I plan to use this blog to tell you mostly about antiques and collectibles and issues in the market place but to tell you the truth - my yard is consuming most of my interest this week. So, I figured I'd show you some pictures and tell you what I know about the plants - BUT first, a picture of the one real antique in the garden...NO NOT ME!This one to the left is of my Lightning Rod...copper with a milk glass ball. And its standing by the trunk of what used to be a plum tree til lightning hit it about 10 years ago. - Don't mind the jungle behind it...that's forsythia that runs wild...I have to get my hedgetrimmer fixed and "shave" it back so it conforms more to the "fence" shape. In front of my little statue (thank you to my MIL for a birthday present years ago) are day lilies Stella D'Oro - (gold). These are everblooming - meaning once they start in a couple of weeks, they will have yellow flowers all summer.
Here we go - the back yard is shaded by a huge, wide pine tree -which coats the ground with pine needles and pine cones (more about them on another blog - my ONLINESELLINGFORFUNANDPROFIT blog .) So some things won't grow there. It also shades that side very deeply. There is, besides the pine tree, an Empress Tree. Now I love it, but it's got roots all over and also shades the yard quite effectively all through the spring and summer. Heck it shades the neighbor's house across the street in the FRONT. So I have Hostas growing there because they grow elsewhere in the yard (but those pictures disappeared. I'll find them and post them later.)
That's PART of the trunk of the Empress Tree - with Hostas all around it in the nooks and crannies so I never have to mow in there and those other little green things are violets (wild ones) so I'm leaving them. See the pine cones? keep them in mind - next week I have a post about what to do with them on the onlineselling blog. (which should give you a hint)
Now, that particular kind of hosta grows tall and wide - it's just not getting enough sun back here but this is what it looks like out front with about 4 hrs of sun...
This one is about feet across ....yep - that wide. It's also about 2 feet high. And about August will have tall spikey flower stems with delicate lilac flowers...which make excellent dried flowers or pressed flowers for crafts. The other corner of the yard is sunny but has a tendency to be a bog - so I planted "philadelphia" lilies - or tiger lilies or day lilies...what ever you want to call the. I love these. They just don't last long enough to suit me. Real short bloom time and real short bloom life but so pretty!! AND? the best part is, they are doing FANTASTIC in a wet place that has driven me nuts for 32 years we've been in this house - Check these out:
In another couple of weeks these will be masses of orange/reddish flowers! I personally think putting 10 plants in year about 10 years ago was the best gardening idea I've had.
THESE Are also excellent for drying or pressing and also for a craft I'll tell you about another time.... flower pounding. So much fun - such pretty things as a result!
Ok, that's the garden report for today - I'll show you more pictures when the lilies bloom...
oh wait - one last picture - this was my Mother's Day present from my son.... I did raise him right... It's a ROSE TREE - now all I have to do is keep it alive
