The Little Log Cabin By The Creek

I have a friend that lives down at the bottom of the road from us. They call it their little log cabin and it's tucked in the woods with a creek at the edge of their back yard. It's just charming. Part of that charm is all of her yard art. I need to go junkin' with her but then we'd probably end up knocking each other down trying to get to the same thing first. This little guy driving the tractor looks so cute when the wind is blowing and his wheels turn.

This tree art she has is kind of eerie as some of it blends right in with the tree.




Some succulents planted in an antique tea kettle sunk into the ground.
Even her drain spouts are cute.




I took these pictures before she had much blooming or planted in containers.

I've Come To Appreciate Parking Strips . . .

I took my camera to town the other day (when dropping off my computer)in search of blooms since nothing was blooming up here so I could enjoy some color. On my way I looked off to my left and there was a parking strip just a bloomin' and I thought I'm going to come back and get that picture and send it to Karen over at GREENWALKS Gardening where the sidewalk ends to add to her collection of posts on these really great strips - parking strips, hell strips, garden strips - apparently they have a number of different names.I did my business then headed back down the main street where I had come in and since there was traffic behind me I turned and figured that strip display was probably on the next block or so. Well it wasn't but I found another one . . ..
and another . . .
and another.
This little section of town was loaded with them. I never did find the one that was only 1 block off of the main street. But I found so many more. This one had such a nice variety of color, size and textured plants and shrubs.
A month ago I probably wouldn't have even noticed these strips unless they were so brilliantly colored with blooms ya couldn't help but see them. But reading GREENWALKS posts has brought them to my attention and heightened my awareness to a level of wanting to see more of these delightful strips people have taken upon their own to landscape.
I told her I had wanted to take just this one picture to send to her and then ended up taking a whole camera full because this neighborhood had so many. She very graciously told me since I had so much fun taking these pictures I should go ahead and enjoy doing the post myself.First let me say I'm not as knowledgeble as she is about the trees, shrubs and flowers so I'll just show the pictures and if you want a real treat be sure and visit herblog for more strips and much more informative posts.
Some Yucca plants on each side.
This one where the 2 streets come together looks like it's filled with Sedums.
This looks like their yard but it does have sidewalk going through.
Each tree has it's own planter built around it with a variety of flowers in each one.

I thought all 3 of these trees were very interesting.
A close up of the 2 strangest ones.
And some decorative stairs with white Heathers blooming.

My Flowers Are Finally Blooming . . .

We’re getting a jump on the weeding around this place. This shady side area started out to be a fern garden and then I started adding other things. A friend put in Calla Lilies and in front of them she put a green with white trim Hosta and it looked so good – almost like it was one flower because the white in the Hosta matched the Calla so well. I don’t know if you can see it in the picture or not but what the nursery sold me as 2 of the same Hostas are not looking alike and didn’t last year either. One is a lot bigger and has more of a yellow cast to the trim. Not to mention they are a lot bigger than what I had wanted. So I think I’ll just get a couple of smaller ones and put these somewhere else. In this garden I have a couple of ferns, Callas, Hardy Fuchsia santa claus, New Zealand Brass Buttons looks like a little fern groundcover and Saxifraga London Pride in the front right corner. It’s bloom has a long stem sticking up with this tiny little flower but after taking the picture and looking closely I couldn’t believe how beautiful it is – like someone took a brush and spattered paint all over it.
I never would have expected to see a bloom like this on Saxifraga London Pride Around the corner in a still shady bed are 5 Heucheras (3 different kinds), 2 different Columbines, 2 different Bleeding Hearts, Jacobs Ladder, Heathers, Armeria, Jack Frost, Hardy Orchid, Pulmonaria, Hardy Fuchsia Double Otto and 2 Hostas. I put my new Heuchera Snow Angel in an old tub I found at an estate sale to give it added height behind Heuchera Plum Pudding, who is behind Jack Frost but hopefully will be taller when full grown. If not I’ll have to move it over a bit. I had Bob divide up the Callas and line them all across the bed to give a green background through the summer. It should look great when it fills in.
Bleeding Hearts
Wild Bleeding Hearts
Heuchera Snow Angel
Heuchera Plum Pudding
Jacobs Ladder
The Columbines are blooming and first is my newest one Winky Rose.
A front shot
Cardinal Song
Purple/wine colored Columbine with white center.
Front shot.
I had mentioned in an earlier post that I thought this Purple Columbine was 3 ½ to 4 feet tall so I just measured it in full bloom and it is 45” tall.
A closer view.
A wash tub with Columbine Clementine Rose and some Creeping Charlie blooming.
Columbine Clementine Rose
Creeping Charlie blooming and he smells sooooo good.
Looks like I'll have to do more tomorrow because there is still more blooming for a change!

It's Fertilizer Friday . . . Flaunt Your Flowers!

It's Fertilizer Friday - let's see what's blooming . . .
It's Fertilizer Friday so be sure to go over and visit our hostess Tootsie and see what's blooming in everyone's gardens after fertilizing every Friday! Join in on the fun while you're there too.I just got this Beauty Berry Profusion less than a month ago and it needed some TLC and it has little berries on it already. I was really surprised!
This is another Campanula I have. It's a small one about 10" tall but the bloom is big like my tall Peachleaf. It's called Carpathian Harebell Blue Chips.
I believe this is Clematis Jackmanii - it was given to us and blooms like crazy.
Hot pink Ice Plant - Delosperma something.
The Lilies are blooming - they made it without a nibble!!!

A new dark one - I did a swap with the neighbor and she didn't know the name of it. A beautiful dark one.

Lychness

Malva Zebrina or known as a small Hollyhock
Red Hot Pokers
My bloomin' stairs filled with Wolley Thyme didn't bloom in every stair. Hmmm what to do. I have another set on the other side of the yard. We lined them up with the 2 stairways coming off of the deck for easier access to the upper yard.

Fertilizer Friday - Flaunt Those Flowers!

Begonias sitting on a stepping stone that my Grandson made for me. More Begonias in my old tool box planter. The Lobelia must be on steroids - it's almost got the Begonias covered up.
Wave Petunias
Wave Petunias
Would you believe my Bleeding Hearts are still blooming? They never do that. Are yours?
Ice Plant going wild now in an old breadbox
The Callas are starting to open
They are so pretty with a matching Hosta
Cardinal Song Columbine is blooming again but looks smaller and different than before.
This is the Columbine I was checking every day waiting to open when the deer wiped it out. It finally bloomed again but no pink bloom with it this time. It's also a lot smaller.
Another Columbine is re blooming. Strange because this one is in the hottest place of all my Columbines. I thought they liked more shade.
Jackmanii starting to bloom up a tree.
Garden Phlox
Asiatic Lily
Phyglius Cape Fuschia Funfare Wine

Take Cuttings 3rd Week In July For Best Results

I read an article by local garden expert Marianne Binetti 3 years ago about taking cuttings from your shrubs and perennials during the third week in July and I've been doing that ever since. In fact I've been prepping to get ready for that week to make things go a little faster for me. Cleaning out the greenhouse and making room for about 50 or so starts. Getting soil in the pots so I don't have to take my precious cutting and planting time to do that. Just little things to speed up the process.

She says the third week of July is a great time to save some money and make new plants from your favorite shrubs and perennials. Dirt cheap gardeners know most plants can be started from stem, root or leaf cuttings, and the secret to making new plants is to just keep cutting, poking the stems into soil and seeing if they "take" or form roots.

She said her lazy gardening method is to poke the pruning crumbs of freshly trimmed lavender, sage, ueonymous and other perennials with stiff stems directly into the moist soil near the mother plant. She pokes a half dozen stems into the ground and maybe one will survive if she remembers to water. You've got nothing to lose and new plants to gain.

Stem cuttings of shrubs are also easy to make and July is the month to take softwood cuttings of abelia, azaleas, camellia, choisya (Mexican Orange) heather, hydrangea, dogwoods, kerria, mock orange, potentilla, weigela, wisteria and any other shrubby plant that you would like to share or disperse around the garden.

Here are the three easy steps to free plants:
1. Choose a shoot of branch that is soft or pliable. It should be flexible enough to bend and not snap which is why these summer cuttings are called "softwood." Look for branches no thicker than a pencil. Snip off the soft and floppy tip growth from your cutting, leaving a stem about six inches long.
2. Next, strip off the lowest leaves and poke the stem into a pot of rooting medium. Easy-to-root shrubs like hydrangea, willow and forsythia will root if you poke them into the moist potting soil that holds your flowering annuals or perennials. As long as the soil is moist, drains freely and is not being blasted by the hot afternoon sun, the cuttings have a chance to form roots. If you're willing to put in a little more effort, fill a pot with equal parts peat moss, sand and Perlite. The peat moss keeps the mix moist while the Perlite and sand allow for free drainage so air can get to the developing new roots. Insert several cuttings into one pot so the lower half is underground and the top half of the cutting, with at least one pair of leaves, is above the soil level. Remove any leaves that will be covered with the soil, and pinch out any flower buds.
Tip: Most cuttings rot and fail due to fungal infections. Use a clean knife when you take the cuttings and make sure your pots are clean as well. Fresh potting soil or a sterile peat moss and Perlite mix helps banish the fungus.
3. Now you need to keep the rootless cuttings from wilting. Store the pot in a shaded place and keep the soil moist. Mist the foliage if it starts to wilt but do this in the morning so you don't have damp leaves overnight. Some gardeners cover the newly stuck cuttings with a plastic bag (poke a few air holes in the plastic for better air circulation). Shrub cuttings taken this summer should have roots and be ready for transplanting into the garden by next spring.
Dirt Cheap Tip: Professionals use a rooting hormone to increase the odds of their rooting success. Dirt cheap gardeners can use the natural power of willow water. Just cut up sections of willow stems (any type of willow from weeping willow to pussy willow) and soak in a small amount of water. Insert your just-cut stems into this water for 24 hours. Then pot them up and water with the remaining willow water. All willows contain salicylic acid, which is a natural rooting hormone - for free.

Some of the plants I've started are:

Lacecap Hydrangea
Lilac Trees
Weigela
Soapwort
Guara
Mallow
Butterfly Bush
Azalea
Red Valerian

How Exciting - A Ladybug In My Garden

A couple of days ago I finally got out again to walk around and see if anything else was sprouting or could I possibly hope for a bloom? Not likely around here as we're usually a couple of weeks later than everyone else because of being higher. But I do have a friend whose flowers are even later than mine - that'll teach her to live 5 miles straight up. But it's worth it - you should see the view she has!

Ok back to my stroll. Right out the door I checked a few containers on the deck and found some Sedum Tri Color,

and some life showing on the rose my husband put in a container as the deer were chewing on the main plant. We don't often get to see roses bloom so we moved them closer to the house and we got to see a few but now the deer are checking there too.

Then I saw some little Johnny Jump Ups with the yellow tops. I had already shown one with the purple top on an earlier post that had bloomed all winter through the rain, snow and freezing weather.
In a bed next to the deck is some Spiderwort - I love this flower and I have it in 2 different colors. Now that it's good and established I plan on putting some everywhere to fill in and keep the flower buying $s down.
and some Columbine that is a really tall purple one I don’t know the name of as I think it was given to me.
Next, up to the greenhouse in a flowerbed I started on one side of it last year I found some Purple Coneflower,

and Siberian Irises. This is a mauve one I bought about 5 years ago and it has had the hardest time getting going. It was blooming the year I bought it and then quit until last year. Hopefully it will continue to grow now. I have lots of purple and lavender ones and I give them to everyone I have so many. But this little guy hasn't done well.
I went into the greenhouse and decided to take a picture of one of my Lacecap Hydrangeas that I started last summer. It looks great so I hope it makes it.
And there was a little pink viola blooming – I have one blooming outside too but it was hanging it’s head down so I grabbed this picture.
Back outside I have a little pot of hyacinths that were in a bed last summer but spread out everywhere and didn’t look so great so I stuck all of them in this pot last spring and will replant them at a later date. I took this inside to force a bit since I didn’t have anything for the experiment I posted about forcing bulbs and trees.
In fact look how much they’ve grown in about 3 days. And there's 3 little blue blooms you can see if ya look really close.
Then I looked over and was really happy to see some color up by the pumphouse where I have some Crocuses blooming.
3 days ago they looked like this when I took a picture and didn't get it posted.
Then I headed back over to where I had been by the greenhouse and was looking at a bunch of starts I have in 5 inch pots and there sitting pretty as you please on my Wormwood plant was a little ladybug. That had to be the thrill of the day to see her and get a picture.
Over at another bed I found some Phlox peeking out
then across the yard some Hardy Bachelor Buttons – is it Cornflower,
some Lupins
and Autumn Joy.
Around the corner where it’s a bit shadier I found Heuchera Plum Pudding, and as you can see we have lots of needles from all the fir trees around our place.
Bleeding Heart
and Brunnera Jack Frost.
I hope this wasn't too long, drawn out or boring for you but I didn't want any of my flowers to feel slighted for being left out. They are, after all, part of the family!

Blooms At Last

Imagine my surprise when backing out of the driveway I see some purple on the front bank. Yes, we have a bloom on the property - FINALLY! In fact I have two flowers blooming and a couple showing colored buds. First my Periwinkle or Vinca Minor is blooming.
Then I did a real double take when I saw my Brunnera Jack Frost. There were little tiny sprouts of blue showing that I almost missed.
And my Armeria has some pink buds just waiting to open up into pink balls on long stems.
Last is the flower I've had a love/hate relationship with for years. Actually that isn't true - I didn't love or hate it - I ignored it. I'm sure this Helleborus Niger Lenten Rose was pretty once or it wouldn't have come home with me. But later it seemed so blah and washed out and of course the stems and leaves just lay on the ground. Then a couple of years ago I heard about nothing but Helleborus and how beautiful they were. I just kept my thoughts to myself and bit my lip rather than asking if everyone was nuts. Since then I have started seeing some really pretty ones online at peoples posts. So the other day I went out and looked at it and ya know what? It's getting prettier with age. In fact this picture looks beautiful. Of course it's leaves are still all over the ground and it doesn't hold it's head up so we can see it but when I propped it up for a picture it was really pretty.

I suppose if I quit ignoring it and gave it a haircut and some food it might do better. So I guess it's a keeper after all it is blooming at a time when nothing else does.

What's Happening In My Gardens

I think since I have so many plants coming now I’ll just do half. I don’t want to bore everyone with too many little sprouts and tiny blooms all at once. They’ll get bigger cause we’re getting sun this weekend to make everything grow.

I was very excited to see some new growth on my Hardy Fuchsia Santa Claus. I already had spotted some on Double Otto. Now I have 2 more to check on and hope they come back. They are on the graves of our two little dachshunds Prissy and Schatze. Up there I have Phyllis and Brutus. Phyllis has the slightest bit of growth starting to show so I'm pretty confident that Brutus will too. They are in a lot of shade up there so they take a little longer to bloom. But this was their first year so I was especially anxious to know if they made it through our harsh winter. I've also planted Columbines around our two little friends graves and they are doing well. We lost Schatzee last year and I wanted to make changes to the flowers up there.
Hardy Fuchsia Santa Claus Another plant I was concerned about was not having seen any Hostas yet. Guess I was needlessly anxious about them because they are all peeking through in three different places. One we moved last fall and it wasn't looking good then so I'm happy to see it's back.
The Calla Lilies are finally peeking through and there's a viola that popped up next to them. I eventually plan on having Callas line the whole front of the house to cover the foundation and they will make a nice backdrop for other flowers.
My Japanese Painted Fern is also showing now.
Around the corner from them still in a shaded area I have Brunnera Jack Frost he's getting bigger but his leaves are still a lot smaller than usual when it's blooming. Usually they are around 6" long or more but this year are only half that size. Hopefully he'll be full size soon.
Pulmonaria Smokey Blue
Jacobs Ladder Blue Pearl
Dicentra Spectabilis or Old Fashioned Bleeding Heart

The Columbines in here are looking good and so is my Heuchera Plum Pudding - just a wonderful wine color with silver in the foliage.

Down a little farther where a little more sun comes into the bed is an Armeria loaded with blooms.

Down that side of the house are also some other plants I started and planted last year that are showing green. A Weigela, Abelia, Red Valerian, Sedum Linda Windsor, Sedum Autumn Joy.I was concerned about my Spirea Little Princess because she looked brown and pretty lifeless but she's got new growth on her so I can relax now.
Spirea Little Princess

A Fruit And Veggie Garden To Keep The Deer Out!

If you would still like to be entered in my drawing for an 11" x 11" print on canvas made to look like an oil painting just click here 100th Post Giveaway to go and leave your name in the comment section AND if you would like 2 entries just put a link in your column to my blog mentioning the giveaway and let me know you did that. It will be easier for me to have all of the names on the same post when transferring them for the drawing (next Monday). Thanks A Garden To Keep The Deer Out!
My neighbors have a beautiful garden and the deer don't get even one little bite of anything! Of course they do enjoy the flowers and she has never even seen her Lilies!
I guess it started with the Marionberries - the deer wouldn't leave them alone so that was the deciding factor on fencing everything in. I think there are even fences inside the fences! But it's really a beautiful garden and even prettier knowing that no one gets to munch on it but you!
There's a really pretty trellis with a Clematis on each side at the entrance to the garden. Some of these pictures were taken a while back so the Clematis wasn't blooming.
Daylilies line the front

They have Marionberries, Blueberries, Strawberries and probably more I don't remember.



A huge patch of Rhubarb and they also have Asparagus that comes back
An orchard of apple and cherry trees - maybe more I'm not sure. But they haven't been able to get any cherries because of the birds eating them. She had heard about hanging shiny things in the trees to keep the birds away. She had some old CD's and hung them in the Cherry trees and this is the first year the birds have left the cherries alone!
Here's another shot with the Daylilies blooming
A butterfly was nice enough to pose for us
This picture was taken earlier - coming down the driveway you can see the Rhodies blooming in alternating pinks
I believe this was a Dutch Iris that was blooming because she had a white one that was finished and I think maybe that's where my white Dutch Iris came from that showed up one year - a little bird thought I needed one too.

She didn't know what this was but it's very attractive and different
Japanese Iris Variegata - very pretty with it's varigated leaves
Brunnera Variegata Siberian Bugloss - I didn't realize until I got home and looked at the picture of the tag that this was a Brunnera. I think I may need this one for a different look in my shade garden. Something has been nibbling on the leaves she's going to treat.
I was pretty happy to get to share in her seeing her first Lily blooming. EVER! When she told me about a month ago they eat the buds of this one I told her to get some Liquid Fence and I guess it's working. What a shame to have missed it on other years - it's just beautiful.
Sweet Williams
Maltese Cross
Hardy Orchid
And last - isn't this different? It's a Euphorbia Tasmanian Tiger