Heather's Garden

THE GOOD, THE BAD, AND THE (THANK GOD) NOT THAT UGLY

I could stare at poppies all day:

They're just so fascinating -- even in the bud stage:

The Endless Summer hydrangea is doing fantastic.  So much better than last year:

The hostas are blooming:

Well, all but this one which is not long for my shade garden looking like this:

The morning glory leaves are being eaten by something (and I'm pretty sure they're not getting enough sun here and that's why they're not flowering):

This dahlia bud shows promise of some color for the garden: 

This may be October 2009's photo: 

 

I'm enjoying cutting flowers and putting them into these little vases on the kitchen windowsill:

Did you identify what was good, what was bad, and what was ugly?

HAPPY FOURTH! Yes, I'm completely aware that it's July 7th

I'm not sure exactly how it happened, but the weekend got away from me.  This post was started late on July 4th and then I blinked and it was Monday.  These photos date from July 2-7.  On the 2nd I spotted this creature which makes gardeners everywhere shake in their Crocs...a Japanese beetle:

Just the one hanging out on my zinnias.  I haven't seen anymore since and the damage on the zinnias isn't too bad:

Remember how I was trying to decide if I should leave the Asiatic dayflowers in the wildflower patch?  I couldn't take it anymore and weeded like mad (foot included for scale):

It looks a lot better:

And there are only a few thin spots: 

I'd be really grateful if a helpful reader identified these flowers in the wildflower patch:

This one is just because I just think they're so pretty:

I took about 30 macro setting shots of this tiny bee and only got one decent one (VPH said this could be a calendar shot):

Unfortunately I have had plenty of opportunities to photograph cucumber beetles:

None of these pretty blossoms have led to cucumbers yet and I'm getting impatient: 

The basil in the "leftovers" container is taking off, but the addition of a trellis for the cucumber has not yielded the desired result:

Some of the veggies are thriving though.  The Royal Purple Bush beans are getting some size and color: 

The Husky cherry tomato plant has tons of fruit, but nary a sign of ripening tomatoes: 

However, the Brandywine Pink tomatoes are finally setting fruit: 

Veggie garden early on July 4th:

Now it's not nearly the size of Carol's or Compostings' gardens, but I'm pretty proud of my weeding job (note that the volunteer tomatoes around the left-hand trellis container remain because we want to see what will happen):

Last, but certainly not least, our first real harvest on July 4th:

The carrots and zucchini were the featured veggies in our crudite and were declared "awesome" by all as we celebrated our country's independence the traditional way--with hot dogs, hamburgers, and potato salad.  Hope you all had a great holiday weekend! 

OH HAPPY DAY

Stuck in your head?  It is in mine.  Anyhoo...look at what I've got (you're not drunk, it's a little out of focus...well maybe you are drunk, but I had a martini tonight, so I'm a little drunk...it's still out of focus):

So you know your eyes are working correctly I present the other zucchini quickly reaching mammoth proportions: 

And this is all in spite of the cucumber beetles chewing the bejesus out of the leaves (you know I smashed it to bits after taking the photo): 

The eggplants are disturbingly phallic: 

Wait, so are the Royal Purple Bush beans: 

Swiftly changing topics...we harvested all the sugar snap peas tonight:

And some of the carrots: 

And VPH cooked up this Chinese salmon with veggies over rice -- you have no idea how delicious it was:

The zinnias are starting to bloom, but I'm a little disappointed by how small the flowers are:

I was distracted by these two grackles foraging in the lawn: 

But then I quickly refocused and took a photo of the rapidly improving wildflower patch: 

While I was doing that, this little guy visited the birdbath: 

And then rested on the hook holding a wind chime in the upper left side of the photo to dry off:

The moral of this story, don't have a martini before trying to write a post -- it's so much more difficult.

 

MY FAVORITE PART OF THE GARDEN

This month's Garden Bloggers' Design Workshop topic is Decks, Porches, and Patios.  Like that old question "If a tree falls in the forest does it make a sound if no one is there to hear it?"...I ask, "If you have a garden and no where to sit and look at it...?"  Well you get the point.  That is why my patio is my favorite part of the garden.  We actually have two patios, one concrete and one gravel (which we seem to have named the "gravel pit"):

The concrete patio is the one that we refer to as our "patio" as it is the original (in my first post ever I wrote about how it came to be).  We spend a lot of time on it in nice weather -- and even sat through a 10-minute rain shower on it recently:

This is a view of the patio from the gravel pit (where the gazebo used to reside before it died in the December ice storm).  Note the herb garden on the bottom left of the photo.  It's one of my favorite subjects to photograph from the comfy chairs around the firepit table.  As an aside, I cannot figure out why the windows were placed in this configuration when they put the addition on the house:

The wildflower patch is another favorite photography subject from the patio:

This is our view as we walk around the corner of the house into the garden.  It's pretty obvious when I look at this that I designed the entire garden while sitting on the patio: 

 

This is the view from the chair I sit in most often.  Look how big those zucchini are getting:

I chose to plant the hydrangea on the left where I could see it from the patio, which is how it ended up in a not-so-great location that gets too much afternoon sun:

I can also stare straight at the wall o' plants from here.  Lest you think that all the plants are located for prime viewing from the patio, these are here because it's one of the only places they get a lot of sun and VPH doesn't have to move them every time he mows (and isn't his grass looking wonderful?): 

I can even see my lonely tiger lily at the back of the garden between the 2 trellises made from the corner supports of the deceased gazebo (using the zoom setting on my camera): 

I have one bone of contention re: the patio...we have an incredibly loud neighbor with small children (girls who scream all freaking day long, and parents who scream at each other all freaking night long).  They live on the other side of this oh so attractive bamboo fence which we installed (precariously) so we didn't have to stare at them although we're stuck listening to them:

So clearly the patio plays a huge role in my garden.  From hours spent plotting the next garden move to meals with friends, it's by far my favorite part of the garden.

BLOOMS GALORE

I knew that poppy was about to bloom:

Seriously, does anyone know what this is?  Is it some sort of delphinium?

There's a bunch of Asiatic day-flowers in the wildflower patch and I'm trying to decide if I want to try and remove them.  They're basically just green spiky leaves like the ones on right side of the photo above.  But using my macro setting at the right angle on the one day that it blooms...they're beautiful:

The Royal Purple Bush beans are flowering:

This is probably the biggest tomato we have.  It's a Park's Whopper, so I imagine it's going to get much bigger before it's harvested:

 

Speaking of tomatoes, do these look like volunteer tomato plants to anyone else?  I did leave quite a few tomatoes on the vine right above this spot when the frost hit:

Elizabeth asked in a recent post whether mixed containers were a thing of the past -- not in my garden.  I realized I hadn't shown you this group in a long time and it's one of my favorites right now: 

I did a little cutting back yesterday.  Or you could more accurately say I scalped the lavender (make sure to note how big the volunteer cilantro is getting):

The lavender foliage is in a nice big bowl in a sunny spot to dry.  I'm trying to figure out what I want to do with it once it's dried: 

The shorter flowers went into these bud vases on the kitchen windowsill: 

And the taller ones in a vase in the bathroom (ignore the stains on the counter-top, the stupid toothbrush holder leaves rust rings): 

I wonder what blooms tomorrow will bring?

THE LITTLE THINGS

As in the little things that make me happy.  First up today...VPH and I went out to the garden to take a look around.  I walked back to the gravel patio and VPH trailed behind.  He suddenly said, "Don't make any noise and turn around slowly."  I anticipated a snake in the grass or something, but what did I see?  A bird -- in the birdbath!  And I even got a photo:

I've been spending a lot of time staring at the wildflower patch.  I'm dying to know what this one is:

One of its buds on Wednesday: 

The same one on Thursday (about 24 hours later).  Help!  Kim, you're good at this game.  What is this?

This is a huge poppy and I can't wait to see it bloom because it will be the first one this year:

The pink clover isn't my favorite thing in the wildflower patch (in fact it's a volunteer), but it's better than bare ground and this spider sure liked it: 

Again, I have not a clue what this is, but I enjoyed using my macro setting to get really close:

So you can see 1.) how dirty my thumbnail is, and 2.) how little the flower is: 

I think it's cool that when it rains a drop of water sits in the middle of the lupine leaves for hours:

I hope that when these 4-foot tall plants bloom I will be able to figure out what they are: 

 

Shifting away from the wildflowers and the many questions they raise...to veggies.  I think the peas will be replaced by carrots before the beginning of July:

I totally ate the peas in the nice fat pod below.  Next year more Little Marvels or other pod peas, fewer snow peas, and planted much earlier:

I was trying to get a picture of the tiny thorns on this zucchini leaf, but it didn't work.  I liked the photo though:

This is really exciting...our first eggplant:

The morning glories are climbing about 2-3 inches each day.  I don't know what will happen when they run out of trellis:

The hanging baskets on the shady side of the house aren't looking great.  This is by far the most attractive one of the bunch:

The Bay State Angel dahlia is about to bloom: 

This photo is already 30 hours old, so it should be any time now: 

The zinnias are showing signs of flowers coming any day now:

I was trying to illustrate that my tiger lilies are a good week or two behind all the others in the neighborhood (darn my shady garden), but this strange looking insect wouldn't go away.  Anyone know what it is?

 

Did you notice that there were a lot of "little things" pictured in this post?

FINALLY, I'VE GOT SOMETHING THAT ISN'T JUST GREEN

The zucchini are blooming, but so far only the female flowers.  I see a few male flowers about to pop, but I have a feeling the female ones may be done by then:

I didn't realize that the Brandywine Pink tomatoes had such unusual blossoms:

No tomatoes on these plants yet, but lots of blossoms:

The Endless Summer hydrangea flowers are blue!!! 

The lettuce basket bolted before we even had a chance to harvest any, but at least it's pretty:

I cut back the sweet basil, purple basil, lemon basil, and cinnamon basil in a few of the baskets.  I wrapped the sweet basil in a damp paper towel and stuck it in the fridge, but I'm experimenting with drying the others.  Some rosemary and thyme are also on the table (and some lupine from my friend Mary from which I plan to save seed):

The sweet basil in the container I'll be calling "leftovers" is thriving.  I'm hoping that the cucumber plant grows considerably in the next week because it's got a bunch of little cucumbers and flowers already:

I know you're all dying to see the completely assembled chairs, footstools, and table in place: 

And yes, they are just as comfortable to sit in as they look.

THAT GOOD KIND OF TIRED

I got so much accomplished over the past 2 days.  Marked off of the To Do List:

• Plant astible in container and find a shady home for it

• Transplant the Red Peter peppers, chives, basils, and one lonely cucumber seedling into larger containers

First up the astible's new home:

Can you see it just in front of the large blue stone in the middle of the photo?

Think it's time for me to get this cucumber seedling planted?

It, the chives, and the sweet basil found a home in this container:

So you can see how big that freaking pot is (I almost fell over when I tried to lift it and carry it over to this spot): 

The Brandywine Pink tomatoes -- one in its new home so you can see the difference (I tore off the bottom few sets of leaves and buried more of the stalk in the new pot):

BTW, those "decorative" containers didn't have drainage holes, so I used a pair of scissors to put 4 drainage holes in each one.  I'm calling this my wall o' plants:

Remember the dahlia man, Dave?  He gave me a call and said he had several live dahlias (not roots waiting to sprout) that he wasn't going to be using and it wasn't too late to plant them.  So my friend Mary and I headed over to his beautiful garden.  He's just the most generous man...my share of the bounty:

My very first dahlia bud (on the plant in back of the row of Dave's latest gifts above): 

Only one of the passalong dahlia roots from Mary had thrived here and the little rose plant was a goner, so 4 of Dave's dahlias went into pots in the wildflower patch:

One replaced a rotten one in the row next to the cellar stairs (not pictured).  And the last one went into the other pretty container I brought home this week next to its larger twin:

Had I mentioned that my cherry tomato plants are covered in bird shit?  The guilty party:

The first cucumber male and female blossoms -- I can already taste cucumber! 

The eggplant blossoms are just so pretty: 

I gave the eggplant a small tomato cage for support:

If I were naming my photos I would call this one anticipation.  Look at all those buds on the zucchini.  They better hurry up because I killed my first cucumber beetle on this plant yesterday so I'm afraid its days are numbered: 

I got the Red Peter pepper seedlings into the hanging baskets:

But I forgot that I still had to install the hanger for the 4th one on the post above the zucchini.  I better go plug in my cordless drill battery charger now while I'm thinking of it: 

If you look closely at the base of the fence post in the photo above, you may notice that when VPH and I were cleaning up the garden this spring we left an interesting looking seedling to grow in the mulch because we both wanted to see what it was.  I didn't know until it flowered, but I'm pretty sure it's self-seeded chamomile from the hanging herb basket that hung from this post for a month or so last summer:  

Chigiy, would you like to identify this flower in the wildflower patch for me too?  It's a showstopper: 

Oh, and in case you're a really observant reader and wondered where the cinnamon basil seedlings went...I stuck them in with the purple hyacinth beans, which would grow up this trellis leaving the container looking kind of bare if I didn't put something else in there:  

Now VPH and I are going to laze around on the patio today since there's really not that much left on the to do list...certainly nothing that can't wait a day or two!

I PROBABLY SHOULD HAVE BROKEN THIS INTO 2 POSTS

But since I haven't posted much lately, you're going to get it all.  VPH had promised our neighbor (whose fence is the one that figures so prominently in our garden) that he would move the huge leaf pile in the bastard garden off of the fence.  Said neighbor thought the weight of the leaves was pushing his fence over.  VPH and I disagreed about the weight issue, but I agreed that the leaves should be moved away from the fence.  In addition to moving the leaves about a foot away from the fence, VPH cleared the area next to the shed where we're planning to build a leaf bin with chicken wire and wood posts:

Along with the trunks of 4 Christmas trees past, VPH dug out this pile of trash including a jump rope, and yes, he thought it was a snake too:

Still protecting VPH's anonymity, but I was impressed with how dirty and sweaty he got back there: 

I wasn't sitting around on my hands while he worked.  I started off the day by taking down the greenhouse.  VPH has since weeded this whole area so it looks even nicer now than when I took this photo:

Then I went to work on the wildflower patch.  I just found out that Dame's Rocket has been deemed an invasive plant in CT and is banned.  Didn't know that when I scattered the mixed seed it was in over a year ago.  And I've seen it growing along the road around the corner, so I'm not too worried about it, but the blooms had faded, so I chopped them down (and left VPH a nice pile to shred for the compost):

I'm happy to report that some other flowers are blooming in the wildflower patch and it doesn't look that bad from the right angle:

When I started gardening that day this bud in the wildflower patch looked like this:

And by the time I finished it looked like this:

I love how this same flower looked next to it when I started:

And at the end of the day -- it almost looks like a different flower:

Then I attacked the herb barrel with my Felco pruners and scalped the chives, parsley, and thyme:

Did you know that if you stick freshly cut cilantro in a glass of water, it will stay fresh?  Did you know that you can freeze freshly cut chives and thyme without any prep and they'll come out of their freezer bags practically fresh?  Well that's what I read anyway, I'll let you know if it actually works:

The zinnias have buds at last:

The morning glories are finally taking off:

The hydrangea is showing definite signs of blue flowers:

Now we can turn our attention to the veggie garden.  I've got teeny tiny little tomatoes forming on the Sweet 100 cherry tomato:

And the Husky cherry tomato (or did I confuse the photos?): 

The Kentucky Wonder beans are doing great despite being nearly hidden from view by the zucchini.  I guess I'm doing the 3 sisters, but substituting the fence for corn:

This little guy startled me as I was trying to photograph pea blossoms:

I did manage to photograph the snow pea blossoms too: 

The peas are taking their sweet time and the Brandywine Pink tomatoes are making a break from their temporary containers, so I had to come up with a different plan:

These pea containers will instead be home to our second planting of carrots and I went out and bought 2 more containers for the tomatoes and I swear I will transplant them tomorrow or Friday at the very latest.  They'll all live together here on the sunny edge of the gravel patio:

Speaking of the carrots...they're out of control:

They got so big so fast that I couldn't resist pulling one out to see if they were actually carrots yet.  They are!  Little tiny carrots, but oh so tasty:

The whole veggie garden on Tuesday:

I don't know if you can tell from the photo, but we've been getting lots of downpours lately and after the last one, the cucumber and the Royal Purple Bush beans were a little on the floppy side.  I will use the wooden trellis from the peas for the cucumber and the bush beans weren't supposed to need staking, but bamboo and Velcro garden ties to the rescue:

And here's a handy little tip for you.  If you're using your very sharp Felco pruners to cut Velcro strips and you suddenly meet resistance, that's your hand.  At least my blood matched the handle (and in case you were worried, it was a minor cut that isn't even showing signs of infection despite my dirty hands when it happened and the fact that I kept working):

Along with the 2 new plastic containers I picked up for the tomatoes, I bought this gorgeous astible.  And it was begging for a new pot, so why not buy 3?  The plant was only $6 and all 3 glazed pots came to $41 -- how could I not buy them:

I don't have specific plans for the other 2, but I do still have this whole tray of seedlings to plant up:

And a potting table of other random plants needing a home:

We also rescued these purple rhododendrons from the red dot shelf at Home Depot -- 50% off of $6.99 each.  One will go next to the shed in front of the leaf bin, maybe 2.  The other might be squeezed into the rock-bordered bed of hosta and 1 pink rhododendron near the patio:

So there is my ridiculously long post on everything we've been up to so far this week.  If it ever stops raining long enough to let the seedling tray dry out enough for me to work with the plants I will be able to do some actual gardening.  Weeding is so boring!

SECRET GARDENS TOUR

The town I grew up in, Guilford, CT, has long been a host for the A Better Chance program.  Their big yearly fund-raiser is a Secret Garden Tour.  This is the first year that I have taken the tour (I purchased tickets last year, but it poured, so my friend and I skipped the garden portion). 

This year my friend Mary and I made a day of it and hit all 7 gardens on the tour.  Mary knows absolutely everyone in town and I do a fair job myself, so we spent a lot of time gabbing with people we encountered on the way.  This is by no means a complete review of the beautiful gardens we saw, but instead what struck my eye as we toured.

Garden #1

Each garden had a secret.  As we approached this beautiful garden via the driveway, our eyes were drawn around the house to the first secret around the back of the house:

It was biscotti and lemonade on the beautiful patio.  I particularly liked the colors that the home-owners used in their containers and the iron finial shaped structures they added -- very cool.  And they told us that their sons did all the stonework as their summer jobs over a period of years.  That Forbes stone is a carriage step from the home that originally stood on this land (it fell into disrepair, was abandoned, vandalized, partially burned down, and eventually demolished to make way for this home and the one next door which was home #2 on the tour):

This stove repurposed as a planter was salvaged from the original house: 

I'm not usually a fan of this sort of country style decoration, but this worked really well: 

Garden #2

I have a personal connection to the second garden on the tour so I am not going to write about it here or post photos of it, but the secret was beautiful photographs by a local artist -- extreme close-ups of flora.

Garden #3

The secret here was paintings in the garden, but I failed to photograph any of them.  We walked down a gravel driveway to these interesting piles of rocks: 

And found this charming patio.  I so wanted to sit down, but I thought that would be in poor taste:

Then I saw their back porch.  Okay, I officially want it.  Half screened in, a swing, the beautiful steps down to a wood deck -- uh yum: 

Mary looked at this tree and said, "Could that be a redwood?"  Then we looked in the program and sure enough, it's a redwood.  I had no idea they would grown in CT: 

In addition to a putting green (not pictured), they have a freaking greenhouse:

A firepit with adorable stump seats around it and a perennial border around: 

How cool is the gate to their veggie garden: 

Their veggie garden was so big and such an interesting shape that I couldn't get it in one photo.  View #1 shows a birdhouse above, tall trellises for beans, and the wavy border on the outside of the veggie garden to soften the edges:

View #2 shows their beautiful broccoli in the foreground and a lovely spot to rest between bouts of weeding in the background: 

Garden #4 

Let me say here for the record that this was a beautiful garden, but not exactly to my taste.  The home-owner is a big time fan of garden kitsch.  It worked here for me in a small way, but it was rarely done in a small way:

The secret here was snacks in the gazebo and oil paintings scattered throughout:

A sampling of the easily 100 stepping stones scattered around the property:

These figures on the picnic table made me laugh: 

This small patio was at the very back of the garden hidden under a tree (the canopy of which did not allow me to stand up straight).  The home-owner said she enjoys her morning coffee here with her cat.  I didn't notice the painted container until I saw it in the photograph.  I'm intrigued by this idea.  It might be a nice way to disguise inexpensive plastic planters: 

Garden #5

I ran into a high school friend at this garden and got to chatting, so I forgot to take photos until we were leaving and I snapped this one quickly.  The secret in this garden was the glass and metal sculptures which were installed the previous day.  I love this one, but there were lots of other ones that caught the light more effectively, sorry I flaked:

Garden #6

Was down a long driveway past another house.  It was set so far back that it wasn't visible from the street.  What a pleasant surprise to walk past a very normal looking split ranch with average foundation plantings to find this:

The house was built 5 years ago and the gardens over the past 2 years.  They've created a lovely perennial border around the side of the house.  Mary loved this object in nestled among the hostas -- a petrified lichen?  Thanks, Maggie, for identifying this as a shelf mushroom knocked off of a tree:

We reached the back of the house and wow, look at that pond!  I love the little seating area, the beautiful fence (must be a talented artist somewhere who created those birds), and the fountain:   

Their cantilevered deck knocked our socks off, but we were all frightened by the lack of railings: 

I'd really love to know how long this weeping willow has been in that spot at the back of the garden.  Between that focal point and the pond, there's no lack of visual stimulation here: 

Garden #7 

I think I was so wowed by the windows on the home in garden #7 that I was shaking, so please excuse the slightly blurry photo below.  This was also the first stone-edged bed that we saw...there would be plenty more:

Just down the driveway to the right we found this outbuilding:

This garden was full of really large focal points: 

This is a sycamore tree and the photo really doesn't do it justice: 

This is around the corner of that outbuilding I showed earlier.  I love the pergola and the escape ladder cracked me up: 

Directly to the left of where I took the above photo was a sunny rock-bordered veggie garden and on its left was a similarly sized bed full of what appeared to be perennial flowers: 

Standing between the 2 beds looking at the breath-taking pond:

Standing on the other side of the pond looking back at the outbuilding:

Standing to the right of the hammock looking back at the house.  The rock bordered bed on the right held tomatoes and peppers:

The home-owner had created these plant tags and labeled almost every plant on the property just for the tour: 

I thought this sedum (I'm pretty sure it was sedum) growing out of the stump was strikingly beautiful:  

Another person on the tour called this a zen garden:  

I climbed up and sat in the middle.  It was very peaceful: 

And stared at this purple smoke bush: 

It looks so different up close: 

Are these sweet peas or some neat variety of pea with colored flowers?  They had an entire bed of whatever it is: 

Oh, the secret here was more paintings, but again, I failed to photograph any of them, and frankly this garden was so vast and the focal points so large, the paintings were a little lost.  We had a ball touring the 7 beautiful gardens and the rain held off until the early evening to everyone's relief.  I can't wait to see next year's featured gardens!

HAPPY BLOGIVERSARY TO ME!

One year ago today I published my first post and became a garden blogger.  I look back now on that post and cringe.  It's so text heavy and the photos are not good, interesting, or, in one case, in focus.  When I started out this blog was a way of showing my family who lived far away (especially my mom) what I was describing poorly during phone calls.  Then it also became a way to keep track of what I had planted where and when. 

But along the way the reason I was blogging changed.  I fell back in love with taking photos.  I found a deep peace working in the garden.  On some crazy days the only excuse I had to take a break during the day was to go to the garden and take photos so I could blog later that evening.  I've made gardening friends who I "talk" to more often than some of my "real life" friends. 

Gardening and blogging are inextricably linked in my mind (and VPH's) and both have brought me great joy.  Thank you, readers, for sticking with me through the ups and downs of year one -- bring on YEAR TWO!

Because although the gardening has improved:

I'm not so sure about the photography:

(Did you see my hands and camera in the shadow that hits the bottom petal of the flower and on the ground?)

UPDATE: I hit an all-time high number of hits today -- 111.  A year ago I had 5.  Wow!  And my mom's not even on-line right now!