Monday, July 20, 2009

The Weekend 07/18/09


Good morning everyone! Jamie and I had a wonderful weekend and I thought I would share it with you. Last night the weather was incredible. We had a record low of 59° last night! In Alabama… in July… all I can say is wow. We have very little blooming right now besides the Lantana and Buddleia, but thanks to the rain we had recently everything is a lush beautiful green and I’m happy with that.

Arbor



Path



Steppingstones


Keeping in mind what IS blooming now Jamie and I have been on the search for items for the new bed. We have a lull right now so we are paying special attention to make certain we can fill the gap in blooms when we plant the new bed. One of the things we knew we wanted was more ‘Sunny Border Blue’ Veronica. We weren’t certain where we were going to get it though because the plant we have was ordered from a magazine. Well, low and behold we walk into Lowe’s and what do we see? That’s right, Veronica. To top it off it was mispriced by about 33% and the garden manager told us without hesitation we were free to have it at that price. Yay! We saved $40.00! So here is the first edition to the new bed. We’ll post pictures when we get it planted. The plants are beginning to go out of bloom now, but they will certainly be gorgeous next summer. I've read if you cut the spikes that have bloomed out down to the ground they will produce new ones. We might give that a try.

Veronica



Veronica2


In other news we were invited to the very recently built home of some new friends this weekend for a birthday party. We met Ronnie and Lee thru our friends Jimmy and Wade. They have a lovely home and were very gracious hosts on our over night visit. The evening was wonderful and provided Jamie and I an opportunity to meet several new, interesting and very pleasant people. We really enjoyed ourselves!

Front



Back


Ronnie and Lee are avid gardeners and their new home came complete with two compost machines to provide black gold for all those new beds they’ll be making soon. Meet Rowdy and Copper.

Rowdy



Copper


Ronnie and Lee have a HUGE blank slate to work with when creating their new garden. If I remember right Lee told me they have 128 acres and 12 acres to play with as a garden. Oh! Isn’t that every gardener’s dream? The land has been in Lee’s family for 80 years. I have no doubt it’s going to be a masterpiece when they finish. Here’s the kicker, would you believe all this in the middle of a heavily populated residential area? While you are there you have no idea you are in a neighborhood, it seems as though you are 20 or 30 miles out in the country. The garden is already beginning to take shape. With Ronnie and Lee’s blessing I’ll keep you posted on their progress. Maybe they’ll start a blog! That would be great!

Blank


It was such a nice peaceful weekend. Just the little break that Jamie and I needed from all the work we’ve been doing lately. I hope everyone else had a good weekend and I hope you have even a better week.

28 comments:

tina said...

Your garden looks mighty good. You should give your new friends some good design help because I can see you'd be great at it!

What a deal with that veronica!

Randy said...

Tina,
Lee told me some of what he has planned and it's going to be beatiful! I can't wait to see it all unfold.--Randy

Darla said...

Your gardens are lush, lush, lush!! The veronica is a fine looking plant. What a great weekend place you visited. Please do keep us informed on the transformation of their yard!! What a gardener's dream...

Lisa at Greenbow said...

I love those composters. tee hee..It looks like it will be a fun project. I can't wait to see the progress. Yep, we had a good weekend too. Can't complain with this gorgeous weather.

Randy said...

Darla,
They have a gorgeous home don't they? It was just like being on a mini vacation. I realize how out of shape I was climbing up and down those stairs.LOL They are mightly blessed.

Lisa,
You don't even have to turn the pile with those guys! LOL--Randy

Roses and Lilacs said...

I wish you lived closer, I would have contributed a veronica to your collection. They don't do as well here as in you area. Lovely home your friends have built. A blank slate to begin a garden sounds exciting but all the work of building up the soil is tedious. I remember how quickly houses recycle organics so maybe it won't be too long.
Marnie

Randy said...

Marnie,
We would have gladly adopted your Veronica! The soil is a concern of Lee's but they are testing to see what they need to do to it. I think they plan on leaving alot of the area under the oaks naturally mulched and add shade and acid loving plants. Maybe all they will have to fix is lawn and bed areas.--Randy

Dirt Princess said...

It was 67 degrees here in Mobile this morning! I am loving every second of it!!! Your friends house is absolutely GORGEOUS!!! WOW!!! I hope you will go back to visit and get photos of their garden! Your is looking great as always. Enjoy this "cool" snap!

Gail said...

The weather has been a dream...I could live like this all summer! Really! I could learn to garden in cooler, less humid conditions. The Veronica is wonderful...you can create a big presence with the plants you got...I can't wait to see it planted! A blank slate sounds wonderful right now...I wonder why! The weeding is calling me! Have a good week. gail

F Cameron said...

I think you've got a great haul of plants there!

What a perfect Southern estate! Love the house and the grounds have so much potential.

With all that land, I'd be looking at Piet Oudolf meadows for some of that land, sowing wildflower seeds by the pound in a meadow (that can be mowed with a tractor after bloom season). Our NC DOT plants roadsides that way and American Meadows is a good source for pounds of wildflower seeds for the southeast.

Under the tree canopies, maybe they can do some azaleas, gardenias, and other typically southern plants.

Cameron

Unknown said...

It's my dream for sure!

your garden looks great.

Randy said...

DP,
You should see the way they have it decorated. It really is very pretty and they love enjoying it with family members. They invited us to come back again so hopefully we'll get to watch it all unfold.

Gail,
Don’t work too hard pulling weeds! You know we are going to get spoiled to this nice weather.

Cameron,
I was thinking the same thing about the trees. I think that is going to pretty much be the plan they have. Lee said rather than have areas of beds; they wanted areas of grass here and there. You are right it is the perfect southern estate and I hope they enjoy it for many years to come.

Anna,
You know Jamey and I would probably kill ourselves trying to landscape something like that LOL!--Randy

Anonymous said...

That's a great deal you got on that Veronica and you really loaded up on it too. ;) Your friend's garden has so much potential & who wouldn't love 12 acres to play around with.

Randy said...

Racquel,
In the past we've wanted one of everything, but now we realize how much better things look in larger clumps with a little repeating in the beds. We are trying to keep that in mind for greater impact. I guess that's the right thing to do. :-)--Randy

CanadianGardenJoy said...

Guys ... I can't even imagine living on such a large plot of land , let alone having so much of it to dedicate to gardens .. I would probably drop to the ground and kiss it every day ? LOL
Seriously ..... wow !
And hey ... your garden is looking absolutely wonderful : )

Randy said...

Joy,
If Jamie and I had that much to turn into a garden we would most certainly work ourselves to death. We have a problem knowing when to stop sometimes--Randy

Monica the Garden Faerie said...

I have that same Veronica, though only 1, also from Lowes! Sometimes, you just can't beat the price. It's been cool here in MI, too. I wish I were still in CO (where I was said weekend)--it was int he low 90s there but it's dry heat. Coming from somewhere humid (don't laugh; it's humid to us!), I never believed all this claptrap about dry heat not seeming as hot, but.... it's true! And it's sunny a lot, even if it's raining int he mountains. Sorry, I digressed!

Jake said...

Your current gardens look great and I am sure your new addition will too. It is awesome to find stuff at Lowe's or Home Depot that you thought you might have to order through the mail, espicially if they give you a deal.

Jake

sweetbay said...

Cool weather in July is a Godsend. Your garden looks great. I love the twisty Salvia. Your friends' house is beautiful.

Randy said...

Monica,
You especially can’t beat the price when it is mismarked with the price of something half its size! LOL

Jake,
This is our favorite time of the year because they start marking stuff down. I’ve been waiting for weeks for them to put the coneflowers on closeout. I stop every afternoon when I head home, wouldn’t you know a landscaper beat me to them by about 30 seconds. He snatched up every one of them. I was sooooo ill.

Sweetbay we are going to get so spoiled to this weather!--Randy

Jake said...

They don't really put anything on sale here in FL. I think it is because you can always plant here.

Jake

Tootsie said...

your garden looks amazing even with only a few things blooming!!!
I can't wait to see that garden take shape!

Jan said...

We had some great weather here, too, and I was able to work outside for a change. I think that Veronica will look great in your new area. I am glad to see you bought a lot for mass planting.

Jan
Always Growing

Sue said...

Jamie and Randy,

I love your blog--can't wait to read the blog every day.. Your garden is a beauty..

sue

Annie in Austin said...

You guys don't fool around when you plant, do you! That beautiful veronica should make quite an impact in your garden...although it wouldn't disappear in the expanses of your friends' home!

Most of our houses have been on quarter-acre lots...two acres would feel like an estate to me.

Annie at the Transplantable Rose

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Wow Randy---Your friends really have a gorgeous home---and I can only imagine having 12 acres just for a garden and 27 acres total--right in a residential area. Talk about the best of all worlds.

Your yard though is looking GREAT. Keep us posted as to yours and its growth.

Hugs,
Betsy

lynn'sgarden said...

Hi Jamie and Randy! What a great deal you got on those veronicas! I deadheaded my few plantss last week and it's already setting new blooms so I bet you'll get a second flush if you cut them back now. I spied a braided trunk hibiscus in your photo..with tons of buds! I love your new friends' home with those balconies...makes me think of a sleeping porch ;)
Lynn

lynn'sgarden said...

Hi again, thanks for your visit and wonderful comments! Always fun to meet new members of garden Bloggers...I will definitely make time to read your daylily posts as they are my FAV!! Have a wonderful Sunday ;) On my list to-do today...go to Lowes'...