I'm planning to add annuals inside the pots this weekend.
And now the veggies....
This England: Rick Takes a Hike -- A Guest Post
20 hours ago
Monday, May 17, 2010
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48 comments:
I need Irises *waving hand*!
We had some very pretty ones but when we built our addition they didn't survive. Now, Hostas - those things survive.
Having cleaned up after a chicken, I know what awaits you on that porch ;0)
Thank you for the tour of your lush and lovely gardens.
What gorgeous images of your flowers and vegetables and herbs and soil and chickens. I love chickens. They leave their little messes but not so bad. Certainly nothing compared to the smell of the cat box or the piles of dog manure one has to constantly clean. ugh. Where is the new kitten?
The Iris is so lovely. The raindrops on the flowers so fresh. You just put me in a very good mood and I was quite cranky after posting about the oil spill, the "60 Minutes" interview w/ one of the survivors (I embedded the whole thing) and more. Bring me back to earth...if we have one left when we're all done.
Hey yeah, I could use some irises too! I'm shamed when I see posts like this. I have a black thumb. Or maybe I just don't try hard enough, I'm not sure. Everything is so beautiful!
What a green thumb you have Susan!...I love your mint pot...that is a great idea...and I wish my iris grew as prolifically as yours...do you have a lot of sun where it is growing?...your whole yard is lush...and the photos are perfection...I think I am going to go out and weed now:)
Your chickens are absolutely gorgeous! I love them! The rest of your beautiful photos are amazing. I love the titles underneath too.
Elle
PS My nana called violas johnny jump ups too!
Oh glory! I love to see your place, Susie! You really do have a lot of shade trees out front. But apparently you have plenty of sunshine to grow those flowers and veggies. FABULOUS.
I love the idea of mint in a pot too. The johnny-jump-ups are heavenly, one of my favorite flowers. But I think lady's mantle is one of my premier faves. The iris bud beaded is an image of immense beauty. But that barred rock (?) portrait is frame-worthy. I think you should!
Grow on, sweet things in Susie's yard. Eat up the carbon dioxide. Lay yummy eggs. Give her and David all your goodness. YAY.
Hey, you've already got your veggies well underway! Beautiful! I love the new style you've got going here too. Johnny-jump-ups... are those the same as violets? I just bought some chocolate mint and spearmint plants today. I'm planning to plant them with lavender. Should be a tasty bunch. I'm thinking homemade ice-cream.
I kept oohing and aahing all the way through this - I'm surprised you couldn't hear me! It all looks so peaceful and lovely, and the garden growing so generously should be on the cover of a magazine.
The macro shots were GORGEOUS - I loved the iris with rain droplets on it.
What a truly beautiful place you have, and the work that goes into it must be fulfilling, I imagine.
Have you always been a gardener?
Oh, Susan, this was fun. Such beautiful photos. I can't even pick a favorite. You're yard is lovely and the iris with the rain drops... aah.
I meant your yard... not you're yard. It's the middle of the night.
Oh, Molly, if only we lived closer! There's a reason irises grow on banks and in ditches....they're just beautiful weeds! Believe it or not, I just divided these a couple of years ago...must be all the chicken poop making them multiply like crazy! I'm always spraying it off the brick patio and into the flower beds.
I had beautiful hostas around an oak tree clump in the front yard, but between the squirrel, chipmunks and deer, there's barely any of them left.
Cali Girl, I'm glad I was able to make you forget for a few minutes that horrible mess in the Gulf. It depresses me so much, I can't even watch the news. I'm not very hopeful about them being able to stop it.
You're right, chicken poop isn't nearly as bad as the other two options. Unfortunately, I have those as well. The cats mostly stay outside in the warm months, so not as frequent on the litter box cleaning.
I think Sassy was in the house at picture-taking time, sleeping off her night of playing outside. They sleep in the 3-season room, too.
Well my gosh, Sandy, when would you have any time to devote to gardening?!! Two in the morning? I don't really do a whole lot to mine other than divide and conquer and pull a lot of weeds. It's the chicken poop! Makes everything grow like crazy!
Oliag, if you look carefully, you will notice that I craftily managed to exclude the weeds from my photos. Love the macro lens! I don't know that I have a green thumb, I think I just have the kinds of plants that thrive on benign neglect.
That area of my yard is the only part that isn't shady, so I make sure to keep sun-loving plants in that bed and the one beside the garage. We have problems with not enough sun on the veggie garden, so hubby will have to cut down a couple more trees this summer. We have lots of trees.
The yard looks lush now with all the rain we've been having, but just wait until July and August. It will be dry as a bone.
Thank you, sweet Elle! Those are my three Barred Rocks. I have 11 others who are six different breeds. I love watching them peck their way around the yard.
I did the captioning and frames on the pictures in Photoscape.
Ruthie, you are so sweet to me. I really love that iris bud photo, too. I didn't even notice until I got it uploaded that line of water beads on each side. Too bad the sun wasn't shining for a little prismatic effect. I love those barred rocks, too. I think it's funny that the one on the left almost has a comb and wattles as big as a rooster. She's the bossy one, too. ;-}
We have just as much shade in our backyard, too. It's just bigger, so I have that one open space off the patio, and the one where the veggie garden is. And it's not nearly sunny enough.
My poor lady's mantle! There isn't much left of it, because that's the area where the hens love to dust. It's probably less than half the size it was before the hens came. Oddly though, nearby I have cranesbill geranium and it has doubled in size. Go figure.
That mint is the one leftover from last year. I set the pot in the 3-season room last fall, not expecting the mint to live, because the frost had already frozen it back. I just didn't want the pot to crack. Lo and behold, in early March I noticed it had some new growth coming up. That was a nice surprise. I've already used some to make taboulleh.
Cindy, you'll have to hurry and get your veggies planted! What growing zone are you in up there? I think yours is similar to ours with you being in the warm jet stream.
We decided it was time for the sandbox to go away and be used for something more useful than a big kitty litter box! We were always telling the little ones that they couldn't play in it for that reason, so now we don't have to feel guilty about it. We still haven't decided what to put in there. It's a little on the shady side.
You do know that mint is very invasive, right? Even if you surround the roots with a barrier in the ground, they will break out. It was a real challenge removing what the previous owner had planted in the flower bed. That's why I only grow it in a pot. The ice cream plans sound delicious!
Johnny-jump-ups are violas, which are related to pansies and come from the violet family. We have lots of wild wood violets in the yard as well.
Thank you, Deborah! I think I did hear some faint sounds of oohing and ahhing coming from the northwest! I've always loved flowers and gardening, and we've always grown veggies, even if they were just in containers. You can take a girl out of the country, but you can't take the country out of the girl. I will always be that farm girl.
The lighting was just perfect yesterday for those shots. I didn't have to do a thing to them other than crop and frame. I love that kind of day.
We love it here in the summer (winters, not so much). It is very peaceful and Zen-like. It's why we don't live in a sub-division.
Bella, if you hadn't pointed out your error, I would have never noticed. :-} I make the same kinds of mistakes when I'm typing in the middle of the night, too. Thank you for your lovely compliments.
The buds of an iris are almost prettier than the opened flower.
Di
Your garden is amazing. I love all the pictures, and seeing so much lush green.
The hen picture did something to me... I thought I wanted to get some silkie chicks, but now I am mysteriously attracted to having a little posse of barred rocks cruising the yard... oh dear.
We always used to be in a zone 7, but recently it changed to 8-9. Spring is getting such a late start this year that I'll be planting only starts.
I do realize that mint is scary invasive. It's going into a pot with lavender. I have enough work keeping up with the morning glory and bamboo.
Good plan to eliminate the sandbox. When Isabel was little I took her to the vet (well, her doctor was clueless about this) to have some itchy, scaly spots on her legs checked. Ringworm. The vet said sandboxes are usually the culprit.
... my gardening philosophy: if a plant is called invasive I plant it and let it go:)...and I do just love being able to edit out all the weeds and debris...
Di, I know! I love that rich, deep purplish blue color of the buds.
Natalie, they are definitely the queens of the chicken coop. It's odd to me the way the breeds kind of stick together. My RIR's and EE's do the same thing. I've never had Silkies. I would think they would have to be well-protected since they have a hard time seeing with that head of feathers.
Oh, and thank you!
Oh, YIKES! Cindy, I had no idea about the ringworm! Ugh, makes sense though with the cats getting in there. We haven't let them play in it for a couple of years, thank goodness!
Wow! You're in an 8-9 zone? That's more like the southern states. No wonder flowers grow like crazy up there! I think we're in a 5.5 or 6...kind of on the border. Happy planting!
Oliag, you crack me up! Mint is definitely a very aromatic ground cover!
Love to crop! I should get a bumper sticker with that on it!
Thank you thank you for the tour of your wonderful gardens! You have herbs, too--yippee! Lemon balm makes a great "tea" but I guess it doesn't like being confined any more than mint does.
Love the irises, too.
Can't wait to see what happens with the tomatoes. You have a great source of "fertilizer".
Totally luscious post.
Thank you, dear ds. I enjoyed your visit! Yes, I have that little herb garden in front, and I have the sage in the flower beds. I was surprised that it wintered over. That hasn't happened here before. My mom used to keep a large bed of it going year to year, but she lived a few hours south of where we are now. She liked to sell it and make what she called her "mad money".
I wrote a comment this AM, but maybe I didn't hit send or maybe I just imagined that I wrote one. AHHHHH. It is so soggy here, I think it might just have fried my brain. I so admire your beautiful gardens and your exquisite photos of them, especially the gorgeous irises. They were quite soothing to view early this AM when it was pouring down rain here. Again.
I'm hoping for some reprieve soon, so I can get plants into the beds my kids prepped for me. I've got a shot at getting that done tomorrow!
If this is some repeat message, just kick it out. ;)
Mary
Flat Rock Creek Notebook
Hi Mary! I'm happy you enjoyed the pictures! I'm basically a maintenance gardener...the previous owners did most of the work installing all those lovely flowers. I do take credit for the veggies though, the hubby helped some though. ;-}
I hope you are able to get your planting done soon.
Your garden is fantastic; so many of my favorites so beautifully represented here. Your heuchera looks glorious - especially the macro close-up. A couple of years ago I planted a border of six and the gardener's new helper "weeded" out each and every one of them two weeks later :[
I adore your three-season room - how about an extra-long periscope?
Oh, dutchbaby! What a crime against heuchera!! I love them and they just thrive with neglect. I spied some new caramel-colored ones the other day that I think I'll add to give a little punch. They were gorgeous.
Right now my 3-season room is a MESS, so no periscope pictures. I can describe it for you though. It has white beadboard (the real thing, not the fake paneling) ceiling with a white ceiling fan. The walls are tongue-in-groove pine boards that are stained with a see-through white. The floor is blue and white checkerboard tile (not ceramic). And I have it decorated with farmhouse pictures, old wash basins, etc. In the winter it gets junked up pretty badly as it gathers all the stuff we don't want to bring in the house. It's a major effort in the spring to get it in shape. I really want to get some new porch furniture...maybe at the end of summer when it's all discounted.
I misunderstood what 3-season room meant. I thought you were referring to the outdoor room that was hidden from the windows around the corner; thus the periscope suggestion. Now I see you were referring to the windows behind the trees and that your 3-season room is an indoor room. The room sounds delightful. My sister-in-law has a very pretty porch room with furniture she painted a pretty shade of blue: http://www.flickr.com/photos/godutchbaby/3549440520/in/set-72157617711734191/
I know what you mean with the junk. My poor guest room was the dumping ground of all things I didn't know where to store yet. I finally got around to cleaning it up a few months ago. I will patiently wait for the "after" photos when your 3-season room is ready for its close-up.
Ahhhh, what a beautiful place you live. Your photos make me want to get out and work in my yard...almost.:) Chicken poo on your porch? That's nothing...you should try peacock! Thanks for a relaxing to view post.
I think I must have been overwhelmed the first time I looked at this post.......
Love the iris. I am not sure why, but they are one of my favourite flowers. (actualy, I have many, many favourites, but if you ask, I will say iris.)
And I like how you keep saying 3-season room - we'd probably just call it a summer room and hope for the best!
Absolutely gorgeous garden.
dutchbaby, sorry for the misconception! Yes, the room is between the kitchen and garage and an essential part of our summer entertaining. Well, it would be if we did any entertaining! :-} It definitely allows us to spread out a bit from the normal confines of our relatively small house. We spend a lot of evenings out there, especially when the mosquitoes are taking over the patio!
Thank you, Tammy. Hmmmm, I can just imagine the peacock poo...they're very large birds! It might be worth it though, to see that beauty every day!
Sanna, obviously you must have swooned and just now came to! :-} I wish you had somewhere to grow irises...I would bring you about half of mine! Seriously, they're taking over the beds.
The 3-season room is a loose interpretation...it just all depends on how kind spring and fall are. ;-}
Thank you, Gemma!
what a great post! Love your flowers, chickens and gardens! Sooo Charming!!
Cindy
Cindy, thank you so much! and thank you for visiting!
hi...just found you and love your blog and signed on to follow!
Hello, jaz, and thank you for visiting and your very nice compliment!
I have one Iris. I am in need of more, so that I can make my yard look like Monet's gardens or inpiration for Van Gogh! ;)
This artist needs some more flowers!!
We have half a dozen dark purple irises, but they aren't straight and I'm not sure what to do about it!
Love your walk through the yard. I was thinking of doing something similar since all of our flowers are in bloom, but I know it cannot compare to yours!
What wonderful grounds you have! So welcoming and restful.
And ....
YES! Lemon Balm IS A WEED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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