Tomatoes! And don't forget to enter my giveaway...

I picked my first ripe tomato today, an heirloom variety named Dad's Sunset. It's gorgeous. I can't wait to eat it. I'm surprised that I have one already...most of my plants are nowhere near producing maters.

Don't forget to enter my giveaway! Only 2 days left!

Summer garden 2012

We've been working hard in the yard and I wanted to take some photos and share with you how nice it's looking this year. Of course, today it's 100 degrees and I'm sure everything will be fried in a few more weeks. Planting it all is time consuming, but keeping it alive, that's the hard part.

Here's the view of the patio from the end of the house. We installed the pergola last year, and it is a huge help with shade. There is a sail shade in the center that helps make our seating area pleasant to sit in. Otherwise, it's too hot.

 Just down from the patio is a huge spruce tree and our magnolia tree, now growing into the spruce. It's kind of a dead area. The last to be weeded. Usually by the time I get over there I just can't handle anymore. Need to come up with a better solution!

 A view of the pond from the walkway into the yard. All of these ponytail grasses and gaura were volunteers. I have moved 3 gaura out from there but don't have a good place for the others. This is a favorite place for Lola to get tangled in.

 Front side of the pond. I'm doing something right, because the plants are very happy! The cattails are 7' tall, and the lily has sent up 25+ lilypads.

 To the left of the pond

 My birdhouse collection. They used to be scattered all over the place, but Bart grouped them and I think they look awesome.

 A few of them have plants in them. So far, so good.  Between these two posts is where the hammock hangs when we have it up. I took it down for pix.

 Even more to the left, we have a silver lace vine that we finally got to grow up this trellis and onto the pergola.

 I love the leaf man face in here.

 On the other side of the walk is a recently planted honeysuckle vine. The hope is that it will grow up and make an arbor of sorts with the silver lace. This is a new planting area, and we're not quite sure what to do with it. The spruce is dying, so we had it trimmed up last year. I've added in some perennials

 and some hostas and the squirrels were kind enough to plant a few sunflowers. Eventually the tree will have to go. My planting bench. Most of my pots live here. I planted far fewer than in previous years.

 The back door, and an ever present furry creature. They follow me everywhere.

 Close up of the bench and plants.

 We are still deciding what to do about patio furniture. I want something more couch like and Bart doesn't. We ordered some new chairs because these ones are rusting and we are sick of dealing with the cushions, but haven't done anything about the table. We may not do anything this year. There is a rumor of mulch being ordered, but I'm hoping it's not true :) I hate laying mulch.

Thanks for looking! Hope you saw something you liked.

bountiful harvest

The tomatoes are rolling in fast & furious.

Be prepared to be stunned:

I know! I could hardly believe our good fortune. We could feed tens of people with bounty like this! There are 11 whole tomatoes on these plants. That's almost 3 tomatoes per person in our household. I suppose I ought to be thinking about canning or making sauce with the leftovers.
We have been growing tomatoes for more than a dozen years, and never have we had such success in the garden. Mere amatuers shouldn't even bother to try and replicate our large plot. Start small, or you'll have so many tomatoes you won't know what to do with them all.

I have no idea what the hell happened here. Some of these were grown from seed, some were established, hearty plants from the nursery. All turned into rejects better suited to "That's a Swell Garden, Charlie Brown" than sauces and caprese salad. Needless to say, we won't be planting here again next year.

scenes from summer part deux

Things are in full bloom and looking pretty good around here. Mother Nature has blessed our region with plenty of rain, and only occasionally do I ever need to water the garden by sprinkler. Of course, all the rain means lots of weeds and killer mosqitoes. I have more bites than the last two years combined.

We finally have a flower on our Lily! This plant has been in the pond for 2 years and this is the first flower we've gotten. There are about 30 lily pads right alongside of it.
another view of the pond. In the lower pond are the cattails, which are taller than I am! The lovely orange flower is on my favorite tropical plant that I bought this year, a Bengal Tiger Canna. What you can't see are the tadpoles with their tiny legs and our new Koi.
Hey, who gave this kid sharp shears?
I bought this hanging plant last weekend while shopping for Father's Day. It's in a huge iron frame lined with a cocoa mat, 6 or 7 plants, and it was $40. A total steal. Of course it weighs more than I do and requires 2 watering cans a day , but still a steal.
Our major project for the weekend was trimming the birch tree. The lower branches were touching the top of the tallest plantings, so Bart decided to take off at least two layers. I can't believe the difference! Before it was almost like being under a willow tree. Now it's very open and sunny. We'll see how the shady plants like the change.

Happy Monday!

Hello, June!

It's June and I must finally face the realization that school is out in 16 days! Yikes! I am not ready to have both kids home 24/7.

We had a beautiful Memorial weekend. It was hot, but we didn't let that slow us down any! Bart & I spent many hours working in the yard/garden, and I must say it's looking pretty good right now! I still have a few things to plant, and some space to fill up, but for today I am content with our efforts.

Here is a shot looking from the back corner of our yard up toward the patio. Under the Magnolia tree are the tomatoes...

and we have our very own bird family in the yellow bird house too! I was hearing a new bird song, and saw this cute little bird with twigs in her beak fly in and out of the house. Em researched it, and they are kinglets. They have been a lot of fun to watch.

Here's a closer shot with the pond. In the lower pond are cattails that are taller than I am, and we had a second tadpole event. Now the water is filled with tadpolios of 2 sizes...we are going to have a thousand toads!
This is the left side of the patio looking toward the birch tree and where the hammock resides. I spent 2 relaxing hours there yesterday, just reading, dozing, and swinging with Lola. It was wonderful.
A shot of my potting bench. The blue canopy isn't usually here...we had it up for planting and company over the weekend, and haven't taken it down yet.
And here is a view from the hammock across the back of the house. It's the shadiest part of the yard. I am learning to find interesting plants for this area that aren't the usual hostas and impatiens. I also learned that now is the perfect time to get covered in birch seeds if you sit here for very long!
Of course there is still a bunch more work to do, but the hotter it gets, the less I want to do. I still need to clear out the area under the bay window to plant my scraggly, overgrown cukes. Tomorrow is another day!

Blooming hot

It seems this spring we have had two temperatures...unseasonably cool or hot.

I have a feeling that hot is here to stay! After two weeks of rain every other day, the heat is here (hopefully the humidity will steer clear for a bit longer) and it feels like summer is just minutes away. The house is shut up tight and the AC is cranking...one of my least favorite transitions of the season. I want the weather to get warm, but I want it to stay cool enough to not need the AC. I feel like I'm in a cave.

Since I get up early with Lola nowadays, I decided to beat the heat and plant this morning. I'm going to do this every day until I have all pots planted, all beds weeded, all rocks pulled back. It's far better than doing it in the full sun. She whines the whole time I have her in the outdoor pen, but she'll get used to the routine. If I have to get up, she can deal with it!

Today I planted 5 perrenials and moved a few things around. I haven't bought but a few annuals yet. Shopping at the market last week with Lola was tricky, and this weekend is the annual flower sale downtown. we usually find lots of great things there. Hopefully Bart can play hooky and go with me :)

I'm also going to attempt poppies again. A neighbor behind us has a ton of them, and uses Liquid Fence to keep them bunny free. I'm pretty sure I have tried it, but her success makes me want to get them planted again.
Happy Tuesday!

what's new in my 'hood

Somehow it's the end of May and school is only in session for 20 some days. Crazy. The weather hasn't helped put me in 'summer mode' at all either. I was closer to feeling it in March when we had that 6 week stretch of goregous weather. Now it seems to rain every other day and has been chilly. I hope we are finally over the hump and I can start to plant some stuff!

Life with a puppy is very challenging! I love her to death but MAN is she a lot of work. I must have puppy amnesia, because i don't remember Buddy being as active as she is. He must have been...Jack Russells are an active breed. She gets into everything! Today had her chasing her first chipmunk and bumblebee. And another first-she licked a toad on the patio. It made her foam at the mouth and make her shake her head. Just about gave me a heart attack. I'm sure the people at the vet's office got a good laugh out of it. She was foaming because toads don't taste good. Naturally.

I pulled weeds for an hour today. Things are growing fast from all the rain. I have a lot of purples and yellows in bloom right now. Beautiful. Tomorrow I'll be heading to the farmer's market to pick up a few new lovelies. Friday and Saturday will bring the downtown flower sale as well, where I always find something unique and neat. I can't wait!
We also have 5 games this weekend. Aiyiyi. That's what ya get when you have almost 2 weeks off! I hope they are good ones :)

Noodlepalooza twenty ten

Another gorgeous day in Southeast Michigan. Gorgeous doesn't even begin to describe it, actually. Glorious is a better choice of words! Yesterday at 4:00 our temp. was 67 degrees. I find it extremely amusing that we were 2 degrees warmer than Miami! It's going to continue on through the week, and turn to cooler weather with a chance of rain over the weekend, ending with a possibility of snow showers on Monday. I knew it was too good to be true.

In other exciting (for me) news, my friend Heather is coming to visit for the weekend! She's my internet BFF and all around fun girl. It's ridiculous how excited I am. One of the first things were are going to do is go to Noodles & Co. for dinner on Friday right after she gets here- her choice. Just as I was geeked to go to Chipotle, she wants Noodles. She's also threatening to bring her Snuggie to wear to soccer games on Saturday, even though the games are indoors. We'll be traveling to Lansing to visit the best yarn shop in the state, watching 'Glee', and who knows what else we can pack into 36 hours!

I have been a busy bee, taking advantage of the weather the last few days and getting my garden up to snuff. All the dead stuff from the fall has been trimmed back to allow the tiny green shoots to reach for the sun. I cleaned up all the leaves that found their way back into our yard; 2 bags worth. The pond is running smoothly and I have to clean the filter daily. I wish I had a floating plant...it feels so naked and the 4 little fish I have left look so vulnerable. They are still moving slowly (the water is cold!) and I don't want some heron to come and pick them off. Not to mention the ducks...they're back! No sooner did I leave for soccer on Monday than they took up residence.

Time to tackle Evan's room. Wish me luck.

busy good

Those two words describe how things have been lately. I haven't taken the time to write anything down and then I forget all that's going on...

Case in point, Emma has a band concert tonight, and I somehow missed it even after my non-resolution to be on top of things. FAIL! Okay, it's mid March and this is the first thing I've missed, so that's pretty good. And I didn't miss it, I just didn't know about it.

My 'diet' is going just fine. I took the weekend off, and it was a lot harder than I thought it was going to be. I'm trying to stick to the same type of foods and portion sizes. Saturday was fine, but Sunday was not good because we were gone all day with soccer. And last night I was gone from 4:15 until after 8:30, so I ended up having pizza with Ev at the Sports Bar. (best pizza, BTW!). So I'm gonna just roll with the punches, and not get down when things aren't going just right. And eat less. That's okay too!

I worked out in the garden today for a few hours. I am so stiff and sore. I got the main pump in the pond running and cleaned out the filters, trimmed all the dead plant tops off, and sucked up an entire garbage can worth of leaves out of the beds. It's looking pretty good. Much more work to be done, but off to a good start.

And it's become obvious that I am going to need some new mulch this year. Jen? Trip to Michigan in your future??

I took this photo a few nights ago, and already the buds have gotten so much bigger. they are fuzzy now, ready to turn into new leaves. I can almost believe that spring is here!!

yellow finch

I don't get the variety of wildlife in my yard like either of my parents do. They have deer, possum, groundhogs, raccoons, woodpeckers, hawks, owls, and just about every bird imaginable.

We do, however, have finches.

Finches are beautiful. Their little song is so cheerful, and their coloring is amazing. They fly in big swooping arcs from tree to tree. I love them.

This time of year, my withering stems are covered in yellow finches, nibbling on seeds. I love to look outside and try to count how many of them are on at a time.

As the breeze gently blows, the stems bob and sway under their weight, but the birds hang on.

I think the finches are one of the reasons I love the garden so much. They add so much life to it.

tomatoes!

What we have here is the second ripe tomato* of the season. I'm going to try not to eat it all at once.

* the first ripe tomato of the season was thoughtlessly gobbled down by Bart. Selfish.

proof of life

I am so excited, I might wet myself!!

What we have here is a genuine, grown from seed, heirloom tomato! The gardening gods must have taken some pity on me and my 20+ tomato plants and decided to throw me some hope, in the shape of a tasty, juicy tomato!

Here is our ghetto planter. A leftover impatiens bag, repurposed. Plants that were going to be pitched, because I have used every available inch of space in the garden and outlying areas...
...naturally these are the first to show signs of tomaotes!
If I'm lucky, I'll get a few before Labor Day!! Woo-hoo!

I've got the blues, the reds and the pinks

I've got the blues, the reds and the pinks, originally uploaded by dogglips2.

but evidently most of all
I have the purples.
I didn't realize how many purple blooms I had until this week, when they all decided to bloom at once. I guess most of my favorite plants tend to have purple flowers!

my backyard

I know, impossibly tiny panorama photo. You can click on it to make it larger.

I wanted to show what I have been working on in the yard for the last few weeks!

On the left is my potting bench. Not a lot of activity going on there right now. I still have to pull out most of my pots.

On the left side of the patio table is the perennial garden. This is where I have worked  most recently, adding and moving things around. And weeding. I still have to lay down some fresh mulch and add some pots, but it's pretty complete. This side also has the birch tree, and in the distance is the hammock. It moves with the sun.

In the middle is a small brick walkway, mostly covered over with creeping thyme.

To the right of the umbrella is our chiminea, where we make smores. Lots of gooey, yummy smores. The huge spruce is right there, slowly creeping into the garden year by year.

Right next to the spruce is the Magnolia tree, which I love. I'm afraid that it will also be taken over by the spruce. Underneath the magnolia needs a lot of work; the dirt level needs to be brought up and there are some killer weeds in there. It's the spot that gets neglected most often. Stuff is hard to grow there.

Near is the front is the pond. I usually have lots of pots sitting around it as well but haven't gotten around to it yet. To the right of the pond is the walkway to the rest of the yard. There's Bart in the distance, under yet another tree planting stuff.

Still needs some work, but it's looking pretty good right now, and it hasn't been too buggy to sit out there.

things I did this weekend

shopped for plants

planted plants

eat blue cheese burgers

visited with family

relaxed in the hammock

finished a library book

played frisbee both canine & human

went to the drive in

planted some more stuff

slept in

stayed up late

farmtown

finished a pair of socks

ate buffalo burgers

enjoyed the sunshine

pedicure!

thought about planting more stuff

relaxed

swam

removed cactus spikes from the face of someone who wants to remain annonymous

played with the kids

ate hot dogs

laundry

started next pair of socks

and relaxed.

it was good.

guess who's going to have buttloads of tomatos?

We are!

Here we have 15 varities of Heirloom tomato seeds sprouting. Why 15, you may ask? I don't have a good answer. I just wanted to try a bunch of different types.

I started these seeds for my stepmom, the gardening goddess, for Mother's Day. If I'd have had the idea in say, March, we could just about be putting them into the ground right now. I didn't think of it until late April (natch) so we may have a late harvest.

how can you resist names like Delicious,Green Zebra, Cherokee Purple, Brandywine Yellow, German Red Strawberry, Yellow Marble, Hillbilly W Virginia, & Mortgage Lifter?

I am dreaming of all the delicious BLT's and gazpachos that I will make. Mmmmmm...
And look who has taken up residence in the thyme...bookworm gnome!

Have a beautiful Saturday :)