Spring project and yard pics

I guess this picture didn't turn out like I wanted, but there's a little bee pigging out on pollen from our holly bushes (the blur just to the left of the middle of the picture). That's the reason I worked so hard all summer to keep them healthy. He and his friends (probably 60 or so) show up about two weeks after the robins that show up each early spring to eat the ripe red berries. That tradition takes two afternoons. Then within a week or so the bushes start giving off this amazing scent. It smells as good as honeysuckle to me, but it much more subtle. And after that, here come the bees! It makes me feel SO good to contribute to the well being of our bees.

Our Bridal Wreath in full Spring bloom.

This picture makes me sad. This wisteria plant is actually in our neighbor Tim's yard, but it hangs over our fence. I never thought to water it all summer, and I don't think he's even aware it's back there (it's in his back corner behind his storage shed). I was surprised to see it blooming at all, but it was greatly diminished from years past. If we (God forbid) have another horrible summer I will try to remember to water it.

This is a weed, but I think it's kind of pretty. We had two or three of them, with more bees buzzing happily around them.

Here is a rare picture of Tucker. I need to devote a post about him soon. The crazy ball of brush behind him is the Asian Jasmine remains that I dug up. I discovered the reason it's called Asian Jasmine is because the roots go down to China!!!! It took me several different afternoons to get this far, only to discover that there are still tons of roots in the soil and I'm nowhere near being finished yet. I wanted to get it finished and plant some new perennials by our Easter get together this coming Saturday. But now I'm thinking I won't plant anything in it until next spring.

The afternoon I finally got that big ball detached from the earth was just after a day of heavy rains. I chopped and chopped at the roots with my shovel and was about to finished, when I realized I had chopped through a wire of some kind. Okay, several wires. Oops. I hoped that they were not still live, made a mental note that I needed to call my husband to ask, and kept chopping and hacking in a new area. Within seconds, I saw I had hit a snake. Well, that was when I called it a day, my friend. I hate killing things, and felt really bad, even though it was a snake. The next day I told my story to a girl on Facebook who was in homeroom with me in high school and is now an avid gardener. She told me to be careful because with the warm weather and it being Spring and all it's mate was probably not far away. I saw one in the same area a few days later when Jav and I went out to stuff that ball of Jasmine into our yard cart.

It sashayed into the huge remaining patch of Asian Jasmine that I will not be touching after this project.

Charlie

We have a new semi-pet. He is a crow. He is perhaps the biggest, most badass crow I've ever witnessed. And he has taken residence up in our yard because of our birdbath. He has claimed that birdbath for his very own. He guards it. He drinks from it all day long. And he dunks whatever he has decided to eat in it. Every day. We started seeing him every single time we went outside or left the house, or came back home. So we named him. Gabriel now says bye to him along with our other pets whenever we go somewhere.

One day there were pecan shells left in the water. Not so bad. One day there was a big wadded up piece of bread. One day there was the remains of a snake. No kidding. But the worst was the day I had to refill the water because Jav was out of town. There, lying in the very disgusting water, was a leg bone of something. I tried to convince myself maybe it was a rib leftover from someone's cookout. But this was just ridiculous, as it took up the entire diameter of the birdbath. Yuck.

Crows are pretty darn smart, we also have determined. Or at least Charlie is. One early morning as I left for a walk with Joel and Molly he came swooping down over my head and landed on a low branch and just stared me down. He was letting me know that I needed to change the water, which I had forgotten to do the day before. Jav said he did the same thing to him a few evenings before when he left for his run.

I haven't been able to get a good picture of Charlie. He's too quick for me. These really don't do him justice, so I'll keep trying. And even though I don't like the fact that he's not letting other birds drink from the birdbath (luckily we have some smaller water holders nearby), I still find the whole thing kind of cool. It's like we have The Discovery Channel on live right outside our window.

Never-ending yard projects

I really wanted to work on this neglected corner.  The cannas were there when we moved in, but have never been tended to.  

I added a border, planted a few more canna bulbs, moved my potted bougainvillea, added a small water dish for the birds, and our broken St. Francis statue---and it looks so much better!  Next year I will add a few elephant ears in the back corner and some day lilies out front.  We have so many new birds drinking from the water dish and from the tiny bowl on the St. Francis statue.

I had dug out this bed in the front yard a few months ago when we were getting torrential rain showers, but then never finished it.  It was covered with weeds so I decided to take action.  I bordered it and planted lots of different shades of lantana, and have seen several butterflies landing on the blooms already.

This started out as Stanley's memorial garden, but we've decided to make it our pet memorial garden.  I had already planted the clematis vine and the Turk's cap last year, and then added caladium bulbs at the end of May.  The amazing thing about this garden is the Turk's cap.  I planted six plants last fall, and thought only two were going to come back.  See the tiny green clump in the sun (to the left of the caladium)?  That's a new Turk's cap that broke through the ground the day after Henry died.  It gives me goose bumps (the good kind) every time I look at it.

And finally, construction has started on Phase II of our path project.  I marked out the border the first day, and have been digging out grass in small sections every other day (it's just too hot when Gabriel is napping to do more, or to get out there every day).  I plan to be done with this part at the end of next week, then we'll put down the plastic and start laying the border.  

I've become a little obsessed about the yard.  The better it looks the more I want to get out there and work every day.  It's amazing to me how little money we've spent and how much better it looks.  I would love to do this for a living some day, and maybe with all of this practice I won't be considered an amateur anymore.

Path Project - Phase One: Done!

We finished! And we love the way it's looking. AND we only spent about 75 bucks. Now to find the energy to start on Phase II, which is a little longer than the first Phase. Ugh!

At this point the monkey grass came up really easily.

By now the ground was like concrete again. Molly enjoyed this project because of all the earthworms she got to snack on.

My grandfather's wheelbarrow, that my Dad gave me a few months ago. I don't know what we would've done without it.

My trooper of a husband helping me even out the ground.

Almost through with the border, and it sat like this until yesterday when I finally finished it. I haven't downloaded that picture yet.

Why I love old houses

You would never find this attached to a built-in garage workshop area in a new house.

So you would never have these.

Garden pictures

I had been searching for Turk's Cap since spring, and didn't realize the nurseries don't offer it until late summer or fall. Even then, there wasn't much left when I got there. I'd love to find someplace to plant more next year. I can already tell how hardy it is.
I want to add some smaller annuals along the front each season, starting with mums within a few weeks.
The happy trellis. I feel so peaceful everytime I look at the garden. What a great way to remember my faithful sweet Stanley.

Good old Stanley, posing. My Mom spray painted her old nightstand, and we found the waste basket on Ebay.

Our theme-two of my husband's favorite things, Snoopy and sports.

Every happening patio needs a Tiki Torch candle. Thanks, Gracie, for one of the coolest presents I've ever received! 

Nighttime view of our new lights.  

The caladium and salvia have thrived so far this summer.