First Ski of the the Season

There were still fall leaves on the trees!

It was great to hit the snow trails at Sundance today for the first time this season. The snow was good; I was expecting it to be icy since there hasn't been new snow for a few days and it has been warmer in the daytime. But it was good and it was slow on the downhill, which is good as I'm just getting back my "ski legs" after nine months.

1:13 hours
2.84 miles

Fall 2009

I've been wanting some of these beautiful burning bush plants in my yard. I love the bright red color they turn in the fall.

Yesterday I went to Cook's - my greenhouse of choice, and bought 3 burning bush plants and 3 hosta plants. I just like them and wanted some in my yard. And they are discounted since it's fall. I also got 32 red tulip bulbs.

This morning is cold and windy and snowy. When I looked at the weather report I thought I better get my purchases in the ground while I can.


Here's my tulip bulbs being put to sleep in the ground for their long winter's nap. Sleep tight, babies. I can hardly wait to see you in the spring!

Goodbye Garden

I removed the garden into the garbage can, which I then couldn't move to the curb. Thank goodness for big strong sons to help!



I cleaned out the shed, where I found a bag of bark which I spread over the front garden beds after removing all the annuals. Halloween decorations are up!



I planted a few more pansies where some had died.

Little Purple Pansies Touched with Yellow Gold

In preparation for our Mission Reunion on October 1st I got the front yard looking good:

I trimmed all the bushes, deadheaded the plants,

An planted "little purple pansies touched with yellow gold"

As I put these little babies in their beds I patted them and encouraged them to grow pretty and strong.

(Pansies are hardy and come back in the spring after the hard winter, saying someone is a "pansy" should be a compliment!)

Pictures of My Garden in September 09

The Vegetable Garden

Back yard bed - I love to look at this one out the sitting room window

View of the front

The front porch

Saturday I cleaned the front yard and porch. It has been four weeks, so it was in desperate need of some attention. I hadn't planned to work outside on Saturday but I realized that everyone was coming for dinner on Sunday and I remembered something Daryle Hoole (author of "The Art of Homemaking") said: "If you only have 15 minutes notice that guests are coming the first thing you should do is sweep the front porch since that's the first impression they'll have of your home." So I worked on the front:

Cleaned out the beds of weeds and deadheads and even pulled out the "jumanji-ized" morning glory. I planted it this year because I love those blue flowers, but there weren't too many blossoms while the plant took over the bed. I finally switched the decorations on the porch from Fourth of July to Sunflowers. I hosed down the porch and got rid of all the moth webs.

Today I got to the backyard where I cleaned out all the beds, scooped poop, used the blower on the patio and harvested from my garden. It took longer than I planned and I had sweat dripping off my face, but it's done!

About this time of year I'm tired of yardwork and ready to pull it all out! But I know I have to hang in there for another month or two. I'll take some pictures tomorrow.

After a week on vacation my garden was in serious need of some attention. This morning deadheaded and weeded and cleaned all the cobwebs off my front porch (yuck!) I also used my new blower to clean out the garage, but the driveway will have to wait until it's cooler this evening

Yesterday I picked some red tomatoes and a couple of anaheim peppers from my garden! I grew food!

Morning Glory!

Too Many Flowers?

Today I went to Cooks and bought more geraniums and lobelia to fill in some empty spots. The were buy two, get one free so I got more than I needed ~ but is there really such a thing as too many flowers?!

My garden is growing!

Hanging baskets on the back porch

Today I weeded, deadheaded and sprayed MiracleGro on the front and back beds and the garden. I also used my new blower to once again get all the little black rocks from the new road off my driveway and out of my garage.

Just a quick run around the garden today: weeding, deadheading and spraying on the MiracleGro!

I didn't really plan to, but I spent six hours in the yard today! (and now I'm too tired to clean inside, which was what I was planning to do today) But it did feel good to get so much done and I love being outside. Here's what I did:

Front yard:
Cleaned the garage and inside my car
Deadheaded and weeded the beds
Trimmed the weeping tree - it's going crazy!
Hosed off the front porch and the entire driveway and gutter.
(I know that it's not PC to do that anymore ~ we live in a desert, don't you know! But we recently got our road resurfaced and the black bits of asphalt were driving me nuts. And I haven't done it in a year or more)

Back yard:
Trimmed up the trees and weeded the back bed
Weeded and hoed the garden
Poop scooped
Hosed off the patio (I know, the PC thing again)
Cleaned out the new campfire bowl - ready for next time!

It doesn't seem like this should take six hours, but I guess I'm getting old!
(I did take a lunch break inside for a little while)

Today I sprayed miracle gro on the garden, and all flower beds. My grass seed is coming up nicely. I need to do a more thorough trimming/weeding next week.

Yesterday I sprayed for bugs. I have had some of my petunias, zucchini and mimilus with their leaves all wholly and eaten - so distressing! Hopefully, the spray of Triazicide with take care of those pests!

I also weeded and deadheaded the beds.

Today

Today I finished the last two spots in the yard.

I cleaned out the weeds in the hammock bed.
I definitely need to spend more time IN the hammock!

This is the spot that where I took out the old, woody lilac bush last year. I finally got it cleaned out (I put roundup on the weeds a couple of weeks ago and got everything out with a pitchfork today) and I planted grass seed. Hopefully it will come up and fill in soon!

Today I also weeded, deadheaded and sprayed miracle gro on the front beds and the garden.

May 25, 2009

The backyard bed. I like it because it is a nice view from the sitting room window.

I got the patio and bbq all cleaned up and ready for summer

I like how this tree is growing and provides shade for the patio in the evening. I planted a new flower "mimilus" here this year. I usually do impatiens.

Annie and the garden. I'm working on getting a fence guy here to fix the broken post.

The mailbox bed. I planted dark blue lobelia, marigold, light blue lobelia and pink petunias in a pattern across the front.

I am so pleased with the climbing clematis growing up the mailbox. I planted it at least five years ago and this is the first year that it has really taken off.

Since taking out the pine tree last year I had a space so this year I added a juniper, a varigated dogwood and a columbine (perennials) and a couple of geraniums (annuals)

You can see the blooming (blue,lacy flowers) forget-me-nots at the end of this bed. I love them! I added four more forget-me-nots this year on either sides of the barberi.

I planted the same pattern of lobelia, marigold and petunias in front of the laurel bush, but something keeps eating the petunias! I planted them twice. Heather says it's snails that hide in the bark during the day and eat the petunias as night.

The front porch in all its Fourth of July finery. I moved the Ikea chairs out to the porch for more seating. I think the spot in the lawn is from Annie - I guess I'll have to do something about that.

The Past

As I start this new garden journal I wanted to begin by recording the garden journal I kept for last year.

Note: MG = miracle gro, W = weed


MARCH -cleaned out beds

APRIL
20 $225 take out lilac, tree, trim laurel
29 $171 Cook's

MAY
4 clean out rocks & window wells
6 roundup weeds
8 MG, deadhead geraniums
13 MG
28 MG Clean out front

JUNE
3 clean out rocks /sand
9 plant lobelia mailbox & laurel, geraniums & daisies/Fourth of July porch, trim weeping cherry and plant veg garden, MG front &back
10 clean out back beds, plant impatiens, add bark
13 plant 12 tomatoes, MG back
14 shed clean
20 manure in garden $60
26 MG all

JULY
10 W/MG all
21 weed front
28 weed all

AUGUST
30 weed all

SEPT
pulled out lobelia, fall décor

OCT
14 cleaned out beds, plant flat pansies blue & white, 60 blue scilla bulbs 64 red & yellow tulips in bunches in 3 in frontbeds. Turned off water cleaned outvalves and left cap off in front yard (Todd)

My New Blog

I decided to start this new blog to be my garden journal, a place to record the work I do in my little piece of God's green earth.