Soon To Be Orphans...

Sadly, it's unlikely the plants below will not be making the trip to Tennessee, alas.

I need to take another look to see if perhaps I can securely box up some, like the Oxalis and Pothos, but unlikely the Aloe, Snake Plants and the Bamboo (not pictured), as they're just to bulky -

I may need to just start from scratch once in and settled in the new place.

My Sad Sedum

Is it just me and my Sedum plants or are others experiencing the same?!

Seems this year each of my sedum plants are thin, lanky and ununiform, see examples below - 

If my memory serves me correctly, in past years, they've typically been a fuller plants and much more symmetrical and with bigger flower heads.

It's been a weird summer around these parts weather wise, hot and humid and not much rain. I'm sure this has something to do with it.  I'm noticing it elsewhere too, smaller blooms, smaller perennials in general and blooms that just don't last too long or as long as I remember.  Perhaps, this is contributing to the lack of honey bees and other visiting insects and critters this year.

Suppose time will tell if things bounce back.

Ah, Early Summer Blooms!

My Asiatic Lilies are doing fantastic again this year!

Although, I only have a couple different colors, these orange ones are stunning.

Just wish they'd last longer.

Annual Color Added!

I took a drive yesterday morning to my favorite local nursery and picked up a couple flats of plants - annual flowers, herbs and veggies! I will tell you, like everything else, the cost of plants have gone up this year, OUCH!  

I then spent a couple hours washing my flower pots, mixing some compost and a bag of Miracle-Gro potting soil and getting most of annuals flowers and herbs planted!

I also planted peppers, curly parsley and marigolds in the ground, in their perspective gardens. I'm gonna hold off on putting the tomatoes in just yet, maybe give it another week or two, just to be safe.

This cement planter was my mothers.  I always look forward to pulling this out in the spring and getting something planted in it.  Always brings a smile to my face, which I enjoy all spring and summer long.

Ah Spring!

I took these pics the beginning of April, so they're twice as big today.

The first is a Rhubarb.  This came from one of my dad's plants, which have been around seemingly as long as I can remember.  I have a couple others but this particular one has always done fantastic and gets super BIG!

The second is a Poppy.  This came from one of my mom's plants, again that have been around for as long as I can remember.  This plants has always done well and is usually covered in flowers.

Some of the plants at my place hold special meaning and I will always cherish them and the memory that stir.

Be Still My Beating Heart...

Well, vegetable gardening season has finally arrived.

Emilie and I wasted no time and headed to my favorite local nursery/grower, Pumpkin Seeds to pick up a few items to get us started.

Zucchini Squash -

Yellow Squash - 

Jet Star Tomato -

Big Boy Tomato -

Cucumber -

Guess I have a bit of planting work ahead but OH SO looking forward to it!

Freeze - Frost Kill Already

 

Alas, this is what happens when Mother Nature turns on the deep freeze!

 

We had a heavy freeze Friday night, not a frost a freeze, and it did a number on the plants.

 

We brought in all the plants that we wanted to save on Friday night, and the others, well we enjoyed them all summer long but their time had come.  I'll compost the plants and reuse the soil again next year.

 

Just can't believe we're already in mid-October already with the holiday's and long cold New England ahead of us.

 

 

I Caved In...

I broke down and decided to start some seeds indoors.  Typically I'm against this practice because I simply do NOT have the setup or space to do it properly.  In the past this exercise proved to be too cumbersome, messy and a royal pain in the arse.  I find it SO much easier to take a ride to my favorite local nursery and purchase plants that have already been started, hardened-off and ready to be planted.

However, when I ordered my garlic last fall, the company also sent along a half dozen packages of seeds as a bonus.  Mostly veggies but a couple flowers too.  This is what I've started indoors - Sunflower, Butternut Squash and Eggplant.  Also started was White Campion, otherwise known as Lychnis coronaria (White Lambs Ear).  We have oodles of Rose Campion (Pink Lambs Ear) but no White.  It just so happens that on her way to work one morning last summer JoAnne noticed a yard that had a single, lonely White Campion plant so we patiently waited until the fall when the plant turned to seed, then stopped and "borrowed" a small clipping containing our sought after, precious seeds.

Walla!

I'm happy to report that since this picture was taken (4/26/2012) some of the plants are making an appearance and poking through the soil, with the White Campion being one, yippee!

Note:  White & Pink Lambs Ear is what we were told their names are and what we've come to know these plants as.  We do have a couple true Lambs Ear plants - Stachys byzantina, that again, we "borrowed" from a rest area in New York a couple years ago.