Fertilizer Friday

Hey everybody! Ya'll know what day it is - TGIF. I am ready for the weekend. But before we start our weekend let's get together over at Tootsies and flaunt our bloomers and hopefully some of us are fertilizing. Whatever - let's get the party going here. http://www.tootsietime.com/

Blogger is now loading different and all of my photos were loaded in reverse order. Oh well - the changes will take some getting used to.

I got around to weeding this bed and it really is showing too much dirt - so what's a gardener to do. Think I'll go buy me some more color. The okra hibuscus is laying on the ground here. It'll break if I try to tie it up but it is still giving me some blooms.

I like the way this area looks. The colors really pop against the dusty miller. Zinnias yellow and pink and pink begonia with white vincas. Yet to bloom are my shasta daisy's. I am not expecting my lupine to do anything.

A closer look at the zinnias. I like how that so many are blooming in this one spot.

I am collecting seeds now from my zinnias. I will be looking for folks who would like some of these beauties. They grow around 4+ feet and will topple over in the wind. These are kinda on the ground but are still blooming beautifully. They grow best in 6+ hours of sun and are tolerant of dry conditions. Zinnias are a no fuss plant except for being so big.

Darn it some places on my post my curser wants to be in the center and then it finds itself over to the left. And then I can't get between some photos.

Anyway the dahlias are still beautiful.

Hope you all have a wonderful and safe Independence Day. 1776-2010 Happy Birthday America

This and That

This is my new friend here. I've been using the bike now for a week (well since It came to my house to visit). It's hard when first starting but I am quickly working up on my time.

Ya'll the change in blogger is going to take some getting used to for this gal who is not so proficient. The photos load different. I can't get my text to align on the left. O well. Some of the changes are better but...

Above - I believe this is a purple cone flower. I planted these seedlings back around the beginning or middle of May and they haven't grown much. I am still hoping for some blooms maybe late summer.

This my Rose of Sharon and a Purple Balloon flower. Yes they are very close together. The Rose of Sharon probably isn't going to grow much this year and the other flowers here will be relocated. The balloon flower was planted at the same time as the coneflower early May.

The purple jasmine (forgot the proper name) is doing well with some new blooms. I can't get close enough to get my nose down that low to the ground so I have no idea how much smell it has. I don't smell it when I

walk by.

I absolutely have no idea what I'm doing here the crap isn't doing what I want. I can't get my curser between these photos. I am gonna scream because I'm already not having a good day. Above is morning glory and evening glory.

I am a terrible gardener. My name is Rebecca and I have neglected my babies. They need me and have been calling but I didn't respond. The flowers have been asking if I could get rid of some of the ugly weeds blocking their beauty and oh please give us some food.  OK babies I'm coming with gloves and fertilize to take care of those unsightly weeds so the flowers can smile and I can see their smile as they put on another show.

Well look here - where my cursor landed this time.

Look what I got in the mail. Good to get mail besides bills. Yea! Lona from A Hocking Hills Garden shared her seeds. Thank you Lona. Ya'll if you haven't already go check out her blog. She has the prettiest gardens.








Under the pear tree the animals are enjoying the fruit. The ground is covered in half eaten fruit. I don't think that the honey bear has been here or there probably wouldn't be any sign of a pear. Besides the last time the honey bear came up he shook all of the fruit from the tree. Smart one isn't he.





The Gulf Oil Spill. Everyday there is new news on the oil spill. Hurricane Alex is giving us a wake up call - not that we needed one but everyone here has wondered and expected exactly what is happening. The storm though it is far from us the effects are felt all the way up to our beaches as the oil is pushed up even more. Local tv crews went out yesterday and dug what looked like 10 or so inches and there were several layers of oil beneath the surface. Only the cosmetic oil is being removed. Children building sand castles are getting what feels and looks like oil sheen mixed as they dig and the hole fills with water and oil. It doesn't sound safe. Wondering what will be the long term effects on humans who let kids play there and sun bathers.
The oil is in our estuaries and will effect marine for a long time. Animals are dying every day here. The recent suicide of one of our local fisherman-actually he had a charter boat business really hit home. The crisis is so personal here. Prayers for the family who lost this loved one. A local blogger knew this family and she has posted today on her blog. Check it out here http://linda-coastalcharm.blogspot.com/.

I have been enormously busy the past 10 days and haven't been able to get around to visit as I normally do. I WILL be around to visit as I can. It will get better.

Fertilizer Friday

Good Friday Morning. It's Friday and that means it's time for Fertilizer Friday hosted by Tootsie. Ya'll go head on over and check out who else is flaunting their beauties this week.

There isn't much to flaunt at my place so I'm kinda winging it. The daffodils have died off and so has anything else at my place. I say it is time for some color - so what's a gardener to do - head over the local nursery or Home Depot and purchase color. That is what I intend to do this weekend. It'll be a while before the seeds put on a show if at all this year.

Imagine my delight when I found this little baby from last year. It survived this harsh winter we had. Most of the time begonia's are treated as annuals. Actually I have always had such good luck with begonia's. They are resilient and they surviving the harsh winters and the unyielding heat in the summer. With a little trimming they grow fuller with flowers that just keep on giving. When you trim the begonias if you take the trimming and just stick the ends into the ground they usually will take root.

I am about over the seeds now. This is all I have left and they are going into the ground or pots this weekend. Some have made it and some just didn't do anything at all. I have discovered that seeds are peculiar. This is what I did. My first batch of seeds I sowed some of them did very well and some nothing. When I did the second batch of seeds I sowed some seeds that I did the first time that I had good success with and they didn't do anything and some that did nothing in the beginning did the second time. Oh well I have plenty to deal with and some have not made to the gardens yet. I am planning to get started on the newly tilled area that I showed on Tuesday's post. Many of the seeds that have yet to be started will go into the new garden space.

The dahlia's just can't stand not having a daily dose of water. We had rain last week so they should not be so greedy but they are. The empty areas you see here will be filled up this weekend with some newly purchased blooming plants. I can't stand not having color in any of the beds.

The lupines are such strange plants. They have interesting leaves and the leaves are always face up. Even when they flop over like this one has. They just simply lay on the ground. I can't wait to see some blooms on this.

The yellow hibuscus with a red eye from Darla is doing very well. Hope they put out some flowers this year.

Darla's milkweed is also doing well. Hope they mature and the butterflies are able to use the plants this year.

That's it for the gardens this week. I hope everyone has a super good weekend. I'm ready for the weekend now. Just a few more hours to go. We get off at noon on Fridays.

PS Has fuel prices jumped where you are? Gas has gone up 8-10 cents a gallon overnight this week. There isn't even a shortage of gas. I bet we see prices of at least $3. a gallon before Memorial Day.

Fertilizer Friday - Coming Up Green

Good morning everybody! It's that time again when we all get together to flaunt our flowers and fertilize those babies. Ya'll head on over to Tootsie's and check out her fine blog and see what she is doing in the Greenhouse. And I know you want to know who else is participating and flaunting their pretties.



It just so happens I don't really have much to share other than some green coming up here and there. All of my stuff is still in the seedling stage other than the color I purchased which are not shown today. They still look the same except for a ton of buds. I'll share next week. I fertilized them last Fri so they are really taking off.

My first art for the butterfly garden. I like the angel here and will be adding more angels.


Johnsons Blue Geranium is really happy here. That is snapdragons coming up - the wind caught some seeds. It's OK though maybe they'll flower.

Catherines Red Breadseed Poppies are really popping now. Take a look and that isn't all of them.

The last of the pear blossoms.

Me neighbor looks at me funny when I am outside with my camera. Especially when I am taking photos of the ground. He was laughing the other day when I was out taking pictures of the little ones coming up. That's a blogging gardener for you.

Weeds with flowers.

Different weed with flowers. Does it look like I am looking for stuff to post for Fertilizer Friday?

I've been hearing the birds singing and didn't realize they were so close. A birdnest inside the window screen. (Ya'll I am embarressed by the appearance of the outside of my house but I am hiring someone to power wash and paint it in the next 3 weeks.) I don't see any eggs in it. Can't figure how the momma bird thinks she is going to get those babies out of there.

I have lots of seeds sprouting. Yellow Okra Hibuscus, milkweed, forget me nots, purple balloon flower (all from Darla) and red melon poppies and foxglove from Tatyana, and sweet william double mixture, pansy, petunia, lettuce and cosmos. A few more that I cannot remember.

Some of these will be planted next weekend. Shasta Daisy and Johnny jump ups and sweet pea everlasting.

Awwwe another toy. The other arm is already gone. My sweet little Buddy.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Babbling...

I had a great weekend and very productive. With weather like we had over the past week, even if you aren't a gardener the outdoors was calling all people.



I planted the Russell Strain Lupines and the Red Breadseed Poppies. Both seemed to be happy outdoors. I planted clumps of Poppies like Darla suggested. I managed to plant 18 small clumps of poppies and 17 seedlings of Lupine. The snapdragon is still so small I didn't want to plant yet. The seed start mix is so fine that it is difficult to retrieve the seedlings from the container. I decided to add an organic indoor potting mix to the seed start. I mixed 4 parts seed start to 1 part potting mix. I believe that this is going to give me a better root system for transplanting. I also figured that if I don't get a BUNCH of seeds started this week that I will be running behind.

I spent a great deal of time trimming trees and bushes. Much more to do since my yard is so huge. I can walk under them again.

My washer went on the fritz in the middle of the week last week. It was taken out and went for repair and is to be returned today. A very old fridge also sat in the utility room and was removed (thank you Lord). So my utility room is getting a clean up. Everything is still sitting in my kitchen and is getting pretty annoying. The room needs to be painted but we'll see if that happens. I am adding some shelving and hopefully a pantry of some sort. I really hate when an appliance goes on the fritz - this often means replacing it. Thankfully it has been repaired but don't ya hate when everything else is put on hold pending the repair.

Spent some time with Mom and Pop. I planted her seeds in some containers for her. I'll plant more this weekend for her. They are not feeling good these days. Both of them take 1 or 2 naps a day. Last year at this time Pop had both of the huge gardens plowed and some stuff planted already. The fall that he took 3-4 weeks has really affected him. Falling 10' is bad for anybody and falling into a greenhouse that is full was really bad.

We are expecting a 2-3" of rain today and tomorrow and then clearing off for another beautiful weekend. Hope my plants don't drown.

Time changes this weekend. Don't forget to spring forward.

Hope everyone has a great day and maybe enjoy some outdoor stuff. To all of you gardeners out in the yard today - I'm jealous.

This and That Weekend

We were expecting some beautiful weather and warmer days and we got it . Friday was a beautiful 60 degrees and Sat and part of Sun were beautiful. Clouds began to move in on Sun but still it was a good day too. I got out and accomplished a lot this weekend.


On Sunday I was running out of time getting the broccoli and lettuce in the ground. I was scrambling for edging for this bed. I was able to use a thin piece of flashing from the house that wasn't usable. I put it to use. I also found some plates in the shed we worked on this weekend and they were perfect. The broccoli and lettuce will be very happy here facing the south. I amended the already rich soil with some compost I made last year and mixed it in well. What you see on top is the seed start mix they started in. The backside of this area will be filled in with leaves or whatever. That is the drip line off the house.

Speaking of compost - I learned a lesson this week - don't use green onions that still have the roots on them. They will try to root in the compost. They won't decompose unless you remove the root.

I have a question - do you think I will need to cover this with plastic with the cooler temps coming in? The lows are going into the low 30's. Help me garden Buddies.






This is the front porch bed I started last weekend. I started out with a curved front. Well I had to keep evening it up....


after evening it up 3 times this is what I ended up with. The area is about 6 1/2' wide and 13' or so long. I think this will hold a lot flowers. I have to finish up the edging and rake it out with some added fine garden soil with vermiculite. This garden will receive 6 or so hours of sun a day.
I am looking forward to filling it up. There is another garden in the front that I will be enlarging too and also a garden around the pecan tree in the front to work on.

This will be the new spot for a veggie garden. You see here it is the middle of the day and there is plenty of sun. Any poor plants like the Dusty Miller in this area will be relocated.

This is where the veggie garden was last year. It is the middle of the day like the other photo but it is shade. This is why my garden didn't fare so well last year.

My friend and I worked hard on the shed out back burning lots of trash and limbs and clearing out an area that was snakey looking. There are still many good finds in the shed but look what I salvaged this trip. I have not had a real dining table in 5 years and well this one is going to work fine. It had car oil and all kinds of other stuff on it and was covered in webs but it cleaned up nice. It is old and VERY heavy and solid wood.

Another find in the shed. It is in perfect condition with a little rust but it is going to clean up nicely too. I need a little paint and some cushions. (Please don't look at how dirty my porch is - It needs painting and powerwashing but will come later. I've only lived here 2 years and you should've seen it before I moved in). I love the iron work on the chair and its fan shaped back.

Do you know what this is? Take a good look. Well some of you do - it's a BIG Christmas tree stand. My first thought - oh that looks good and usable for some plants and then I saw what it is and I still intend to use it for that. It will work great - put some holes in the bottom and dress up the thing in the center and WA-LA. It'll look good up in the garden bed.

Of the seeds I planted - this is the only lupine up and it's the Russell Strain Lupines from Hometown seeds. No others are even hinting at coming up yet.

This is the tray of Red Breadseed Poppies I received from Catherine at A Garden in Progress. OK Catherine - tell me how much do I need to thin these babies out. The seeds are so tiny there was no chance of just dropping a couple of seeds. Look at them. I think I will have lots of poppies. After taking the photo I put up the Foil folders to keep them from reaching out the window so bad.

Since I was into getting dirty this weekend I repotted the house plants too. These 3 containters I picked up 2 weeks ago at Walmart for $3. a piece on clearance. I love the red, orange and the yellow colors.

The green pot I picked up at the Goodwill. I love it.

Well that wraps up a busy weekend.

I've had a couple of comments asking me about my 'friend'. He is a fellow I broke up with last year. It's one of those - I like to be around ya and have some fun but ain't gonna live with ya. He drinks too much and never stops talking and is extremely messy. I like him and enjoy his company but I don't think I'll ever marry again and don't think I'll ever live with another man either. His name is John.

This and That

SNOW - in Mobile County namely in Citronelle. Citronelle is 30 some odd miles from City of Mobile where it measured 1/2". I received at least 5" plus and it was beautiful. I cannot remember when it snowed this much here. It began to snow around 5:15a on Fri and snowed till 3 in the afternoon.

It is still snowing in this photo.
Buddy is in the snow and he doesn't know what to think of this stuff. So he just sat down on it and looked at it swirling around his head.

See my foot prints.

While the snow swirled around his head be decided to catch some of the funny stuff falling from the sky.

Click to enlarge. Buddy is not on a leash and he is burying his head in the snow. He was so fun to watch. Like a kid romping and hopping through the snow. Since he wasn't he didn't come home for 40 minutes and I did not go after him - still snowing. I don't go after him anymore - that seems to encourage him to go farther because he can see me. When he can't see me anymore he'll hang closer.

I set the iron bird feeder in the middle of the yard and little birds flocked to it. They were so pretty in the snow and they were hungry too. See the one flying in from the top left.

On Saturday I was coming out the door going to Moms when my foot slipped on the ice on the second step - my feet into the air and I landed on my butt just below the tail bone and hit the back step with the middle of my back. Fortunately I didn't break anything. I'm just sore. The snow was melting and melting off the house onto the porch and formed a piece of black ice on one step. Lesson learned - hold onto something going down and watch for ice after a freeze.

Buddy played inside with his little friend - Molly. Molly is rat terrier and is on the other side of Buddy going at it.

Molly has pinned him down and was going for the choke hold when Buddy rared up to bite her. These two wrestle like WWE.

Of course me being the flower minded person that I am I couldn't stay out the dirt any longer. I began to have some withdrawals so I planted me some seeds. I planted Red Breadseed Poppies, Snapdragons, Lupines and Russell Strain Lupines from Hometown Seeds. The lettuce and broccoli is soon going in the ground to make room for more seeds. And I love that the seed sprouting containers are reusable.

Check out my Blue Hyacinth. This photo was this morning and the next photo was yesterday. (didn't load them right) It grew so much overnight.

I have been checking outdoors for new growth.

Here my hydrangea from Springhill Nursery appears to be coming along. This is going to be transferred to the new porch garden real soon. I spent 40 something on plants from Springhill Nursery last year and this is the only one living. Won't do that again.

The pear tree is budding but isn't so pretty yet. This is the peach tree - every tip has a bud. This is what it looked like yesterday. Sun shining and pretty skies. The snow is still melting today.

This is the blueberry bush with buds on every tip.

The bridal wreath is budding out nicely.

Since the snakes aren't active yet I stepped into my shed out back - just the first 8'. Don't laugh - I'm scared of anything moving in there while I'm standing there. I might have a heart attack while I'm screaming.

Anyway this is one thing I've been wanting to take out of there. Look what good shape it is in. There are 2 more out there but the seats are kinda eaten. Darn Critters.

Look at the back - isn't it neat. I don't know how old it may be - probably from the 60's. Got any idea?

Hope you all are having good weather. Happy Gardening and Planning.