picture below taken on June 10. Notice how much the Forsythia grew in just a couple of weeks….
May passed by without me slowing down to enjoy my flowers. I realized over the weekend that I saw the first Peony bloom and then I totally missed the big show. Luckily the flower show goes on and there’s quite a bit to enjoy at the end of May in my yard. Verbena Bonariensis reseeds…
Last summer I wrote a post on how to harvest garlic and in the fall I wrote about how to plant it. This past weekend I noticed that my garlic is ready to harvest. How do I know? Look for these clues: blooms and yellowing foliage. My plan is to dig up a clump or two…
Every year I intend to start my garden in March so that I can grow potatoes, onions, and peas and every year I find that it’s May before I take time to plant. This weekend a friend shared plants with me and it spurred me into garden planting action. Mr. SP kindly tilled the garden for…
This weekend we tackled taming the border between our house and our neighbor’s home. We both suspect that this area was once beautifully landscaped but in the past 30+ years has become way overgrown. I’ve pruned certain plants in this area a time or two, but to be honest, in the twenty years that Mr….
Last year we decided to renovate our lawn and it stayed brown from the end of May until early fall when the grass was replanted. My mission was to kill the evil Bermuda, aka Wire Grass. Our house is on a corner and many, many walkers pass by each day. This is what they had…
Every year I look forward to my Iris blooming. This year they just aren’t blooming like they used to bloom. They are letting me know that it is past time to divide them. I looked through some old pictures to remind myself of what my Iris should look like when in full bloom. Look at the…